Extreme precipitation often persists for multiple days with variable duration but has usually been examined at fixed duration. Here we show that considering extreme persistent precipitation by complete event with variable duration, rather than a fixed temporal period, is a necessary metric to account for the complexity of changing precipitation. Observed global mean annual‐maximum precipitation is significantly stronger (49.5%) for persistent extremes than daily extremes. However, both globally observed and modeled rates of relative increases are lower for persistent extremes compared to daily extremes, especially for Southern Hemisphere and large regions in the 0‐45°N latitude band. Climate models also show significant differences in the magnitude and partly even the sign of local mean changes between daily and persistent extremes in global warming projections. Changes in extreme precipitation therefore are more complex than previously reported, and extreme precipitation events with varying duration should be taken into account for future climate change assessments.

The occurrence of extreme climate events (ECEs) in the Amazon basin (AMZ) and northeast Brazil (NEB), such as torrential rains and severe droughts, varies in both spatial and temporal scales. Spatial analysis of trends allows observing changes in behaviour and determining in which regions a particular variable has been experiencing changes over time. Thus, the objective of this study is to analyse trends of 21 climate extremes indices, relative to maximum and minimum precipitation and temperature, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization, for the AMZ and NEB. The 21 indices were selected according to meteorological and climate characteristics of the regions. Through annual analysis it was possible to observe an increase in most of the climate extremes indices for air temperature in all AMZ and NEB subregions. As for extreme precipitation, only a few of the selected indices presented significant increase and/or decrease in their values. Overall, the eastern Amazon subregion in the AMZ presented the highest significant indices for temperature and precipitation. In NEB, both Northern Coast and Southern Coast subregions presented substantial increase or decrease in precipitation and temperature indices.

The Brazilian Amazon is a large territory, where different weather systems act, contributing to non‐homogeneity of the rainfall seasonal distribution in the region. The aim of this study is to determine sub‐regions of homogeneous precipitation in the Amazon, linking them to the main atmospheric systems that affect the rainfall in the region. For this, hierarchical cluster analysis was applied on a data set composed by 305 rain gauges. The results suggest that the Brazilian Amazon has six pluvial homogeneous regions.