Are extreme weather events the new norm? Listening to the news might make one think so.

Stories abound about exceptional drought, near-record snowfall and potentially catastrophic flooding. Yet according to scientists, precipitation-- and even the lack thereof-- is a difficult climate variable to fully understand. And then there are monsoons, which can deliver both wet and dry conditions, and are doing so with increasing intensity.

A new book from two UC Santa Barbara climate scientists explores this unique climate phenomenon. "The Monsoons and Climate Change," edited by Leila Carvalho and Charles Jones, analyzes historic observations as well as the latest data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC assesses the world's most recent scientific, technical and socioeconomic information relevant to understanding the risk of human-induced climate change.

"Monsoons play a vital role to humans and the environment," said Jones, an associate professor in UCSB's Department of Geography and a researcher at the campus's Earth Research Institute (ERI). "Often the occurrence of extreme events such as heavy precipitation or droughts can have significant impacts on millions of people who live in monsoon regions and rely on water for human consumption, agriculture, energy and transportation."