Climate Change Enhances Impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton
Scientists report that human-caused climate change intensified Hurricane Helene’s rainfall by 10% and wind speeds by 11%. As Hurricane Milton approaches, similar effects are expected. Ongoing fossil fuel reliance threatens to worsen the frequency and impact of hurricanes, necessitating urgent action for climate resilience.
Recent scientific studies indicate that human-induced climate change significantly exacerbated the effects of Hurricane Helene, increasing its rainfall by approximately 10% and its wind speeds by around 11%. This alarming finding has emerged as Hurricane Milton, which is expected to impact the Florida coast shortly after Helene, is similarly influenced by climate change. The World Weather Attribution (WWA) published an analysis revealing that the elevated ocean temperatures, which were 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) above average, made conditions for Helene 200 to 500 times more likely. The study highlighted that Helene’s wind speeds increased by an estimated 13 miles per hour (20.92 kilometers per hour) due to these warmer conditions. The devastating hurricane not only resulted in record storm surges of 15 feet (4.57 meters) upon making landfall but also inflicted catastrophic sustained winds of 140 miles per hour (225.31 kilometers per hour), leading to unprecedented destruction across several states, including Georgia and the Carolinas. According to Ben Clarke, a co-author of the study and climate researcher at Imperial College London, “Hurricane Helene and the storms that were happening in the region anyway have all been amplified by the fact that the air is warmer and can hold more moisture, which meant that the rainfall totals — which, even without climate change, would have been incredibly high given the circumstances — were even higher.” As scientists continue to analyze Milton’s potential impacts, predictions suggest it may experience similar intensification. The ongoing reliance on fossil fuels is expected to yield even more severe hurricanes in the future, coupled with the risk of unprecedented flooding far inland, as many fatalities were linked to flooding caused by Helene. The study also noted that hurricanes comparable in intensity to Helene are now approximately 2.5 times more likely to occur than in the past. The WWA, which has been assessing extreme weather’s links to climate change since its establishment in 2015, employed advanced weather data and climate models to assess Helene’s impact. A recent analysis by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab corroborated the findings, indicating that climate change increased rainfall in regions affected by Helene by 50% and made such rainfall events up to 20 times more likely. Experts like Kim Cobb, director at the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, emphasize the need for heightened emergency preparedness and resilience planning in light of these findings. She warns that future warming will worsen hurricane statistics, stating, “Going forward, additional warming that we know will occur over the next 10 or 20 years will even worsen the statistics of hurricanes, and we will break new records.” This sequence of severe storms underscores the urgent need for a transition away from fossil fuel dependence to mitigate these risks and control future climate trajectories, as Clarke notes: “That just hinges on how we change our energy systems and how many more fossil fuels we burn.”
The article addresses the alarming confirmation from scientific studies that climate change is exacerbating severe weather events, particularly hurricanes. Focusing on Hurricanes Helene and Milton, it highlights how human activities contributing to climate change have intensified rainfall and wind speeds, increasing the risks associated with these storms. The implications of such findings are significant, not only for coastal areas but for inland regions that also face severe flooding. The article underscores the urgency of tackling climate change to prevent future catastrophes and emphasizes the need for enhanced preparedness in light of the predicted increase in hurricane frequency and intensity.
In conclusion, the impacts of climate change on Hurricane Helene serve as a stark reminder of the growing risks posed by increasingly severe weather patterns. Scientific evidence indicates that human activities significantly enhance the intensity of hurricanes, resulting in catastrophic impacts on communities. As the threat from Hurricane Milton looms, experts stress the importance of proactive measures in emergency preparedness and the urgent need to reduce fossil fuel dependence to mitigate future climate change effects.
Original Source: abcnews.go.com
