Extreme weather in the United States.<br/> <br />Superstorm Sandy strikes the East Coast.<br/> <br />In its aftermath some wonder whether extreme weather events around the world are linked to global warming.<br/> <br />As scientists and policymakers prepare for the Doha climate conference it is a question on more minds.<br/> <br />It's also an issue raised by U.S. President Barack Obama at his first post election news conference.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, SAYING:<br/> <br />"We do know that there have been extraordinarily--, there have been an extraordinarily large number of severe weather events here in North America, but also around the globe. And I am a firm believer that climate change is real, that it is impacted by human behavior and carbon emissions and, as a consequence, I think we've got an obligation to future generations to do something about it."<br/> <br />Delegates from 190 countries will meet in Doha at a U.N. conference next week to work on emissions cuts under a new climate pact.<br/> <br />It comes at a critical times says Janet Redman, of the Institute for Policy Studies.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) JANET REDMAN, THE CO-DIRECTOR OF THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AND ECONOMY NETWORK AT THE INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES, SAYING:<br/> <br />"We've heard for 20 years now scientists telling us that extreme weather is one of the trends that we would see when we have a warmer planet, and I think that's coming to fruition right now. It's coming faster than we thought it would, which is the scary reality."<br/> <br />The World Bank warned this week that the world is likely to warm by 3-4 degrees by the end of the century and extreme weather will become the "new normal."
