Many people were stunned to see the intense flooding and devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina communities, located inland and tucked thousands of feet above sea level in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Asheville, North Carolina, has long been considered a “haven” from such disasters. So has the Great Lakes region.
“Unfortunately, extreme weather is always such a timely discussion. We’re talking about Helene, but every week it’s something different, every day it’s something different,” said Bernadette Woods Placky, chief meteorologist at the climate science education nonprofit Climate Central. “Weather is the primary way that people experience climate change.
” But the topic of climate change continues to be contentious, especially in the run-up to November’s presidential election. During Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, downplayed the role of fossil fuel emissions in climate change, labeling it “weird science” despite overwhelming scientific consensus that these heat-trapping greenhouse gases are indeed the leading cause.
Today, experts are better equipped than ever to draw connections between climate change from human activities and extreme weather including heatwaves, heavy rainfall, storms and droughts. Called weather attribution science, researchers have honed and refined their methods for almost two decades using real-world data and models to establish if and how climate .
