Morpheus

From Science Friday

How much worse was that storm because of climate change?

Published
August 27, 2026
Length
12:22

Audio is streamed from the publisher.

Show notes

We’ve been hearing for years that climate change makes weather more extreme, and extreme weather more frequent. But what’s been more difficult to measure is exactly how climate change influences a particular weather event. For example, how much more intense was Hurricane Lala because of climate change? How much more deadly were India’s heat waves this summer? A growing field called [https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/climate-change-attribution-science/?utm\_source=wnyc&utm\_medium=podcast&utm\_campaign=scifri"]( attribution science is trying to answer questions like these. Flora chats with climate scientist Joyce Kimutai about the field and why it's so important. Then, we hear from climate law expert Maxine Burkett about how attribution science could be used in policy, and in the courtroom, to hold emitters responsible. Guests: Dr. Joyce Kimutai is a climate scientist specializing in attribution science. She works for the World Weather Attribution Consortium at Imperial College London and is the principal climate scientist for the Kenya Meteorological Services. Maxine Burkett is a professor of climate, environment, and society at Stanford University in California. _Transcript will be available after the show airs on_ [https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/climate-change-attribution-science/?utm\_source=wnyc&utm\_medium=podcast&utm\_campaign=scifri"]( _sciencefriday.com._ [https://pod.link/73329284"]( _Subscribe to this podcast._ _Follow our show on_ [https://www.instagram.com/scifri/"]( _Instagram_ _,_ [https://www.tiktok.com/@scifri"]( _TikTok_ _,_ [https://www.facebook.com/scifri"]( _Facebook_ _, and_ [https://bsky.app/profile/scifri.bsky.social"]( _Bluesky_ _@scifri and_ [https://www.sciencefriday.com/newsletters/?utm\_source=wnyc&utm\_medium=podcast&utm\_campaign=scifri"]( _sign up for our newsletters_ _. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us:_ _877-472-4374_ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See [pcm.adswizz.com]( https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.