The article reviews the observed variability and trends in extreme climate events, highlighting the increasing attention and concern due to the significant economic and human losses associated with these events. The authors discuss the challenges in monitoring and detecting changes in extreme events, particularly the lack of high-quality, long-term data. They review trends in temperature extremes, precipitation, droughts, and tropical storms, noting that while some regions show increases in extreme events, others show declines. The article also examines the impact of enhanced media coverage on public perception and the role of societal changes in increasing vulnerability to extreme events. It emphasizes the importance of developing comprehensive indices to monitor and understand long-term variations and trends in climate extremes, and calls for enhanced support for global climate observing systems to improve data availability and quality.The article reviews the observed variability and trends in extreme climate events, highlighting the increasing attention and concern due to the significant economic and human losses associated with these events. The authors discuss the challenges in monitoring and detecting changes in extreme events, particularly the lack of high-quality, long-term data. They review trends in temperature extremes, precipitation, droughts, and tropical storms, noting that while some regions show increases in extreme events, others show declines. The article also examines the impact of enhanced media coverage on public perception and the role of societal changes in increasing vulnerability to extreme events. It emphasizes the importance of developing comprehensive indices to monitor and understand long-term variations and trends in climate extremes, and calls for enhanced support for global climate observing systems to improve data availability and quality.