Climate change is one reason for hotter oceans. But there are others
Hurricane season is heating up: Hurricane Francine hit Louisiana last week and dumped rain across the South. There’s lots of other stormy activity in the Atlantic right now — and forecasters are expecting more in the next few weeks.
One big factor is the warm water in the Atlantic and Caribbean, where these storms form. Abnormally warm water is bad news on a few fronts. It can help storms like Francine get really powerful, in addition to causing problems for fish and other marine species.
This is an issue in our oceans across the globe. Average global ocean temperatures have been in record-breaking territory for most of the last year and a half. Climate change is the main culprit, but in their quest to pin down the source for our hot oceans, scientists are investigating other suspects, including volcanoes and the sun.
Read more of Rebecca Hersher’s reporting on this topic.
Questions about hurricanes or other weather disasters? Email us at [email protected] – we’d love to hear your ideas!
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Rebecca Hersher checked the facts and the audio engineer was Kwesi Lee.
Trump was the ‘young’ candidate compared to Biden. How is he faring now?
The political advantage Trump enjoyed on the issue of age has been reversed. That was on display at the presidential debate with Vice President Harris.
Cancer diagnoses are more common — but so is surviving
A report shows rapid development of new cancer treatment and detection is helping people live longer. But more people are also getting diagnosed, and at younger ages.
‘It could be a once in a lifetime opportunity.’ Rare African corpse flower blooms in Atlanta
It was a rare sight — and smell — that visitors to the Atlanta Botanical Garden will not forget. In late August, the African corpse flower bloomed at the garden, a brief botanical marvel that researchers aren't sure we may see again.
Haitian Times founder talks about the fallout from Vance and Trump’s lies
NPR's Juana Summers talks with Haitian Times founder and former New York Times staffer Garry Pierre-Pierre about the lies spewed by Trump and Vance around Haitian Americans and immigrants, and the fallout.
Does the Fed’s rate cut change where you should put your money?
With the Fed’s cut to interest rates, high-yield savings accounts won’t yield quite so much. For recent homebuyers, it might also be time to think about refinancing.
The private group that handles Philadelphia evictions with armed contractors may close
Private companies have handled many of Philadelphia's forced evictions. But after several evictions resulted in injury, insurance companies who covered the eviction business are walking away.
