weather

How do Scientists Connect Extreme Weather Events to Climate Change?

Posted on by Jordan Nutting

This year ushered in a series of intense weather events that impacted communities across the globe: record-breaking heat waves; super-charged cyclones; intense flooding; coastal waters hitting a balmy 38°C (1–4). Attributing extreme weather to climate change has become the norm when reporting on these seemingly more frequent and intense events. But beyond simply acknowledging weather to be more violent or destructive than it was in the past, how is it that climate experts are able to determine if increasing greenhouse gas levels are the culprit behind these extreme weather events? The answers can be found in climate attribution science.

Waves are whipped up on a flooded street while palm trees are bending under the force of the wind during hurricane Irma.
Attribution studies have shown that climate change increased the amount of rainfall during Hurricane Irma, a particularly intense 2017 hurricane (5).
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Making Sense of Climate Change

Posted on by Jordan Nutting

Earlier this year, I had an opportunity to attend a virtual talk presented by leading climate scientist and communicator Dr. Katharine Hayhoe. She began by asking the audience to send in one word that describes how they feel when thinking about climate change. The responses popped up live in a word cloud on Hayhoe’s shared screen:

Anxious

Frozen

ARGHH!

Those words also describe how I felt when I realized the conclusion to my series of blogs on the 2021 Nobel Prizes would address the topic of climate change.

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