Conclusion to the special issue: Observed and projected changes in weather and climate extremes

Weather and climate extremes affect every facet of society-economies, environments and cultures. As a result, policy makers, planners, decision makers and other stakeholders are increasingly seeking information on the nature of such extreme events on time scales from hours to days, to seasons and to decades. This Special Issue has presented a combination of original research and assessments of earlier work in relation to weather and climate extremes. The papers covered two major themes: (i) detecting and attributing changes in temperature and precipitation extremes in the observational record, as well as projecting changes in such extremes at regional and local scales; and (ii) examples of the impacts and other consequences of both the historic and anticipated changes in extreme weather and climate events, as well as policy implications and practical applications. The papers in this Special Issue have shown the nature of the scientific and related challenges, the progress made to date, and the challenges, opportunities and constraints yet to be addressed. They have contributed to increased understanding of where, how and why such events manifest themselves, now and into the future. Such insights increase the capacity to manage the risks associated with these events, and thereby reduce the consequences that society might otherwise have suffered. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.