I Lived Through Hurricane Helene and Milton. Let’s Talk About Climate Change

When more people know about the impacts of climate change, we can work together to help the planet. We should start by acknowledging how global warming is affecting our communities.

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Hurricane Helene and Milton have left my community in Saint Petersburg, Florida, reeling. I will never forget lying in bed the night of September 26, 2024, reading Facebook posts from families who desperately needed help. It was horrific. 

People need to know how climate change contributes to Category 3 and 4 hurricanes like Helene and Milton. I am determined to educate the public about how climate change merges with community crises like the ones I am watching play out around me. The more we talk about what is happening, the better we can all protect ourselves.

How Climate Change Is Affecting Hurricanes

Climate change is affecting hurricanes by warming our oceans and melting our ice caps. The warmer ocean water fuels hurricane systems as they form in the open sea. When the storm systems get closer inland, rising sea levels make any resulting flooding more catastrophic. That does not include how hurricane rainfall is going to intensify even more by 2100 if we do not slow climate change down.

John Abraham, Professor and Program Director of Mechanical Engineering at the University of St. Thomas, told Earth.Org, “as the oceans warm, we can expect that there will be more of these powerful hurricanes and more hurricanes that experience ‘rapid intensification’. Rapid intensification occurs when storms increase in strength quickly, often right before landfall.”

People may assume that strong storm systems are normal because the Gulf Coast region has always produced them. My generation and people younger than me can accept that fact, but we are also seeing once-in-a-century storms nearly every year. Kids are especially prone to fearing their future if they watch disasters happening without understanding them. Teaching them the science behind massive storms instills greater confidence in their ability to navigate the world around them if we end each lesson with actionable advice.

“A planet that’s getting hotter, driven by rising carbon emissions, is one factor causing more destructive weather,” Deborah Brosnan, a climate scientist and marine biologist, told Earth.Org. “On average, the atmosphere holds 7% more moisture with each degree of warming.”

“Air becomes capable of holding exponentially more moisture as it heats up, taking on 7% more water on average for every 1C of warming,” Brosnan said. “Warming oceans and temperatures are playing havoc with the normal pattern of this cycle. If you consider that we are now at 1.2C hotter, that amounts to heavy rainfall events being, on average, 8% more intense.”Mark Guishard, Chief Operating Officer at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, echoed this to Earth.Org: “Research has shown that on average in the Atlantic hurricane basin, for every 1°C (1.8°F) warming of ocean surface temperature, there is a potential increase of hurricane intensity of about 18 mph, which can be enough to push the average hurricane into the next category up.”

The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences at Arizona State University, Guishard explained, used observations of the ocean from ship measurements and autonomous underwater drones, better known as gliders, to assess the interplay between hurricanes and the ocean. They found that the mean sea surface temperature in the open Atlantic close to Bermuda has increased by over 1C in the past four decades.“We have also detected an increase in hurricane activity in the Atlantic during that timeframe. Through modeling work, we know that the temperature below the surface (not just at the surface) supports more of that fuel for hurricanes to intensify,” he said.

More on the topic: After the Storm: Assessing the Environmental Damage Caused by Hurricane Helene

Climate Change Hurts the Most Vulnerable in Our Communities

I cannot talk about how climate change makes hurricanes more destructive without mentioning the communities suffering the most. We do not just need to mitigate global warming to retain our coastal cities. There are many low-income communities full of people who get hurt the most by hurricanes.

“Milton blew up from a tropical storm to a Category 5 in just one day earlier this week. That is remarkable and frightening, especially when storms like this strengthen so quickly near a populated coastline,” said Guishard.

People who cannot afford newly built houses often live in structures that cannot withstand category-level storms. They likely do not have home insurance either. Of the eight counties affected by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, only 17% of those affected had insurance that would cover the cost of rebuilding their homes.

I also want people to consider how many people cannot afford to stay in hotels out of town or stay in their homes after hurricanes wipe out places of employment. A few of my coworkers had their homes damaged by flooding. Tree branches and fence posts littered my yard and street. I linked up with friends to bring coffee to our neighbors after both hurricanes. We donated clothes and supplies and picked up debris. Little gestures go a long way and support means more than you would expect after natural disasters like these.

Remember the living things in our ecosystems, too. Those animals did not contribute to global warming, but hurricanes are displacing manatee populations and uprooting turtle nests. If people do not want to take collective action for themselves, then we should think about the helpless animals that are suffering, too.

More on the topic: This Florida Neighborhood Recovered From Flood After Flood. Will It Survive Helene?

Public Health Crises

Back-to-back severe weather systems put a strain on our health systems, too. They make it easier for infectious diseases to spread through standing flood water and cram hundreds of thousands of people into community centers or temporary public shelters.

Didier Choukroun, President and CEO of SPHERE, a pioneering investment firm with a mission to improve global public health, told Earth.Org, “The impacts of storms such as Hurricane Helene and now Hurricane Milton are reminders of how climate change intensifies natural disasters and puts immense strain on public health systems. Flooding can lead to widespread water contamination and increase the risk of infectious diseases while disrupting healthcare accessibility. Vulnerable populations are often the hardest hit, facing challenges like food shortages and limited access to essential medications.”

Hospital systems also get overrun by disasters intensified by climate change. If multiple communities around a single hospital become devastated by a Category 5 hurricane, that hospital will be in charge of potentially thousands of patients needing immediate care. The staff may not even be able to care for smaller groups of people if the hospital is out of power, owing to a lack of green infrastructure in the region.

Mental health is also part of the conversation. Anyone planning a future in a world affected by global warming may deal with climate-related anxiety and heightened adrenaline levels whenever weather-related news happens. Mental health affects the quality of life even before the storm reaches you.

Climate Change Is No Longer Just a Coastal Problem 

The most important thing people need to talk about is how global warming is no longer just a coastal issue. Intense hurricanes do not just affect people close to beaches. Helene quickly went from the Florida panhandle to the Kentucky-Tennessee border before the storm system slowed down. We all remember feeling shocked when Hurricane Sandy hit New York City several years ago. 

If there was ever a sign that we have to work together to save our planet and our communities, inland hurricanes are it. I have seen hurricanes tear Florida neighborhoods apart even when the newer buildings had hurricane-focused construction. Farmlands and mountainside neighborhoods as far inland as Tennessee don’t have that same protection in their construction efforts and infrastructure.

More on the topic: Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Rainfall and Wind Increased by Human-Made Climate Change, Study Reveals

Collective Action Is Our Best Shot  

Global warming is past the point of no return, but that does not mean we cannot work together to ease its rapid development. 

“If we reduce emissions, we can slow the warming,” said Abraham. “That is the good news. The bad news is that we have not shown the will to do enough to really reduce our emissions. In fact, emissions continue to rise meaning that the future will bring storms that are more powerful than today. These storms cost a lot in terms of lives and money – much more money will be spent on repairing the damage than it would have cost to reduce emissions.”

Houses in Florida are becoming uninsurable and even if insurance was available, only few would be able to afford it. As Abraham pointed out, Helene and Milton will only make insurance more out of reach.

“Storms like Helene and Milton give us a vision of the future. If we don’t take prompt action, we can be assured that future storms are more destructive,” he said.

It is crucial to learn how climate change is affecting hurricanes and what we can do as individuals to mitigate it. Keep up with the news, donate to climate-focused organizations and vote accordingly. We can help each other in the long run by taking climate change seriously right now.