Fire and floods: Did climate play a role in this fall's disasters?

Wildfires. Floods. Hurricanes. Earthquakes.

In a disaster-filled fall, it’s no wonder some people are feeling like Mother Nature is in an all-out assault against humanity.

Predictably – and perhaps, rightly – it’s led to renewed outrage about the dangers of climate change and the need for better disaster planning. But is this really a sign of what we can expect going forward? Yes, and no.

Most climate scientists say the warming climate has affected conditions such that we can expect more extremes of certain sorts: heat waves, heavy rainfall, droughts. Sea-level rise has worsened storm surge and sunny-day flooding. And significant, but still controversial, research has started to tease out climate change’s role in contributing to more severe storms and hurricanes as well as lengthening the wildfire season and creating hotter, drier conditions in which fires can flourish.

But there’s also no solid research at this point linking any of this fall’s specific prominent disasters to climate change

Asking the right questionsFinding opportunity in disaster