A number of recent studies have shown increased
frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events
in recent decades (Easterling et al. 2000; Trenberth et al.
2003; Groisman et al. 2005; Lau and Wu 2007; Allan and
Soden 2008; Min et al. 2011; IPCC 2012). Recordbreaking
rainfall events have been reported around
the world. For example, heavy rain over northern
Pakistan in late July 2010 caused the worst flooding in
the history of the country. In the spring of 2011, record
heavy precipitation events contributed to some of the
worst flooding in the lower Mississippi River in the past
century. During the same year, North Korea recorded
the wettest summer on record since 1908, while heavy
monsoon rain caused the worst flooding over Thailand
since 1942.