The climate whiplash
Whiplash. Whack. Jolt. Loosely speaking, the relatively new phrase climate whiplash* refers to an event of rapid, sudden, and most often extreme swings between opposing weather conditions within a short span of time. It seems like an opposing pair—a climate duality.
Traditionally, this phenomenon describes shifts between extreme drought (El Niño—dry season) and intense flooding (La Niña—wet season). In recent times, it can mean the violent and drastic fluctuations in temperature from hot to cold or from cold to hot. So, what is a whiplash anyway? In medical terms, it is a neck injury resulting from a sudden, forceful back-and-forth movement of the head (like a whip), commonly from rear-end crashes, sports impacts, or physical abuse. The head is thrown backward, then forward, or vice versa, with extreme force. It is this rapid combination of acceleration-deceleration that strains the neck’s soft tissues beyond their capability. When referring to the actual strike of a whip, it is a whack (or a thwack). If you’re using it to describe a sudden jarring change in situation, a whiplash is a jolting, abrupt reversal (or a shocking, sudden shift). Similarly, our climate is strained by key stressors: human activities, environmental pressures, and specific physical factors.
Urbanization, pollution, deforestation, and the burning of fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, oil) are primary drivers of climate change. Extreme heat, reduced air quality, and abruptly changing weather patterns are key stressors. Physical constraints like latitude, elevation, and ocean currents naturally define and sometimes limit climate stability in specific regions. Climate strains disrupt society by causing the displacement of humans, housing shortages, and increased competition for resources. Inequality is amplified as more vulnerable, low-income communities often bear the heaviest burdens and impacts of environmental stresses.
Weather volatility is rooted in how a warming atmosphere interacts with the global water cycle and the narrow, fast-moving band of high-velocity air (jet stream) that encircles the planet. A warmer atmosphere acts like a giant sponge that sucks more moisture out of the soil and vegetation, making dry spells more frequent and intense. When it finally rains, the atmosphere has a larger reservoir of moisture to dump. This results in extreme rainfall that the parched ground cannot absorb quickly enough, and allows water to run off and flood communities.
The warming of our atmosphere is primarily driven by the enhanced greenhouse effect, where increased concentrations of heat-trapping gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide) from human activity, such as burning fossil fuels, accumulate in the atmosphere. This is simply Newton’s third law of motion: the law of interaction. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The more greenhouse gases we throw into the air, the greater the whiplash. The more we pollute our soil and our waters, the greater we expose ourselves to impending disasters. The forces of nature come in pairs. Although often used metaphorically to highlight environmental injustices, this law provides the conceptual framework for understanding the physical mechanisms behind climate change. Anthropogenic actions (greenhouse gas emissions) force a reaction from the Earth’s system (global warming).
Southeast Asia is increasingly defined by climate whiplash. Weather patterns swing violently between extreme drought/heat and catastrophic flooding. Scientists project that, in decades, tropical regions will experience rapid, intense shifts between heavy rain and drought every month or every three months. As some global regions dry up, Southeast Asia will be a wetting hub as monsoons become more intense and unpredictable. Megacities with rapid urban growth and outdated drainage systems will be the most vulnerable to these whiplash cycles. In late 2025, back-to-back tropical storms and record-breaking rains caused thousands of deaths across Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Engineering structures in the Philippines and in Thailand were overwhelmed and damaged by the sheer volume and intense speed of flooding caused by extreme rainfall. Dams designed and built for steady rain can fail during sudden deluges. Crops might die from thirst one season, only to be washed away by a flood in the next. Drought creates highly volatile conditions. The subsequent rain may grow more grass, which then dries out and provides more fuel for the next [wild]fire cycle. Climate whiplash creates severe risks for food security, water management, and infrastructure as regions quickly pivot from dry spells to deluge. It is significantly harder to manage a climate whiplash than a stable climate.
*Climate whiplash is also known as “weather whiplash” or “hydro-climate whiplash” (Swain et al., 2018). It is a descriptive term used to capture the increasing instability in weather patterns.
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Dr. Joel Tiu Maquiling may be reached at jmaquiling@ateneo.edu
