Peter Gleick: Humans Are Changing the Climate Making Storms Like Irma Stronger

‘We have to realize that Irma is bigger than it probably would have been otherwise because it’s passing over very, very warm ocean water’

RUSH EXCERPT:
GLEICK: "We get hurricanes all the time. They’re a natural part of the Earth’s climate. But part of the debate about climate change has been reignited with the presence of first Harvey and now this monster storm Irma. Because of a growing realization that the fact that we’re changing the climate, that humans are changing the climate, means that we’re influencing the severity of some of these big storms. Irma is a monster, and the warnings that we’ve all been hearing should be heed. And frankly, I think the media has been doing a great job at getting the news out. But we have to realize that Irma is bigger than it probably would have been otherwise because it’s passing over very, very warm ocean water. Hurricanes get their power, they get their moisture from the ocean. The ocean is warmer than it otherwise would have been because we’re changing the climate, and many climate scientists, feel that it’s made Irma even stronger than it otherwise would have been. I think that’s a sign of things to come. It’s something we’ll have to pay attention to more and more in the coming years."
 

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