It is only June and the hurricane season is under way. Danny dumped 150mm of rain on Alabama but no great damage. There are a couple of weather systems to keep a watch on, but neither have been named – Elsa is next, to be followed by Fred. There has been a rare hurricane in the South Atlantic which has been named Raoni by the Brazilian navy and has brought winds in excess of 110kph.
Climate change? I think that no one event can be put down exclusively to global warming/climate change, but the collective increase in weather related incidences. Further problems occur when trying to compare historic data. Deaths are inevitably a key statistic, but world population has trebled since 1950, more people have moved to places like Florida meaning that insurance claims have increased. More people have built houses in fire vulnerable situations and in flood danger areas. And we have ever better recording devices including satellites. However despite these caveats it does seem that our weather has made some changes. In the UK spring is coming earlier, temperatures are creeping up, subtle changes. Wildlife with no border controls or passports and visa’s seems to be reflecting this.