Weather Patterns


The great degree of variability in the climate system makes it very difficult to distinguish trends from anomalies.


“. . . it’s really important to be able to put long term patterns into the context of historical variability.”


Roger Pielke Jr., University of Colorado


There is such a large degree of variability in the climate system, making it very difficult to know if a series of events represent a real shift in a trend or are simply part of a random streak. The insurance community often seeks answers that scientists cannot know, but insurers can glean important lessons if they pay attention to things they can know, such as business processes and exposures. For example, while scientists couldn’t have predicted the Thailand floods in advance, the consequential disruption of the global supply chain could have been anticipated and the risk mitigated.


Copyright © 2012 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise.


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