Study finds climate change drove Hurricane Polo intensification more than El Niño

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 15 Oct, 07:32 · Archive

A study finds climate change was the primary driver of Hurricane Polo's explosive intensification to Category 5 strength.

A new study published by science teams World Weather Attribution and Climate Central finds that both climate change and El Niño combined to drive Hurricane Polo's rapid intensification last month. The hurricane explosively strengthened from a tropical storm to Category 5 in just 24 hours and became the longest-lasting Category 5 storm ever recorded in the Pacific, spending two-and-a-half days at that strength.

Global warming caused by burning coal, oil and gas was the larger factor, contributing about 6 mph to the hurricane's strength, whilst El Niño contributed about 5 mph. The study found that climate change made the conditions fuelling the hurricane 23 times more likely, whilst El Niño made them 14 times more likely.

Climate scientist Friederike Otto, a study co-author who coordinates World Weather Attribution, stated that 'El Niño and climate change both made this hurricane stronger than it would have otherwise been, but the effect of climate change is even bigger than the one of El Niño'. The study attributes the extreme conditions to 88-degree Fahrenheit waters that were as much as 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal, partly linked to the unusually strong El Niño this year.

Study finds climate change drove Hurricane Polo intensification more than El Niño — Image: Clickorlando

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How it is being reported

Study says global warming did more than El Niño to turbocharge Hurricane PoloBoth climate change and a strong El Niño combined to cause Hurricane Polo to explosively intensify from a tropical storm to a Category 5 monster in just 24 hours.Clickorlando · 15 Oct, 07:03
Study says global warming did more than El Niño to turbocharge Hurricane PoloBoth climate change and a strong El Niño combined to cause Hurricane Polo to explosively intensify from a tropical storm to a Category 5 monster in just 24 hours.News4Jax · 15 Oct, 07:03

In this story: World Weather Attribution · Climate Central · Hurricane Polo · Pacific · Friederike Otto

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