With respect to extreme weather events, Dezileau et al. (2011) write that the major question of the day is: “are they linked to global warming or are they part of natural climate variability?”
And in regard to the significance of this question, they say “it is essential to place such events in a broader context of time, and trace the history of climate changes over several centuries,” because “these extreme events are inherently rare and therefore difficult to observe in the period of a human life.” Only then, can claims of increased extreme weather events resulting from CO2-induced global warming be properly evaluated, and several researchers have done just that. The present review examines what they have found with respect to the frequency and/or severity of storms located in and around modern-day France.
