Supertyphoon Haiyan and Superstorm Sandy would not have been as severe in a world without warming

http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2013/11/17/weekend-reading-haiyan-environmental-revolt-red-state-opinion/

Posted on November 17, 2013

Supertyphoon Haiyan and Superstorm Sandy "would not have been as severe in a world without warming," writes Michael Mann, in calling for action on climate change. "The bottom line is this: climate change makes tropical storms more damaging."

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Michael Mann at EcoWatch on Super Typhoon Haiyan: Realities of a Warmed World and Need for Immediate Climate Action:

For now, super storms are still rare. However, models suggest more frequent and intense storms in a warmed world. ...

The unusually deep, unusually warm pool of water that provided the initial fuel is unlikely to have existed in a world without warming. Global warming-induced sea level rise contributed to the 20-foot storm surges that caught victims off guard, much as it contributed to Sandy’s record 13-foot coastal surge that flooded substantial sections of New York and New Jersey. These events would not have been as severe in a world without warming.

But herein lies the crux—we no longer live in a world without warming. ... [T]he bottom line is this: climate change makes tropical storms more damaging. ...

Michael E. Mann is Distinguished Professor of Meteorology at Penn State University and author of “The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars”, now out in paperback.

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