Extreme weather events, like heat waves and drought, seem to becoming more and more prevalent around the globe.  When they occur, we often hear officials say that individual weather events cannot be linked to climate change or that global warming may have played a role, but they cannot be certain.  New research, however, may change these somewhat standard responses.

James Hansen, a climatologist with NASA’s Goddard Institute, released a new study last week, which concludes that the only explanation for the increase in extreme weather is climate change. While this new statistical analysis of global temperatures has its critics, his recent op-ed piece in the Washington Post , “Climate Change is Here – and Worse than We Thought”, is well worth reading.