Abstract
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) periodically develops an assessment of the state of the climate. The report was developed in 2012, including a new section on climate adaptation. The report integrates perspectives from several historically distinct research communities studying climate science, climate impacts, adaptation to climate change, and disaster risk management. Climate extremes, exposure, and vulnerability are influenced by a wide range of factors, including anthropogenic climate change, natural climate variability, and socio-economic development. The impacts of climate extremes and the potential for disasters result from the climate extremes themselves and from the exposure and vulnerability of human and natural systems. Economic losses from weather- and climate-related disasters have increased, but with large spatial and inter-annual variability. Adaptation to climate change and disaster risk management provides a range of complementary approaches for managing the risks of climate extremes and disasters.