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EXTREME WEATHER/
INTRODUCTION
source: www.climatechange
solutions.com/science/weather/
weather.shtml?o=weather
www.who.int/globalchange/
climate/en/ccSCREEN.pdf
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We know that the world’s climate is changing fast, and that it is projected to change much more as a result of human activities… - an important question, which scientists are trying to answer is whether mankind’s interference with the global climate through the enhancement of the natural greenhouse effect will increase the frequency or magnitude of extreme weather events (cold spells, heat waves, drought, floods, storms and tropical cyclones);
- the question is an important one, because extreme weather events have devastating social and economic impacts that may need to be factored in to the overall costs of climate change;
- according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there is not enough information available to conclude whether or not there has been a global change in climate extremes during the 20th century;
- however, the IPCC’s projections of future climate change include a large increase in the number of heat waves, and, according to many computer models, more intense rainfalls and snow storms.
The two categories of climatic extremes are:
- simple extremes of climatic statistical ranges, such as very low or very high temperatures
- complex events: droughts, floods, or hurricanes
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