Is the Climate Crisis a Factor in the Winter Storms?

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Climate crisis is going to increase the likelihood of extre weather events in the future. One type of event that has not become more extreme or more intense and likely because of climate change are wind storms. Heat waves and also heavy rainfall events already have become more likely and more intense. And this means these storms are more damaging than they would be without climate change.

Over the past week, the UK has been hit with three storms: Dudley, Eunice and Franklin. With high winds and heavy rain, they have brought death and injury, caused extensive damage to trees and infrastructure and stopped transport across the country. Madeleine Finlay speaks to Dr Fredi Otto about how rare these weather events are, and whether the climate crisis could bring us more frequent and intense storms in the future. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod