Triple monstrous hurricanes in 2017: is climate change to blame?

      Southeast Texas is still recovering from Harvey. Now, the entire state of Florida may face great threat from Irma. And another big one has formed in the Northern Atlantic Ocean. Many are wondering whether or not this series of events is a direct result of climate change. Well, there is still a scientific debate on this. Here is the first paragraph from our study on understanding perceptions of changing hurricane strength (Shao et al. 2017 a):

  "Climate change is one of the most complicated issues facing society today.  Varying levels of change  have been observed at the continental, regional, and ocean basin scale (IPCC, 2013), yet the  specific factors driving these changes are only partly understood (Schneider, 2006). The relationship between climate change and hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin is a much debated topic and it is clearly one of the uncertainties in our future climate.  For example, there has been an increase in the number and intensity of major hurricanes in the Atlantic basin that began in 1995 (Goldenberg et al., 2001; Pielke et al., 2005; Webster et al., 2005). One possible explanation for this upward trend of Atlantic hurricane activity is the increase of sea surface temperature (SST) driven by greenhouse gas forcing (Elsner, 2006; Emanuel, 2005; Holland & Webster, 2007; Webster et al., 2005). In contrast, there is another possible explanation that attributes the uptick in Atlantic hurricane activity since 1995 to multi-decadal climate variability and its induced increase of sea surface temperature driven primarily by the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO). AMO as an ocean current could affect the sea surface temperature and thus in turn affect the hurricane activity (Senkbeil et al., 2011). It is premature to directly link it with climate change (Landsea, 2005; Landsea et al., 2006; Pielke et al., 2005)."

    Here is a Washington Post piece explaining the science behind the recent U.S. hurricane history.