Main content

Hurricanes and Global Warming

Hurricanes and global warming; Also spurious correlations – unpicking cause and coincidence; the future of NASA

In the last few weeks, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have been breaking records as they caused devastating damage in the Atlantic. Is there a link between global warming and these mega hurricanes? Looking at data collected over the last decade, the number of hurricanes each season may not change, but it is possible that strong storms will get even stronger.

Spurious Correlations
Understanding whether events that appear to be connected are one thing caused by the other, or just simple correlation, or patterns of trends, can be a tricky business. But it’s the key to understanding cause and coincidence. Silvia Lazzaris looks at the weird and wonderfully, spuriously correlated world we live in.

The Future of NASA
Ellen Stofan, former NASA Chief Scientist, shares her opinion on the new nominee for NASA administrator, Jim Bridenstine. She talks about the role of NASA in leading scientific enquiry and its responsibility to exploring space and in building human resilience to extreme weather events like hurricanes.

Picture: Hurricane Katia (l) Hurricane Irma (m) and Hurricane Jose (r) in the Atlantic Ocean on September 7, 2017, credit: NOAA

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Sun 17 Sep 2017 00:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 14 Sep 2017 19:32GMT
  • Fri 15 Sep 2017 02:32GMT
  • Fri 15 Sep 2017 04:32GMT
  • Fri 15 Sep 2017 06:32GMT
  • Fri 15 Sep 2017 13:32GMT
  • Sun 17 Sep 2017 00:32GMT

Podcast