--- title: Climate Change Is Making Hurricanes Like Irma Worse. Here's Why description: Hurricanes Irma and Harvey have reignited discussions about the link between global warming and extreme weather. This one number shows why canonical: https://time.com/4931586/irma-hurricane-season-climate-change/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-07T16:38:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:09.192Z article:section: Science og:title: The One Number That Shows Why Climate Change Is Making Hurricane Season Worse og:description: Hurricanes Irma and Harvey have reignited discussions about the link between global warming and extreme weather. This one number shows why og:url: https://time.com/4931586/irma-hurricane-season-climate-change/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt107d1ee7a0fde2ed/6988dcd7bc6cfc14753e2fae/gettyimages-841346500.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: 170907_harvey climate change og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The One Number That Shows Why Climate Change Is Making Hurricane Season Worse twitter:description: Hurricanes Irma and Harvey have reignited discussions about the link between global warming and extreme weather. This one number shows why twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt107d1ee7a0fde2ed/6988dcd7bc6cfc14753e2fae/gettyimages-841346500.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The One Number That Shows Why Climate Change Is Making Hurricane Season Worse > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: ISS Passes Over Hurricane Irma [Watch (HLS stream): ISS Passes Over Hurricane Irma](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LDUC7FHK.m3u8) (0:39)  _Published 2017-09-06. The International Space Station’s external cameras captured another dramatic view of Hurricane Irma as it made landfall in the Caribbean Sept. 6._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 7, 2017 4:38 PM UTC  A home is surrounded by floodwater after torrential rains pounded Southeast Texas following Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey on August 31, 2017 near Orange, Texas. A home is surrounded by floodwater after torrential rains pounded Southeast Texas following Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey on August 31, 2017 near Orange, Texas. Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 7, 2017 4:38 PM UTC Hurricanes [Irma](http://time.com/4931541/hurricane-irma-spaghetti-models-update/) and [Harvey ](http://time.com/4930098/texas-hurricane-harvey-death-toll-70/)have reignited discussions about [the link](http://time.com/4914840/hurricane-harvey-climate-change/) between global warming and extreme weather, with climate scientists now saying they can show the connections between the two phenomena better than ever before. Scientists’ explanation of how they do that involves a complex discussion of climate models, historical temperature data and probability. But understanding the link really comes down to one figure: the air can hold 7% more water with every degree Celsius that the temperature rises. That figure comes from the Clausius–Clapeyron equation, a widely accepted physical law established centuries ago long before any politicized debate on climate change. “A warmer ocean makes a warmer atmosphere, a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture,” says Gabriel Vecchi, a professor of geosciences at Princeton University who studies extreme weather events. “So, all other things equal, the same storm in a warmer planet would give you more rainfall.” This summer’s hurricane season has been a particularly warm one in the region of the Atlantic where hurricanes form, with sea surface temperatures between 0.5°C (0.9°F) and 1°C (1.8°F) above average, according to [data](http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/outlooks/hurricane.shtml) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Those high temperatures mean hurricanes will store more water, which they can eventually dump when they make landfall. Climate scientists blame high temperatures during Hurricane Harvey’s formation and along its path for the more than 50 inches of rain dropped on Houston. “You fit all the data together and ask what is the likelihood for 100 millimeters, 200 millimeters of precipitation,” said study co-author Sarah Kapnick, a researcher at the NOAA, before the Harvey hit Texas. “As you get to higher and higher values of precipitation it becomes less and less likely without climate change.” Now, scientists just need to convince the policymakers charged with helping prepare communities for hurricanes that the dangers are only increasing. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4931586/irma-hurricane-season-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4931586/irma-hurricane-season-climate-change/"},"headline":"The One Number That Shows Why Climate Change Is Making Hurricane Season Worse","datePublished":"2017-09-07T16:38:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:09.192Z","description":"Hurricanes Irma and Harvey have reignited discussions about the link between global warming and extreme weather. 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