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FACT BRIEF

Has human-caused climate change increased extreme weather?

By Sue Bin Park
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YES

Planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather, jeopardizing the stability of ecosystems and human populations.

Warmer temperatures increase evaporation while warmer air holds more moisture. This has caused prolonged heat waves and drought in some regions and intensified precipitation, storms, and flooding in others.

Global warming has also increased sea levels due to ice melt and thermal expansion of the oceans, worsening storm surges and coastal flooding.

Impacts of these ongoing trends include ecosystem disruption, crop failures, water shortages, infrastructure damage, mass displacement, and increased disease and death.

In a study published in 2023, researchers used satellites to measure abnormally wet or dry conditions around the world between 2002 and 2021. They concluded that “extreme hydroclimatic events” are increasing with global warming, risking “dire consequences for human health, food security, human migration and regional unrest and conflict.”

See a full discussion of this at Skeptical Science
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Environmental Defense Fund Extreme weather is getting a boost from climate change
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate change impacts
Nature Changing intensity of hydroclimatic extreme events revealed by GRACE and GRACE-FO
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Skeptical Science
Skeptical Science is a non-profit science education organization. Our goal is to remove a roadblock to climate action by building public resilience against climate misinformation. We achieve this by publishing debunking of climate myths as well as providing resources for educators, communicators, scientists, and the general public. Skeptical Science was founded and is led by John Cook, a Senior Research Fellow with the Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change at the University of Melbourne.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.