On the State of the Knowledge of Rainfall Extremes in the Pacific Basin

The relevant literature on extreme rainfall events in the Pacific remains relatively sparse compared to other regions (e.g., the coterminous United States, Europe, etc.). Moreover, several recent reports on climate in the Pacific mention the paucity of extremes information and often list “trends in historical climate” as a necessary next step. This scientific assessment meets this need by examining historical trends in and drivers of extreme rainfall events across the entire Pacific Basin, inclusive from Alaska southward to Australia, and longitudinally from the Philippines eastward to North America, with an emphasis on island and coastal locations. This presentation will highlight the current state of the knowledge on rainfall extremes in the Pacific by providing an updated assessment on the driving mechanisms of and long-term trends in extreme rainfall events across the region.