Wild weather: the new normal?

This fact sheet by Energy Innovation examines the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, attributing these shifts to human-induced climate change and rising carbon dioxide levels.

• Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe due to shifts in rainfall probability. Global climate models indicate the rainfall probability curve is shifting right and flattening, which increases the likelihood of both major droughts and floods.
• The United States has experienced significant economic and environmental impacts from extreme weather. A 2012 drought affected over 1,000 counties in 26 states with estimated costs exceeding $12 billion for disaster-relief loans and crop insurance. Additionally, the U.S. saw more than 3,500 record-breaking events for snow, rain, and heat in a single year.
• Global examples from 2010 illustrate the impact of extreme weather on food security and industry. Russia suffered a record heat wave that destroyed 25% of its crop yield and killed thousands, while flooding in Queensland covered an area equivalent to the combined size of France and Germany, damaging mining and agriculture.
• Human activity since the Industrial Revolution is the primary driver of current global warming. The combustion of oil and gas, combined with the loss of carbon sinks through agriculture and logging, has pushed carbon dioxide concentrations above 400 ppm for the first time in human history. The IPCC attributes 90% of global warming over the last 250 years to human activity.
• Mitigating the risks of extreme weather requires a combination of aggressive emissions reduction and adaptation. The document suggests deploying emissions-reduction technologies to slow global temperature increases and investing in building codes, disaster preparedness, and water-use efficiency to build resilience.

APA

Aggarwal, S., & Kennan, H. (n.d.). Wild weather: the new normal? Energy Innovation. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/20130611-wild-weather-finalupdate.pdf

Chicago

Aggarwal, Sonia, and Hallie Kennan. Wild weather: the new normal? Energy Innovation, n.d. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/20130611-wild-weather-finalupdate.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Aggarwal |first1=Sonia |last2=Kennan |first2=Hallie |title=Wild weather: the new normal? |publisher=Energy Innovation |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/20130611-wild-weather-finalupdate.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{aggarwalndwild, author = {Aggarwal, Sonia and Kennan, Hallie}, title = {{Wild weather: the new normal?}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/20130611-wild-weather-finalupdate.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }