Are Extreme Weather Events on the Rise?

In recent years, media and scientific journals have given increasing attention to worldwide extreme weather (EW) events and their possible relation to climate change and specifically to recent warming of the earth's climate. This warming which has been linked to human CO2 emissions has been referred to by the IPCC as 'Anthropogenic Global Warming' (AGW). A brief overview of the ongoing debate is presented, synthesizing worldwide EW events of last decades and analysing the possible linkage between EW and AGW. It is concluded that the postulated AGW/EW link is a perception than reality, the perception being fostered by increased and uncritical media attention to recent EW events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]