Several years have passed since the publication of the first edition of the Dangerous Weather series of books. Much has happened during that time and my friends at Facts On File and I felt it would be appropriate to revise all of the books in the series in order to bring them up to date. As we began to prepare the new editions, it occurred to us that none of the books so much as mentioned climate change, yet in the minds of many people this is the single most important environmental issue of our time. Omitting the topic from a series of books about the atmosphere might make it seem that we were either ignorant or uncaring. First, though, we had to decide whether the subject would fit into the overall concept of the series. Is it “dangerous weather”? Obviously, it is “weather.” Is it dangerous? If some of the more alarming predictions were to come true, many people would be at risk. Sea levels might rise, causing flooding in coastal areas. Agricultural yields might decrease, causing food prices to rise. Some people would suffer, although the suffering would not be shared equally—it never is. So we decided that, yes, climate change can be considered dangerous. It is a suitable topic for a book on Dangerous Weather.