The report oil companies are worried about: Climate attribution science
New report says our ability to tie weather damages to climate change is improving.
New report says our ability to tie weather damages to climate change is improving.
The short version
- Climate change is being driven largely by the greenhouse gases we’ve pumped into the atmosphere, which trap more of the Sun’s energy there.
- That added energy increases the odds of extreme events: longer, more intense heat waves and droughts, interspersed with excessive precipitation.
- But these sorts of events have happened in the past—how can we tell if any given weather disaster has been made more likely by the climate?
What happened
It’s a question with implications for everything from building codes to disaster preparedness. The report also notes that there are still important limits and suggests steps to address them.
Why it matters
Overall, this makes it clear that climate attribution is normal, mainstream science.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.