Testifying before Congress, environmental studies expert Dr. Roger Pielke Jr. says the UN IPCC’s own data shows there’s “no evidence to suggest” that hurricanes, floods, droughts, or tornadoes are increasing.
DR. ROGER PIELKE JR: “In the United States the number of hurricanes and the intensity of hurricanes is down by 20 percent since 1900. I don’t put a lot of stock in that because you can start at different dates and get different trends but the point is that there is no evidence to suggest that hurricanes, either in the U.S. or globally, are increasing and the same goes for floods, drought, and tornado. And, don’t believe me. You can look at the appendix that I provided with data from the IPCC. So why people would hang their hat on long term trends in extreme weather is a puzzle.”
Hearing – Climate Science: Assumptions, Policy Implications, and the Scientific Method
US House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
March 29, 2017
From Pielke Jr.’s Written Testimony:
“There is little scientific basis in support of claims that extreme weather events – specifically, hurricanes, floods, drought, tornadoes – and their economic damage have increased in recent decades due to the emission of greenhouse gases. In fact, since 2013 the world and the United States have had a remarkable stretch of good fortune with respect to extreme weather, as compared to the past.
The lack of evidence to support claims of increasing frequency or intensity of hurricanes, floods, drought or tornadoes on climate timescales is also supported by the most recent assessments of the IPCC and the broader peer reviewed literature on which the IPCC is based.
I have included an update of relevant data and summary conclusions of the IPCC related to trends in extreme weather as an Appendix B to this testimony.
