There’s growing evidence that people and the planet are
increasingly impacted by extreme events. According to the
Fourth National Climate Assessment, published in 2018 by the
U.S. Global Change Research Program, “more frequent and
intense extreme weather and climate-related events, as well as
changes in average climate conditions, are expected to continue
to damage infrastructure, ecosystems, and social systems that
provide essential benefits to communities.”
As the impacts of extreme events continue to mount,
interest has grown in the scientific community to study whether
specific extreme events can be partially attributed to human
activities. With the help of climate models, scientists have
conducted an impressive array of studies, looking for possible
links between human activities and extreme events such as heat
waves, rainfall and flooding events, droughts, storms, and
wildfires. Increasingly, they’re able to draw robust connections.
Internet: <climate.nasa.gov> (adapted).