Global Warning
Take hurricanes, for example. Are they caused by climate change? No, but they are affected by it. For instance, Hurricane Ian was one of the most devastating and destructive storms Florida has ever endured. One of the top five strongest storms ever to make landfall here, Ian was the deadliest hurricane to strike us in nearly 100 years.
Many factors contributed to Hurricane Ian, so, alone, the storm can’t tell us much. But when we compare data from Ian to data from other major storms throughout history, a pattern becomes clear.
“You need to look at trends,” states Kim Prather, Distinguished Chair in Atmospheric Chemistry at University of California, San Diego. “And there is definitely an increase in the number of major weather-related disasters occurring over recent decades.”
Experts agree that while climate change cannot be credited with causing one storm, the historical changes in surface temperatures, sea level, and rainfall clearly indicate that climate change contributes directly to the strength and size of a storm.
Andrew Dessler is the director of Texas Center for Climate Studies and professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M. While discussing Hurricane Ian, Dessler said, “We are 100% sure that the storm surge was more damaging because it was riding on a higher sea level. We are very confident that global warming is also causing more rainfall from hurricanes because warmer air holds more water.”
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for ways to make a positive impact. In its most recent Synthesized Report (2014), the IPCC stated clearly, “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal.”
So, what can we do? Well, that’s what we’re here to discover – together!
