It is a bad sign.
Making Landfall
Hurricane Ida struck the United States on Sunday. It left New Orleans without power, and claimed its first life.
Many climate scientists agree that the fury of the storm was not surprising, as the world is beginning to feel the heat from human-driven global warming.
This is exactly what we will have to accept as the planet heats up, Kerry Emanuel of MIT's atmospheric science department told The Washington Post.
Some parts of the Gulf of Mexico have been astonishingly hot in recent years. This is largely due to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Global warming may only make it more dangerous.
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Perfect Storm
The warm weather has caused the Gulf water to heat up, which has led to massive hurricanes. They basically absorb the moisture and dump it onto land. NPR reports that the hotter the conditions are, the more water is swept up.
In fact, Ida caused sea surface temperatures rises, which only made things worse. It's like walking on an accelerator," Brian Tang, an atmospheric scientist at University at Albany, New York, said to WaPo. It's all about flooring it.
Surface temperatures were hovering around 86 degrees Fahrenheit. According to Joshua Wadler, a researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this is the highest sea surface temperature hurricanes can experience.
This is a trend that is worsening. Emanuel stated to WaPo that the storms are moving faster and have a greater velocity.
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According to NPR, a number of recent hurricanes, including Harvey, Michael and Laura, have intensified quickly before reaching landfall.
Ida was no exception, moving from a Category 1 to an enormous Category 4 in less than 24 hours.
This is a warning sign and an indication that the crisis will worsen, it's a bad sign.
READ MORE: Hurricane Ida was made worse by climate change [The Washington Post]
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Climate change: Scientist warns of megadroughts that could cause civil collapse
