The Summer of Scientifically Inconvenient Hurricanes

Contact for Interviews: Richard Morrison, 202-331-2273 

Washington, D.C., September 30, 2004—Recent hurricane activity in Florida and throughout the southeastern U.S. has prompted much speculation as to whether a particular cause or trend is to blame, and temperature data released by NASA suggests one possible answer.  Despite repeated predictions from global warming alarmists that warmer weather will lead to more hurricanes and other extreme weather events, this summer’s large number of hurricanes has been accompanied by the coolest summer temperatures in several years.

“A link between warmer weather and extreme weather events has been theorized by some climate modelers, but the real world seems to contradict that theory,” said Myron Ebell, Director of Global Warming & International Environmental Policy.  “In fact, there is a consensus among scientific experts: in a warmer world, extratropical storminess will be reduced.” 

“This reversal of alarmists’ claims has implications far beyond the realm of meteorology,” said CEI Senior Fellow Iain Murray.  “The same climate models and theories that connect increasing storms with higher temperatures form the basis for much of the international response to the question of global climate change.  The Kyoto Protocol and similar policies such as the Lieberman-McCain Climate Stewardship Act are increasingly justified on the basis of unreasonable speculation and climate models that cannot even replicate past climate history.”

NASA climate data online: http://www.giss.nasa.gov/data/update/gistemp/GLB.Ts.txt