As President Trump turns US government policy away from the realities of climate change, a new scientific study confirms a link between climate pollution and dangerously extreme weather. The irony of the timing is not lost on the study’s lead author.
We’re getting better at figuring out whether something like this month’s deluge in Louisiana was influenced by climate change. And that’s important, says a climate scientist who’s also an aid worker, to get a better handle on what might be ahead to try to avert more human disasters.We’re getting better at figuring out whether something like this month’s deluge in Louisiana was influenced by climate change. And that’s important, says a climate scientist who’s also an aid worker, to get a better handle on what might be ahead to try to avert more human disasters.
Even as the weather becomes increasingly unpredictable and extreme events become increasingly frequent, it’s still considered scientifically incorrect to blame global warning for any one event. But a new report says it is now possible to estimate the influence of climate change on some types of extreme events, such as heat waves, drought and heavy precipitation.
The “thousand-year” flood that hit the Carolinas earlier this week is just the latest in a string of extraordinary rain events in the US and around the world. And while the details differ, they fit into a pattern directly linked to climate change.