Climate Change 2001 Assessment

7. Are recent extreme weather events due to global warming?

• 7.1 What extreme events could global warming explain?
• 7.2 Is the occurrence of extreme temperatures increasing?
• 7.3 Are precipitation levels changing?
• 7.4 Are storms affected by global warming?

7.1 What extreme events could global warming explain?

As the world warms, some extreme climate events, like the frequency of heat waves and very heavy precipitation, are expected to increase, but some others remains uncertain. Moreover, it is not possible to link any particular weather or climate event definitively to global warming. More...

7.2 Is the occurrence of extreme temperatures increasing?

In some regions where good data are available, there have been some significant increases and decreases in extreme temperatures over time. For example, there have been fewer extremely low minimum temperatures in several areas. As global temperatures rise, extremely high temperatures are expected to be more frequent. More...

7.3 Are precipitation levels changing?

As the Earth warms, an increase in the frequency of extreme precipitation events and droughts is expected. In some regions, an increase in precipitation has been observed, but there is no evidence in other regions of a worldwide rise in droughts. More...

7.4 Are storms affected by global warming?

Blizzards and snow storms may actually increase in intensity and frequency in some colder locations and decrease in temperate latitudes.

The frequency of intense extra-tropical storms has increased in the northern North Atlantic and decreased in the southern North Atlantic, but it remains uncertain whether these are related to global warming.

No apparent long-term trends have been observed in the total number of tropical storms including hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones. There is little consensus about how global warming will affect their intensity and frequency in the future. More...