Climate change will bring more extreme weather, warns IPCC

Nature : Extreme weather, such as the 2010 Russian heat wave or the drought in the horn of Africa, will become more frequent and severe as the planet warms, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned in a report released Friday, writes Quirin Schiermeier for Nature. The frequency and magnitude of warm temperature extremes will increase, and those of cold extremes will decrease. But how climate change will affect rainfall, flood risk, and storminess remains to be seen. The report, which lists a variety of adaptation strategies such as early-warning systems and improved building codes, is also meant to inform the United Nations’ upcoming climate talks in South Africa.