Kerry Emanuel speaks out on hurricanes
Kerry Emanuel is a climate scientist at MIT. He?s been central in a controversy over whether global warming is making hurricanes more intense.
Emanuel’s data suggests it’s happening. Other experts have disagreed. In 2005, the increased hurricane activity was said by some to be part of a natural cycle of Atlantic hurricane activity that rises and falls every few decades.
Kerry Emanuel: I think that idea is dead and I think one of the key observations is that one of the people involved in the original papers that linked it to a phenomenon called the Atlantic Mutlidecadal Oscillation – that person himself seriously doubts that now. So, I think within a year that story will be largely finished.
He said in science knowing the “truth” often involves waiting. Another example was Earth’s ozone hole. He said scientists once disagreeed that humnan activities were the cause. So when will we know if global warming is making hurricanes stronger?
Kerry Emanuel: I have some confidence that, say on the time scale of a year or so, we’ll really understand this a lot better.
Our thanks to NASA explore, discover, understand.
Read our interview at earthsky.org with Kerry Emanuel.
Photo Gallery: Hurricanes of 2005
Our thanks to:
Kerry Emanuel
Additional Teacher Resources
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Kerry Emanuels Home Page
We are optimistic that continued research will eventually resolve much of the current controversy over the effect of climate change on hurricanes. But the more urgent problem of our lemming-like march to the sea requires immediate and sustained attention. We call upon leaders of government and industry to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of building practices, and insurance, land use, and disaster relief policies that currently serve to promote an ever-increasing vulnerability to hurricanes.
Living on Earth: Hurricanes and Climate Change
MIT Professor Kerry Emanuel talks about his book “Divine Wind: the History and Science of Hurricanes.” Emanuels latest research, published in Nature Magazine, shows a startling global increase in hurricane strength and duration, which he correlates to rising sea temperatures linked to global warming.
