Good morning. We have the latest on Hurricane Ian, another storm to gather strength with frightening speed. |
| Tampa, Fla., as Hurricane Ian hit.Hilary Swift for The New York Times |
|
Ian embodies several of the major hurricane trends in recent years, as the world copes with the effects of climate change. It's a strong storm — and strong storms are becoming more common in the Atlantic Ocean, as its surface water has warmed. Ian also rapidly transformed from a relatively weak storm into a strong one, another phenomenon that has become more common. And Ian is poised to drop large amounts of rain — which, combined with higher sea levels, could cause damaging floods. |
This chart, by our colleague Ashley Wu, shows the increasing frequency of severe storms — Category 4 or 5 — since 1980, when satellite imagery began reliably tracking Atlantic hurricanes. |
| Source: NOAA |
|
Climate change is part of the reason, many scientists say. "Warmer water fuels storms, and waters have definitively warmed," our colleague Elena Shao, who covers climate, explained. Daniel Gilford, a meteorologist at Climate Central, a research group, compares hurricanes to engines, like those in a car. Warmer water increases the amount of energy feeding a hurricane, causing it to spin faster. |
"As human beings increase greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the atmosphere and the oceans both warm," he said. "That leads to more fuel available for hurricanes." |
Gilford, as it happens, became interested in climate science partly because he grew up in Clearwater, Fla., and lived there during the deadly 2004 hurricane season, which included Frances and Ivan. He now lives in the Orlando suburbs and has spent this week tying down objects on his property, stocking up on supplies and preparing to host members of his family. They evacuated from Florida's western coast, near where Ian made landfall. |
Ian has become the 46th Category 4 or 5 hurricane in the Atlantic over the past 20 years — including Frances and Ivan. That's about as many as occurred during the last 40 years of the 20th century. |
Over the past few days, conditions were nearly ideal for Ian to intensify rapidly, Elena said: very warm water, combined with winds that were not quickly changing speed or direction. Now that Ian has hit land, some of the biggest risks involve water (rather than wind), including flooding and storm surges. Climate change appears to have slowed down the speed at which storms travel. It has also led them to produce more rainfall and raised sea levels. |
Climate change is not the only force shaping hurricanes, Elena notes. The weather phenomenon La NiƱa, which the Northern Hemisphere is currently experiencing, may be playing a role, too. And not every aspect of climate change contributes to more intense storms. |
But these caveats do not change the overall picture. Climate change has already contributed to a rise in destructive hurricanes like Ian, and its effects are still growing. Unless the world sharply reduces greenhouse-gas emissions in coming years, deadly storms are likely to become even more common than they are already destined to be. |
| President Biden at a hunger relief organization in Philadelphia in January.Sarah Silbiger for The New York Times |
|
New York neighborhoods have near veto power over developing new housing. They shouldn't, Mara Gay argues. |
More of The Times, at a special rate. |
Now readers of The Morning can experience everything our journalists offer with the New York Times All Access subscription. From news and analysis, to Cooking, Games, Wirecutter and The Athletic, subscribe with this special offer. |
| Coolio in 1995.Paul Bergen/Redferns, via Getty Images |
|
Lives lived: Coolio, the West Coast rapper whose hits like "Gangsta's Paradise" helped define hip-hop in the 1990s, charted a path to superstardom like no other. He died at 59. |
Who's driving the car? Nobody. |
The Try Guys: The YouTube-famous crew is down a guy. |
Advice from Wirecutter: Protect your smart home from hackers. |
| SPORTS NEWS FROM THE ATHLETIC |
The Brett Favre scandal: The former quarterback's foundation, with a stated goal to help disadvantaged children and cancer patients, directed $130,000 to Southern Mississippi athletics, an Athletic investigation found. |
Pickleball, so hot right now: LeBron James, Draymond Green and Kevin Love joined the list of celebrity athletes involved in Major League Pickleball. |
Sixty years after her death, Marilyn Monroe is in the spotlight as the subject of a new movie, "Blonde," starring Ana de Armas. It's the first Netflix film to earn an NC-17 rating; The New Yorker called the movie "ridiculously vulgar." |
The internet has been abuzz with Monroe's name recently. At the Met Gala, in May, Kim Kardashian wore Monroe's 1962 "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" dress. That same month, Andy Warhol's 1964 "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" sold for about $195 million. |
Read the review: Considering the indignities Monroe endured during her life, "it is a relief that she didn't have to suffer through the vulgarities of 'Blonde,'" The Times's Manohla Dargis writes. |
| Johnny Miller for The New York Times. |
|
The pangrams from yesterday's Spelling Bee were chucking and chunking. Here is today's puzzle. |
Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. |
Matthew Cullen, Lauren Hard, Lauren Jackson, and Ashley Wu contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com. |
|