by Angelik Nehme
Hurricane Milton has struck Florida only weeks after Hurricane Helene, leaving a destructive trail behind it, over 14 fatalities have been reported.
Furthermore, over 100 people were saved from a flooded Tampa assisted living center. The hurricane has caused a power outage, leaving over two million residents in the dark.
While alerts have been placed to partially mitigate some of the hurricane’s effect, scientists convey that climate change has significantly accelerated the hurricane’s intensity, with fossil fuel pollution exacerbating the storm’s severity. Hurricane Milton, according to Reuters, intensified to reach Category 5 in a short time.
A World Weather Attribution analysis finds that heavy rainfall for a day, similar to Milton’s, is 20-30% more severe. Such occurrences are approximately twice as probable in our current climate which is 1.3°C warmer than the case without climate change.
These severe weather events are occurring frequently all over the globe, which puts the affected communities in a position to lose their homes, jobs, and ultimately, their security. At this critical time, Hurricane Milton has not only devastated communities, but has also taken the political arena by storm, especially considering the upcoming US elections.
Hurricane Milton brought veteran meteorologist, Morales, to tears on live TV because of its magnitude.
In terms of climate change and our planet’s future, such events put candidates and policymakers in a challenging position, emphasising the need for urgent and comprehensive climate policies despite other pressing concerns.
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