Kentucky tornado climate change

Peter Dykstra: 2021's unnatural disasters

With the fingerprints of climate change on so many “natural disasters,” it’s time to retire “natural.”

Unlike downpours, droughts, hurricanes, typhoons and more calamities, there isn’t a clear, undebatable link between climate change and tornadoes.


But last week’s horrific twisters—and hurricane-force winds in a mid-week system—added on to an unprecedented weather year. Let’s rewind to February.

Polar vortex and extreme heat 

The polar vortex brought the Jet Stream and its Arctic air far down south, freezing pipes and knocking out power for millions. The deep freeze was blamed for at least 275 deaths in Texas, Oklahoma, and surrounding states

Hundreds more died in June, when an unheard-of heat wave gripped the Pacific Northwest. Portland, Oregon, reached 116° F (46.7° C). Lytton, British Columbia, set the all-time Canadian record of 121° F (49.4° C).

Related: Worsening heat waves are hammering the disabled community

As roads buckled in a region completely unfamiliar with such heat, scientists said it would be “virtually impossible” for such a heat wave without climate change.

The heat, and record drought, helped spawn a summer of record wildfires. Oregon’s Bootleg Fire burned nearly half a million acres; California’s Dixie Fire doubled it later in the summer.

Hurricanes and water levels 

In late August, Hurricane Henri turned into a tropical storm rainmaker, drenching an area from New Jersey to Nova Scotia. New York’s Central Park received two inches of rain in an hour—then five inches more the next day for good measure. Both were records.

Days later, Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana as a Category 4, causing $64 billion in damage, according to NOAA. The storm stayed alive long enough to become a lethal rainmaker from Maryland into New England.

Related: How toxic wildfire smoke affects pregnant people

There were record-low water levels in Lakes Powell and Mead, the Colorado River mega-reservoirs. They provide hydropower and water for the cities of the Southwest and irrigation for much of America’s produce. There is at best faint hope that the Colorado will bounce back, even as L.A., San Diego, Phoenix, and Las Vegas continue to grow.

California’s Lake Oroville saw record low levels this summer, only four years after record high levels raised fears of a catastrophic dam failure.

Last month, torrential rains returned to British Columbia. Once all the damage is tallied, it may turn out to be the costliest “natural” disaster in Canadian history.

Overseas, record flooding in Germany, unprecedented sandstorms in Beijing, stunningly accelerating ice-melt in Greenland, and a continental record 119° F (48.3° C) in Sicily were just a few of the reasons that this isn’t a North American anomaly.

Taking the natural out of natural disasters 

So let’s take the “natural” out of most kinds of natural disasters. Volcanoes? Still natural. Earthquakes? Sure, unless they’re the little ones associated with fracking operations. Plagues of locusts? Natural, I think, but I’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing one.

Most of the others? Is it asking too much of us that we don’t assault Mother Nature, them hang the blame on her?

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist and can be reached at pdykstra@ehn.org or @pdykstra.

His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate, or publisher Environmental Health Sciences.

Banner photo: Aftermath of the Mayfield, Kentucky, tornados, December 2021. (Credit: State Farm/flickr)

Demonstrators hold signs supporting science on a rainy day, with the US Capitol building in background.
Credit: Adam Fagen/Flickr

Trump’s science attacks trigger urgent warning from leading researchers

In an extraordinary move, nearly 2,000 top U.S. scientists are sounding the alarm about what they say is a deliberate campaign to dismantle science under the Trump administration.

Jessica Glenza reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
Senator Whitehouse & climate change

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.
Aerial view of rows of solar panels lined up on a green field.

Trump administration considers major cuts to clean energy programs, drawing bipartisan pushback

Lawmakers from both parties are pressing the U.S. Department of Energy to preserve billions in clean energy investments after draft lists of possible project cuts began circulating on Capitol Hill.

James Bikales, Josh Siegel, Kelsey Tamborrino and Ben Lefebvre report for POLITICO.

Keep reading...Show less
Closeup of the FEMA webpage.

FEMA freezes $10 billion in disaster aid for nonprofits amid immigration review

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has halted $10 billion in disaster aid for nonprofits while reviewing whether the funds comply with President Trump’s executive order targeting undocumented migrants.

Thomas Frank reports for E&E News.

Keep reading...Show less
Power station smokestacks with pollution billowing from the top.

Zeldin shifts EPA toward deregulation and fossil fuel industry allies

Lee Zeldin, once a climate-conscious Republican from New York, is now steering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to roll back regulations, slash staff, and align with Trump and Elon Musk’s deregulatory vision.

Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
Person sitting with hands clasped over open bible.

Faith leaders challenge EPA's climate stance amid deregulatory push

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin’s remarks dismissing climate action as “religion” have sparked backlash from Jewish and Christian leaders, who argue for stronger environmental protections rooted in faith-based values.

James Bruggers reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
Young girl leaning on wall during daytime.

Climate disasters disrupt education for Black children, deepening inequities

Black students in the U.S. face growing educational setbacks as climate-driven disasters like wildfires and hurricanes destroy schools, displace families, and exacerbate systemic inequalities.

Adam Mahoney reports for Capital B News.

Keep reading...Show less
A steel bridge over a dry rocky gully with scrubby trees in foreground.

New Mexico moves to protect workers from extreme heat with proposed rules

Officials in New Mexico are advancing new workplace safety rules that would require employers to protect workers from heat-related illnesses as temperatures continue to rise.

Danielle Prokop reports for Source New Mexico.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

People  sitting in an outdoors table working on a big sign.

Op-ed: Why funding for the environmental justice movement must be anti-racist

We must prioritize minority-serving institutions, BIPOC-led organizations and researchers to lead environmental justice efforts.

joe biden

Biden finalizes long-awaited hydrogen tax credits ahead of Trump presidency

Responses to the new rules have been mixed, and environmental advocates worry that Trump could undermine them.

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Prisons, jails and detention centers are placed in locations where environmental hazards such as toxic landfills, floods and extreme heat are the norm.

Agents of Change in Environmental Justice logo

LISTEN: Reflections on the first five years of the Agents of Change program

The leadership team talks about what they’ve learned — and what lies ahead.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.