In early 2025, severe weather events highlighted the effects of climate change, with reports indicating 2024 was the hottest year globally. Advances in climate science facilitate the understanding of how extreme weather correlates with anthropogenic influences. While not all weather changes are linked to climate change, evidence suggests that rising global temperatures are reshaping weather patterns significantly. Researchers have developed methods to assess the influence of climate change on specific weather events, revealing a profound connection between human activities and environmental outcomes.
The onset of 2025 has been marked by extreme weather events, including 100-mph winds in Southern California that ignited record-setting wildfires, and winter storms that dumped snow on the Mid-Atlantic and Southern regions. At the same time, global meteorological organizations reported that 2024 was the hottest year recorded, largely due to human-driven climate change.
Researchers once found it challenging to draw direct connections between singular weather incidents and anthropogenic climate change. However, advancements in scientific methodologies over the past decade now enable more precise assessments of how climate change influences extreme weather phenomena, such as heatwaves, hurricanes, and wildfires.
While not every weather pattern can be directly attributed to climate change, the discernible rise in global temperatures shows a clear correlation with many recent extreme weather occurrences. Justin Mankin, a climate scientist at Dartmouth College, commented, “The trends in climate are shaping new weather possibilities that were maybe unprecedented.”
The distinction between weather and climate is critical, as scientists divide them into specific terms: climate is the long-term average of weather patterns while weather reflects immediate atmospheric conditions. Danielle Touma of the University of Texas, Austin, elaborated, saying, “The climate is basically the clothes you have in your closet;” contrasting that with the weather, which dictates daily clothing selections based on immediate conditions.
Typically defined as a 30-year average of daily weather, climate encompasses a wider range of conditions. Deepti Singh, a climate scientist at Washington State University, notes that while distinct weather patterns influence averages, the steady evolution of climate change suggests increased variability in daily conditions would continue to exist.
As global temperature has ascended approximately 1.3 degrees Celsius since the mid-1800s due to fossil fuel combustion, this increase gradually affects daily weather outcomes, often in subtle ways. Singh asserts, “Everything we’re experiencing, it is occurring in a different environment,” indicating that contemporary weather patterns are inherently altered by these climatic shifts.
Notably, regions such as Michigan and Ohio now experience over a week fewer days of freezing temperatures, while the frequency of heat waves in the United States has more than tripled since the 1960s. These climate changes are reshaping atmospheric and oceanic patterns, leading to unprecedented weather events—evident in the 2021 heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, where anomalous atmospheric conditions and human-induced climate change compounded to intensify the heat.
Recent scientific methodologies, known as “detection” and “attribution,” enable researchers to assess the impact of human activities on climate and weather events. By utilizing climate models, they compare hypotheticals of a world unaffected by fossil fuel emissions to current realities, quantifying the influence of climate change on specific weather occurrences.
For instance, analyses of Hurricane Helene revealed that its rainfall was approximately 10% more intense due to climate change, with a 40% higher likelihood of occurrence. Mankin likens this analysis to clinical trials, whereby effects of a treatment are compared against a control group, reinforcing the significance of climate data in assessing human impacts on weather patterns.
The article addresses the relationship between extreme weather events and their possible connection to climate change driven by human activities. It underscores recent advancements in climate science that enhance the understanding of how fluctuations in climate affect patterns of weather phenomena. The context of record-breaking weather events in 2025 serves as a focal point for discussing these contemporary scientific insights, allowing a clearer view of the changes impacting the environment.
The increasing evidence shows a significant relationship between human-induced climate change and extreme weather events. Scientists are now able to trace the origins of certain weather patterns back to climate alterations caused by fossil fuel use. Understanding the distinction between weather and climate further emphasizes the ongoing impacts these changes impose on our planet. As such, continued research and awareness are crucial for mitigating future environmental impacts.
Original Source: www.delmarvapublicmedia.org
