Extreme Events: Understanding Weather and Climate Extremes

This lecture explores extreme weather events, from rare occurrences to unprecedented phenomena, covering a wide range of scales and impacts. It delves into the definitions, causes, and consequences of extreme events, emphasizing the importance of understanding climate change in relation to these occurrences. The lecture also discusses the challenges in defining extreme events, the spatial and temporal dimensions of climate extremes, and the indices used to measure drought severity, duration, and frequency. Through examples like the European heatwave and the German flood of 2021, the lecture highlights the increasing frequency and severity of extreme events due to human-induced climate change.