Climatic extremes generally exert far more damage to human, economic, and natural environmental systems than changes in mean climate. In addition, it is possible that a changing global climate may trigger a disproportionate response in extremes of wind, precipitation, and temperature. This session will thus focus upon observed extreme events in a recent past, how theses extremes are linked to changing global/regional climate during the 20th century, and the manner in which they may shift under enhanced radiative forcing as expected in the 21st century. Papers are being sought that deal with physical mechanisms underlying past, present and future climatic extremes, both from the observational and the modeling points of view. In order to render the session more interdisciplinary, contributions that discuss the past, present, and future environmental and socio-economic impacts of extreme climatic events are also welcome.