News
How Are Hurricanes Connected to Climate Change?
Hurricanes are intensifying faster, reaching further inland and costing billions in damage as the climate warms.
By Amy Green, Bob Berwyn, James Bruggers
Hurricanes have become a symbol for climate change and a rallying call for action. Scientists still debate how climate affects hurricanes, but they know a lot more about the storms.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate science
State of Play
What began as a theory in the 1890s — that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide could increase global temperatures — had progressed to a scientific fact a century later. Scientists across a range of disciplines are studying the impact of the still-growing concentration of carbon dioxide and other so-called “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere as they call for industrial and governmental policies to slow, then halt, the warming of the planet.