Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton

Stronger Storms, Warmer Seas: How Climate Change Fueled the Latest Gulf Hurricane

In October 2024, Hurricane Milton tore through the Gulf of Mexico with devastating force. Classified as a Category 5 storm, Milton wasn’t just powerful—it was supercharged. According to the scientists at World Weather Attribution, the storm’s intensity and destructive capacity were made significantly more likely and more severe due to human-caused climate change.

So, how exactly is climate change making hurricanes worse?

At the core of this crisis is the heating of our oceans. Greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels—coal, oil, and gas—trap heat in the atmosphere. A large portion of that excess heat is absorbed by the oceans. In the Gulf of Mexico, sea surface temperatures were about 1.26°C (2.3°F) warmer than they would have been without global warming.

This warmer water acts like jet fuel for hurricanes. It accelerates their formation, intensifies their winds, and dramatically increases rainfall. In Hurricane Milton’s case, climate change made its extreme rainfall and wind speeds 200 to 500 times more likely, according to the attribution study.

The Core Problem

The underlying issue is simple but urgent: we are heating up the planet. And as the Earth warms, our weather gets more violent. We’re not just talking about distant polar ice melting or heatwaves in faraway places—we're seeing stronger, wetter, faster hurricanes right now, hitting coastlines harder and leaving communities shattered.

Hurricane Milton isn’t just a freak event—it’s a symptom. Climate change is no longer a future problem. It’s the engine behind stronger storms, rising seas, and weather extremes that are already reshaping our world. If we want to stop this storm cycle from spiraling further, we need bold, collective climate action—now.

Published By - Anya Pal

October 18th 2024

Published By - Anya Pal

September 29th 2024