Early Warning Systems | Chris Funk

Note: Despite the slightly compromised sound quality, Chris offers absolutely essential insights. Population growth and extreme weather events converge to create growing challenges in vulnerable regions. Chris Funk, climatologist and director of the Climate Hazards Center, joins us. Highlights include: How rapid population growth in already hot and humid regions of Africa increases the number of people exposed to extreme heat, drought, and flood; What Funk’s research reveals about how El Niño and La Niña events are amplifying extreme weather in the Global South and their impacts on food security; Why early warning systems, particularly in Africa, are crucial for predicting and mitigating the impacts of droughts and extreme temperatures; Why localized responses and infrastructure resilience are key to minimizing the humanitarian impacts of extreme weather events. See episode website for show notes, links, and transcript:  https://www.populationbalance.org/podcast/chris-funk   ABOUT US OVERSHOOT | Shrink Toward Abundance [Formerly The Overpopulation Podcast] OVERSHOOT tackles today’s interlocked social and ecological crises driven by humanity’s excessive population and consumption. The podcast explores needed narrative, behavioral, and system shifts for recreating human life in balance with all life on Earth. With expert guests from wide-ranging disciplines, we examine the forces underlying overshoot: from patriarchal pronatalism that is fueling overpopulation, to growth-biased economic systems that lead to consumerism and social injustice, to the dominant worldview of human supremacy that subjugates animals and nature. Our vision of shrinking toward abundance inspires us to seek pathways of transformation that go beyond technological fixes toward a new humanity that honors our interconnectedness with all beings.  Hosted by Nandita Bajaj and Alan Ware. Brought to you by Population Balance.  Learn more at populationbalance.org Copyright 2025 Population Balance