An increase in heat waves, heavy rainfall, floods, cyclones, landslides and intense droughts is likely across the globe over the next few years, according to a report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released last Friday.
The report recognized that 2011 was a record-breaking year for weather disasters—with over $1 billion of weather-related damages. “I’ve been a meteorologist 30 years, and I’ve never seen a year that comes close to 2011 for the number of astounding extreme weather events,” Jeff Masters, co-founder of the weather service Weather Underground, said during a conference call.
