---
title: "Today’s Killer Hurricane Is Linked to Climate Change, Scientists Say"
description: "Hurricane Ida just hit the South east coast on Sunday, leaving the entire city of New Orleans without power.  "
date: "2021-08-30"
modified: "2021-08-30"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/hurricane-ida-climate-change"
categories:
  - "Climate Change"
  - "Environment"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "cimate change"
  - "hurricane"
  - "the digest"
---

# Today’s Killer Hurricane Is Linked to Climate Change, Scientists Say

![For many climate scientists, the great ferocity of hurricane Ida came to no surprise as the world is starting to really feel the results of climate change.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/hurricane-ida-climate-change.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/montegut-fire-chief-toby-henry-walks-back-to-his-fire-truck-news-photo/1234951663?adppopup=true" target="\_blank"\>MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images\</a\>\</em\>*

## Making Landfall

Hurricane Ida hit the United States on Sunday, leaving the entire city of [New Orleans without power](<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2021/aug/30/hurricane-ida-2021-live-update-louisiana-storm-hits-new-orleans-path-tracker-mississippi-river-latest-updates>) and [already claiming its first life](<https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/29/weather/hurricane-ida-sunday/index.html>).

Many climate scientists say the ferocity of the storm came as no surprise, since the world is starting to really feel the heat from human-driven climate change.

"This is exactly the kind of thing we’re going to have to get used to as the planet warms," Kerry Emanuel, an atmospheric scientist at MIT, told *The Washington Post*.

Parts of the Gulf of Mexico have become [astonishingly warm](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/03/31/gulf-of-mexico-warm-tornadoes-hurricanes/>) in recent years, largely caused by a rise in greenhouse emissions — and global warming may only be setting the stage for even more ferocious and dangerous weather in the near future.

## Perfect Storm

This warm weather is causing the water in the Gulf to warm up as well, which has allowed massive hurricanes to develop. They essentially suck up the moisture and dump it on land. The hotter the conditions, the more water gets swept up, [*NPR* reports](<https://www.npr.org/2021/08/30/1032442544/how-climate-change-is-fueling-hurricanes-like-ida>).

Ida, in fact, itself caused sea surface temperatures to rise, which only made matters worse. "That’s really like stepping on the accelerator,” Brian Tang, an atmospheric scientist at the University at Albany in New York, told *WaPo*. "Flooring it, basically."

Surface temperatures were hovering around 86 degrees Fahrenheit. "That’s on the very high end of sea surface temperatures that hurricanes ever experience," Joshua Wadler, a researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, [told *The New York Times*](<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/29/climate/hurricane-ida-category.html>).

It's a worsening trend. Emanuel told *WaPo* that "things happen faster" now, with storms "getting to a larger velocity" and "taking less time to get there."

A number of recent hurricanes including Harvey, Michael, and Laura have intensified rapidly before making landfall, according to *NPR*.

Ida was no different, developing from a Category 1 to a massive Category 4 [in just 24 hours](<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/29/climate/hurricane-ida-category.html>).

It's a bad omen — and a sign that we need to brace for even more deadly weather as the crisis worsens.

**READ MORE:** [How climate change helped make Hurricane Ida one of Louisiana’s worst](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/08/29/how-climate-change-helped-make-hurricane-ida-one-louisianas-worst/>) \[*The Washington Post*\]

**More on climate change:** *[Scientist Warns of Megadroughts That Could Collapse Entire Civilizations](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/megadroughts-collapse-entire-civilizations>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)