ABSTRACT
In the recent past, increasing episodes of climate extremes and variability (e.g., floods, droughts) have demonstrated the vulnerability of the human, economic and social systems to these events. The frequency of extreme weather events is on the rise. In 2006, the Munich Re registered 30 devastating loss events in 2006 as against 15 in the preceding year that means a 50 percent increase. Since 1950, an increasing trend in catastrophic losses is also registered (Munich Re, 2007). In the last few years we see increasing episodes of flooding worldwide. Some large events are: devastating floods in Bangladesh (2004 and 2007), India (2005 and 2007), Mozambique (2001), Europe (2003), and Horn of Africa (2006). These are due largely to increases in frequency of heavy precipitation events over most land areas that lead to flooding but not everywhere. This is consistent with warming and observed increases in atmospheric water vapor (IPCC, 2007a).
