Weather Extremes in a Changing Climate: Hindsight on Foresight

The observed climate anomalies and the devastating weather events recorded in 2010 have further triggered the interest of the general public, governments, and media in knowing if we are likely to see more frequent and more intensive extreme (rare but high impact) weather events in the years to come. This short note gives food for thought to address this question based on the activities of the WMO and its co-sponsored programmes, which include observing and monitoring of, as well as research on, weather, climate and water, and their extremes.