Op-Ed: Hurricane Ian and the coming climate crash
When a hurricane makes landfall on this island in October, it might seem reasonable to expect that the island will be covered with snow and ice. But that’s not what happened.
In fact, the winds on the island blew so hard, they blew off the tops of the trees, bringing down some power lines, and they tore up the road that the city uses to bring in salt water for the beach. In the end, the winds were too strong and the rain too heavy.
In the end, the winds were too strong and the rain too heavy. (John Davenport/Daily News/TNS)
Here’s what scientists have concluded about this year’s Hurricane Ian.
First, though, it’s worth noting that the hurricane is expected to stay offshore for the next three days. So, the stormside damage is going to be much lower than the coastal storm surge (a storm surge of 10 feet is what is expected to make landfall in most cases).
What does that mean for the long-term damage?
In a study published in Nature Climate Change, scientists Michael Mann, Robert Socolow, and Judith Keenan found that climate change was the biggest risk factor in the recent spate of extreme weather events, such as the floods and droughts that flooded New Orleans and Washington, D.C. They said that climate change was also the most effective predictor for extreme weather events over the past few decades. The researchers found that the odds of an event happening just after a hurricane is up to 17 times higher than if it occurs in non-tropical areas.
And if you have hurricane season, that means that you have odds of at least 17 times higher in your lifetime of at least 17 times greater in your lifetime of at least 17 times greater in your lifetime of at least 17 times greater in your lifetime of at least 17 times greater in your lifetime of at least 17 times greater than for a typical coastal storm. If you’re not in a hurricane season, chances of at least 17