Record-breaking extreme weather conditions are on the rise. Violent and frequent hurricanes, unparalleled drought, tropical storms, rivers at unprecedently low levels in the Amazon Basin, vanishing glaciers, melting poles and rising sea levels all signal dramatic changes in our climate. Peter Bunyard, recognised internationally as an expert on climate change, here describes and explores recent extreme weather events, including Hurricane Katrina, the Alpine floods of 2005 and the heavy European and American snowfalls of 2006. Fully illustrated with stunning colour photographs, this book looks at what happened, the human cost, what caused it, and what can be done to change things for the future. This book will appeal to all those who watched the BBC's Planet Earth series, followed the Hurricane Katrina story or have been caught in extreme weather conditions in recent years, and want to know why.