Andrew Dessler

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14 September

Andrew DesslerKorrents 14 Sept

From one piece The Atmosphere Just Set a Water Vapor Record 2 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
Climate change made the July 2025 Texas flooding more intense than it otherwise would have been

Their words

Given that we can connect increases in PWAT to global warming, we can confidently conclude that climate change made this rain event more intense than it otherwise would have been.

The Atmosphere Just Set a Water Vapor Recordtheclimatebrink.com
korrents.com
Rising atmospheric water vapor raises the ceiling on how extreme rainfall events can become

Their words

So the increase in PWAT is not just a weirdo statistic. It is a statement about the ceiling on the worst rain events we can face.

The Atmosphere Just Set a Water Vapor Recordtheclimatebrink.com

4 September

Andrew DesslerKorrents 4 Sept

From one piece The Worst Case Is Still on the Table 3 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
Climate models may be underestimating how much future warming will occur.

Their words

Keeping the RCP8.5/SSP5-8.5 runs as a plausible upper limit is particularly important given that recent research has emphasized the possibility that models are underestimating future warming.

The Worst Case Is Still on the Tabletheclimatebrink.com
korrents.com
In risk management, severe but low-probability outcomes should shape policy responses, not just the likeliest scenario.

Their words

In fact, conventional risk management tells us that, when consequences are severe, low-probability extreme outcomes can determine the response.

The Worst Case Is Still on the Tabletheclimatebrink.com
korrents.com
Temperatures from high-emissions climate scenarios are a plausible upper bound on future warming, even though the emissions themselves are unlikely.

Their words

the temperatures produced under RCP8.5/SSP5-8.5 are a reasonable upper bound on what the future climate might be.

The Worst Case Is Still on the Tabletheclimatebrink.com

17 August

Andrew DesslerKorrents 17 Aug

korrents.com
The same global average temperature can arise from greenhouse warming or from El Niño and still produce very different regional climate impacts.

Their words

The catch is that the future world that has been warmed by greenhouse gases and a present-day world that has been temporarily warmed by El Niño can have the same global-average temperature while having significant differences in the impacts of this warming.

theclimatebrink.com

12 August

Andrew DesslerKorrents 12 Aug

From one piece ♫ Smoke Gets in Your Eyes ♫ 3 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
Newly discovered, costly climate impacts like wildfire smoke should strengthen the case for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Their words

This should turbocharge our resolve to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

♫ Smoke Gets in Your Eyes ♫theclimatebrink.com
korrents.com
The economic damage from climate-driven wildfire smoke deaths exceeds all other previously estimated categories of U.S. climate damage combined.

America

Their words

You read that right: The cost of climate-worsened wildfire smoke alone is larger than what earlier studies said every other estimated cost of climate change would be, combined.

♫ Smoke Gets in Your Eyes ♫theclimatebrink.com
korrents.com
Climate change is making wildfires significantly more severe.

Their words

Climate change is absolutely making these wildfires more severe - there should be zero doubt about that.

♫ Smoke Gets in Your Eyes ♫theclimatebrink.com

3 August

Andrew DesslerKorrents 3 Aug

From one piece Fixing one of climate’s worst plots 3 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
Expanded irrigation in the central U.S. during the mid-20th century cooled the surface and suppressed heatwave frequency there.

America

Their words

Irrigation cools the surface, and the expansion of agriculture and irrigation in the central U.S. in the middle of the 20th century played a key role in why heatwaves were low in the middle of the 20th century

Fixing one of climate’s worst plotstheclimatebrink.com
korrents.com
The 1930s U.S. Dust Bowl heat wave was caused by destructive farming practices rather than fossil-fuel emissions.

America

Their words

The relevant human activity was not fossil-fuel combustion but bad farming practices that contributed to the Dust Bowl.

Fixing one of climate’s worst plotstheclimatebrink.com
korrents.com
The post-1970s global increase in heatwave frequency is caused by greenhouse gas emissions from human activity.

Their words

This differs from the Dust Bowl because it is a global signal, occurring essentially everywhere. This is almost certainly due to greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.

Fixing one of climate’s worst plotstheclimatebrink.com

29 July

Andrew DesslerKorrents 29 Jul

From one piece Wildfires are remaking the world 3 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
It is already too late to fully prevent climate change because the atmosphere has been irreversibly altered by carbon pollution.

Their words

At this point, we've missed the boat at completely preventing climate change. Our atmosphere has been fundamentally altered by carbon pollution.

Wildfires are remaking the worldtheclimatebrink.com
korrents.com
Climate change's effects will unfold as sudden catastrophic events rather than as steadily accumulating small changes.

Their words

The transformation to come will be decidedly nonlinear, meaning it will not occur as small impacts over many years but rather a series of infrequent, huge events of enormous destructive power.

Wildfires are remaking the worldtheclimatebrink.com
korrents.com
Cooling or warming global temperature by around 10°F would produce an unrecognizably different planet.

Their words

If you cool the Earth by 10 degrees Fahrenheit, you end up with a completely different planet.

Wildfires are remaking the worldtheclimatebrink.com

27 July

Andrew DesslerKorrents 27 Jul

From one piece Raw Data, Wrong Answers 3 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
Failing to adjust raw data for known measurement biases produces inaccurate results.

Their words

If you do not adjust the data for known biases, you're getting the wrong answer.

Raw Data, Wrong Answerstheclimatebrink.com
korrents.com
Climate skeptics' opposition to data adjustments is driven by which results those adjustments produce, not by scientific principle.

Their words

the opposition to adjustments is entirely instrumental: climate skeptics like the results that the raw, biased data give them for the US, and they don't like the results that bias-corrected data give them.

Raw Data, Wrong Answerstheclimatebrink.com
korrents.com
The intense U.S. heat of the 1930s was driven by regional natural variability plus human-caused poor land management (the Dust Bowl), not global warming.

America

Their words

the heat of the 1930s was a regional event, due to a combination of unforced variability and human activities (poor agricultural land management).

Raw Data, Wrong Answerstheclimatebrink.com

7 July

Andrew DesslerKorrents 7 Jul

From one piece Deadly heat wave in France shows the future of climate risk 2 beliefs, in the piece's order there

korrents.com
Without a shift away from fossil fuels, heatwaves will keep worsening and cause more deaths as they outstrip public health systems' capacity.

energy

Their words

Without a move away from fossil fuels, future heatwaves will keep testing the limits of public health systems and more people will die.

theclimatebrink.com
korrents.com
Climate models are underestimating how intense heatwaves become at a given level of global warming.

Their words

the temperatures seen in France show that climate models continue to underpredict the magnitude of heatwaves for a particular level of global warming.

theclimatebrink.com

4 July

Andrew DesslerNewsletter 4 Jul

Where do heat waves come from?
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30 June

Andrew DesslerNewsletter 30 Jun

How climate change influences extreme weather
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16 June

Andrew DesslerNewsletter 16 Jun

The Merchants of Doubt are coming for Extreme Event Attribution science
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2 June

Andrew DesslerNewsletter 2 Jun

How Science Works
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