--- 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: 2026-10-08T09:33:29.313Z 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 Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=6da21a64-1044-4e56-a4eb-f102e45c99b2&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## 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 Hurricanes Irma and Harvey have reignited discussions about the link between global warming and extreme weather, with climate scientists now saying they can show the connections between the two phenomena better than ever before.  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. ## Transcript [00:20] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] ```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":"2026-10-08T09:33:29.313Z","description":"Hurricanes Irma and Harvey have reignited discussions about the link between global warming and extreme weather. 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