Global Change - Anthropocene - The Geology of Humanity

A dead fish lies on the cracked earth of the drought-stricken La Sorrueda reservoir near Santa Lucia village, at the Spain's Canary island of Gran Canaria. Photograph: Borja Suarez/Reuters

nature.com - Dim Coumou & Stefan Rahmstorf - March 25, 2012

guardian.co.uk - reuters - March 26, 2012

Extreme weather events over the past decade have increased and were "very likely" caused by human-induced global warming, according to a study in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Scientists at Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Research used physics, statistical analysis and computer simulations to link extreme rainfall and heatwaves to global warming. The link between warming and storms was less clear.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/mar/26/extreme-weather-climate-change

A Decade of Weather Extremes

Abstract

The ostensibly large number of recent extreme weather events has triggered intensive discussions, both in- and outside the scientific community, on whether they are related to global warming. Here, we review the evidence and argue that for some types of extreme — notably heatwaves, but also precipitation extremes — there is now strong evidence linking specific events or an increase in their numbers to the human influence on climate. For other types of extreme, such as storms, the available evidence is less conclusive, but based on observed trends and basic physical concepts it is nevertheless plausible to expect an increase.

http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate1452.html