Hurricane Sandy was one the greatest natural disasters we’ve had to deal with in our recent history.  Even now, years later, we are able to still see damage done.  When things so horrendous happen it is in our nature to ask why.  Many of us want to know what caused Hurricane Sandy and what we can do to make sure that something of that magnitude never occurs again. Global warming is another hot button issue that has been rising to greater and greater prominence in the past years. It is hard for anyone to deny the excessive damage global warming is doing to our world as more time goes by.  When considering these two issues together it is easy to come to the conclusion that global warming is the reason behind Hurricane Sandy.  But upon further research you will discover that this is not the case.  Global warming contributed to Hurricane Sandy but it is not the sole cause of it.

The reason that this is such an important issue is first off because global warming is still affecting us, even after we are rebuilding from Sandy we have to wonder what we are rebuilding for if global warming will still be contributing to such destructive events.  It is easy to see why people would put the full blame of Hurricane Sandy on global warming.  According to the LA times “more than half of Americans now believe that climate change caused by human activity is occurring, and 58% say they are “somewhat” or “very worried” about it.”  More and more people are realizing or becoming more worried about global warming especially when we are faced with such evidence to the destruction it can cause as Hurricane Sandy provided. But it is hard for us to not completely blame global warming when we realize that “Sandy was sitting on top of an ocean that…is a foot higher than it was a century ago because of sea level rise” (LA Times).  What can we blame that on if not global warming?

“Scientists are frequently asked about an event, ‘Is it caused by climate change?’ The answer is that no events are ‘caused by climate change’ or global warming but all events have a contribution” (Springer Link).  This quote beautifully illustrates the issue addressed in this blog and illustrates the stand that I am choosing to take.  Although global warming contributed to the destructiveness of Hurricane Sandy it is not the only cause behind it.  Springer Link is the first source we turn to illustrate the issue global warming is having on our weather and thus on our storms.  According to them “all weather events are affected by climate change because the environment in which they occur is warmer and moister than it used to be.”  Global warming has caused our climate to change and is thus creating an environment that certain weather issues can thrive in.  When our environment is becoming warmer and moister than it used to, this becomes the perfect breeding ground for a hurricane- the type of storm that thrives on warm and moist environment. “The air is on average warmer and moister than it was prior to about 1970 and in turn has likely led to a 5-10% effect on precipitation and storms that is greatly amplified in extremes” (Springer Link).

Hurricane Sandy occurred in late October of 2012.  During the midst of the storm Kevin Trenberth, a distinguished senior scientist at University Corporation for Atmospheric Research wrote online about the relationship between this storm and global warming.  Trenberth clearly illustrates the factors that create a storm of such destruction and although he links these factors being intensified by global warming he illuminates that global warming only contributed to it, and did not cause it.  For example, sea surface temperature contributed to Hurricane Sandy. As Trenberth puts it “with every degree C, the water holding the atmosphere goes up 7%, and the moisture provides fuel for the tropical storm, increases its intensity, and magnifies the rainfall by double that amount compared with normal condition.” Global warming is partially responsible for this because global warming has led to global climate change, which contributes to increased ocean and sea surface temperature.  But again Trenberth describes that global warming is not the sole cause behind Hurricane Sandy because “natural variability and weather has provided the…optimal conditions of a hurricane running into extra tropical conditions to make for a huge intense storm, enhanced by global warming influences.”

There is no doubt that an understanding of the effects of global warming on such extreme weather conditions is a necessity.  As Aslack Grinsted states “you can’t say global warming caused any single event, but when we start to see a trend like this…there’s a good chance these hurricanes wouldn’t be happening without warming…warming goes along with more frequent, large hurricanes.”  The danger behind understanding the relationship though is that it can lead to blame, we can wonder why didn’t our governments or scientists or someone do something sooner.  But when we start doing that we are again just prolonging coming to a solution.  It is clear that global warming contributed to the intensiveness of Hurricane Sandy but it is also clear that we no longer have time to blame someone.  We need to work towards fixing this issue now before we are confronted with another disaster of this magnitude.

Sources

Boxall, Bettina.  “Sandy a galvanizing moment for climate change?” Los Angeles Times. November 4, 2012.

Trenberth, Kevin. “Framing the way to relate climate extremes to climate change.” Springer Link. March 21, 2012.

Trenberth, Kevin. “Hurricane Sandy mixes super-storm conditions with climate change.” The Conversation. October 29, 2012.

Walsh, Teresa. “Was Hurricane Sandy Caused by Global Warming?” US News. October 30, 2012.