Geneva, 21 March 2012 – In recent years, extreme weather and climate events have taken many lives and caused billions of dollars in economic losses. Is climate change leading to increases in the number and severity of extreme events? How do social and environmental factors interact with weather and climate events to create disasters? And what can be done to make societies more resilient to extremes? A Special Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) – assesses the scientific information on these questions.