Guidelines on Analysis of Extremes in a Changing Climate in Support of Informed Decisions for Adaptation

This policy document is targeted at National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) around the world that need to deal with practical questions on extremes and provide information services for climate change adaptation strategies. It responds to the need of WMO Members to enhance climate monitoring capabilities for the generation of higher quality and new types of products and services. However, it is important to note that this document does not cover every type of extreme. It focuses on weather and climate extremes that are defined as rare events within the statistical reference distribution of particular weather elements at a particular place. The extremes considered are for weather elements that are monitored daily, such as temperature and precipitation.