A new report published by the Global Warming Policy Foundation challenges the popular but mistaken belief that weather extremes – such as heatwaves, flooding, droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires – are more common and more intense today because of climate change.
Drawing on newspaper archives and long-term observational data, the report written by Dr Ralph Alexander documents multiple examples of past extremes that matched or exceeded anything experienced in the present-day world.
Dr Ralph Alexander said:
“That so many people are unaware of past extremes shows that collective memories of extreme weather are short-lived.”
“The perception that extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and severity is primarily a consequence of new information technology – the Internet and smart phones – which have revolutionised communication and made us much more aware of such disasters in all corners of the world than we were 50 or 100 years ago.”
Ralph Alexander: Weather extremes in historical context (pdf)
