Observations d'événements extrêmes historiques dans le monde, selon les climats et les réseaux de mesure

Abstract

Numerous severe hydro-meteorological events have been observed for centuries. However, a quantitative knowledge of such extreme phenomena has been available for only one or two centuries. Based on observations we display the great variability of heavy rainfall precipitations and extreme discharges in space in terms of magnitude and extent. Basic statistical analyses shows that each hydrological time series has its own characteristics that seem stationary at medium time scale (a few human generations).