Amanpour - Extreme Global Weather: ‘the Unprecedented Is the New Normal’

Extreme Global Weather: ‘the Unprecedented Is the New Normal’






A rising death toll, the catastrophic flooding and destruction of entire neighborhoods, and
billions of dollars in property damage. The impact of Hurricane Sandy,
which hit the East Coast earlier this week, will be felt for years, both
in the United States and in the Caribbean region where it had earlier
killed more than 70 people.

Sandy is being called the "Storm
of the Century" but floods, droughts, heat waves and storms are only
expected to get worse — with every part of the world facing deadlier and
costlier weather disasters.

Much of the world has experienced
devastating weather conditions this year. Across eastern and western
Africa, a one-two punch of severe drought followed by torrential rains
resulted in flash flooding and the deaths and displacement of hundreds
of thousands. Drought was also the worst it's been in a quarter century
in the United States, shriveling corn crops and boosting prices
worldwide. And over the last week, typhoon Son-Tinh has wreaked havoc on
Southeast Asia, killing dozens and damaging homes and crops.

So what's causing these extreme
weather events and their widespread devastation? A special report issued
earlier this year by the IPCC — the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change — points to a combination of human-caused global warming, shifts
in population, and poverty. And though political wrangling over global
warming continues in the United States, 7 in 10 Americans now believe in
the science behind climate change and how it can alter global weather
conditions.


This week, Christiane discusses
these weather extremes with Michael Oppenheimer, a professor at
Princeton University. He is also one of the authors of the IPCC report.