|
Dear John,
Contrary to claims by many climate activists and politicians, extreme weather events — including forest fires, droughts, floods, and hurricanes — are not increasing in frequency or intensity.
A new study published by the Fraser Institute today finds that global temperatures have increased moderately since 1950 – but there is no evidence that extreme weather events are on the rise:
-
Droughts: Data from the World Meteorological Organization Standardized Precipitation Index showed no statistically significant trends in drought duration or magnitude.
-
Flooding: Research in the Journal of Hydrology in 2017, analyzing 9,213 recording stations around the world, found there were more stations exhibiting significant decreasing trends (in flood risk) than increasing trends.
-
Hurricanes: Research conducted for the World Meteorological Organization in 2019 (updated in 2023) found no long-term trends in hurricanes or major hurricanes recorded globally going back to 1980.
-
Forest Fires: In Canada, data from Canada’s Wildland Fire Information System show that the number of fires and the area burned in Canada have both been declining over the past 30 years.
Governments need to study the actual data and base their actions on facts, not unsubstantiated claims.
Check out the full study here.
Sincerely,
Niels Veldhuis
President
The Fraser Institute
|
