Short-duration (1–3 h) rainfall extremes can cause serious damage to societies through rapidly developing (flash) flooding and are determined by complex, multifaceted processes that are altering as Earth’s climate warms. In this Review, we examine evidence from observational, theoretical and modelling studies for the intensification of these rainfall extremes, the drivers and the impact on flash flooding. Both short-duration and long-duration (>1 day) rainfall extremes are intensifying with warming at a rate consistent with the increase in atmospheric moisture (~7% K⁻¹), while in some regions, increases in short-duration extreme rainfall intensities are stronger than expected from moisture increases alone. These stronger local increases are related to feedbacks in convective clouds, but their exact role is uncertain because of the very small scales involved. Future extreme rainfall intensification is also modulated by changes to temperature stratification and large-scale atmospheric circulation. The latter remains a major source of uncertainty. Intensification of short-duration extremes has likely increased the incidence of flash flooding at local scales, and this can further compound with an increase in storm spatial footprint to considerably increase total event rainfall. These findings call for urgent climate change adaptation measures to manage increasing flood risks.

短时（1-3小时）的极端降雨会通过迅速发展的（山洪）洪水对社会造成严重破坏，这取决于随着地球气候变暖而变化的复杂，多方面的过程。在这篇评论中，我们检查了来自观测，理论和模型研究的证据，这些证据证明了这些极端降雨的加剧，驱动因素以及对山洪的影响。短期和长期（> 1天）极端降雨都随着气候变暖而加剧，其增速与大气湿度增加（〜7％K ^-1），而在某些地区，短期降雨的强度要比单独增加水分引起的预期强。这些更强的局部增加与对流云中的反馈有关，但由于涉及的范围很小，其确切作用尚不确定。温度分层和大规模大气环流的变化也会调节未来的极端降雨强度。后者仍然是不确定性的主要来源。短期极端事件的加剧可能增加了局部尺度上山洪泛滥的发生率，这可能进一步加剧风暴空间足迹，从而大大增加了事件总数。这些发现要求采取紧急的气候变化适应措施来管理不断增加的洪水风险。