Yesterday, the South Pacific island nation of Fiji was battered by the most intense tropical storm ever recorded, according to a VICE News article (1). Citizens of the low lying country battled Category 5 winds reaching 177 mph, and the damage has yet to be calculated. Doing so will require not just an accounting of the financial damage caused to buildings and infrastructure, loss of property, and costs of repair. The assessment will also need to account for things such as businesses being shutdown and increased need of medical assistance, let alone the incalculable emotional toll this storm may have for the people of Fiji.

This incredible storm fits perfectly into the projections made by climatologists that are consequences of global warming. There is a positive feedback between the water vapor content of the atmosphere and the temperature of the Earth, and and increase in both lead to more powerful storms. Fiji was the first country to unanimously ratify the UN climate change agreement, making it that much more unfortunate that they should be taking the brunt of the effects from climate change. Sadly the same gross irony plays out in this way all over the world as a result of climate change, and only a global effort will be able to mitigate its impacts.

Source:

https://news.vice.com/article/fiji-just-got-hammered-by-one-of-the-most-powerful-tropical-storms-ever-recorded