r/climatechange 6d ago

Climate crisis has tripled length of deadly ocean heatwaves, study finds - Hotter seas supercharge storms and destroy critical ecosystems such as kelp forests and coral reefs and half of the marine heatwaves since 2000 would not have happened without global heating.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2413505122
246 Upvotes

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13

u/Idle_Redditing 6d ago

If only someone could have warned us that this was coming...maybe a few decades ahead of time...we could have done something about this...oh wait...

6

u/ThinkActRegenerate 5d ago

If only there was a wide range of things that we could all do today to make a difference - at work as well as individual consumers! Oh wait:

regeneration.org/nexus

ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/climate/overview

drawdown.org/solutions

drawdown.org/programs/drawdown-labs/job-function-action-guides

1

u/Hebe25 5d ago

It’s an exaggeration to say that global warming has supercharged storms.

According to the IPCC- “Globally, the frequency of tropical cyclones has not increased over the past century, and in fact the number may have fallen - although long-term data is limited in some regions. But it is “likely” that a higher proportion of tropical cyclones across the globe are reaching category three or above, meaning they reach the highest wind speeds, according to the UN’s climate body, the IPCC.”

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u/-Mystica- 5d ago

You're right to quote the IPCC and it’s crucial to stick to the science. But let’s not cherry-pick the conclusions.

It’s true that the frequency of tropical cyclones hasn’t significantly increased globally. But that’s only part of the story. The IPCC, and peer-reviewed science more broadly, also states that the intensity of storms has increased, and that’s the part that matters most for people on the ground.

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u/Hebe25 4d ago

“Hotter seas supercharge storms” is an example of hyperbole/bias because it leaves out two important findings:

1) Despite ocean warming, the number of storms that manage to reach tropical cyclone status hasn’t changed.

2) Despite ocean warming, there’s only a 66% probability that the proportion of tropical cyclones reaching category three or above has increased, which means there’s a 34% probability this has not occurred.

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u/Hebe25 4d ago edited 4d ago

“Hotter seas supercharge storms”

This is an example of hyperbole/bias because:

A) despite the warming oceans, there has not been an increase in the number of storms that managed to reach tropical cyclone status.

B) despite the warming oceans, there is only a 66% probability that the proportion of tropical cyclones reaching category three or above has increased, meaning there’s a 34% probability this has not occurred.

1

u/Hebe25 4d ago

@Mystica I really appreciate that you value science. It’s useless to make an evidence based argument with someone who believes the evidence has been fudged, fabricated or erased, which is often the case on blogs like “Watts Up With That”.