Has there been a change in extreme events like heat waves, droughts, floods and hurricanes?
Yes; the type, frequency and intensity of extreme events are expected to change as Earth’s climate –>climate changes, and these changes could occur even with relatively small mean climate changes. Changes in some types of extreme events have already been observed, for example, increases in the frequency and intensity of heat waves–>heat waves and heavy precipitation events. Since 1950, the number of heat waves has increased and widespread increases have occurred in the numbers of warm nights. The extent of regions affected by droughts–>droughts has also increased as precipitation over land has marginally decreased while evaporation has increased due to warmer conditions. Generally, numbers of heavy daily precipitation events that lead to flooding have increased, but not everywhere. Tropical storm and hurricane frequencies vary considerably from year to year, but evidence suggests substantial increases in intensity and duration since the 1970s. In the extratropics, variations in trac
Related Questions
- Are Recent Extreme Weather Events, Like the Large Number of Atlantic Hurricanes in 1995, Due to Global Warming
- Are Extreme Events, Like Heat Waves, Droughts or Floods, Expected to Change as the Earths Climate Changes?
- Do extreme events such as heat waves and floods have anything to do with global warming?
