Ed,

A favourite ploy for science deniers to ‘prove’ there is no climate emergency is to trot out the horrific loss of life in historical disasters.

Oscar Tamsen’s summary (CVI 28/9/22) is a perfect example – one has to ask what the weather forecasters, SES, life rafts and helicopters were doing.

– Oh, that’s right they had not been invented yet.

Indeed, comparing casualty counts from pre-mechanised times to the present day is mostly pointless.

Just 1.3degC warming means that the oceans and atmosphere are right now, supercharged with heat energy.

Oscar and others are ignoring that 2022 has been a year of climate insanity – including biblical floods in Pakistan, record glacial melt in the Alps, unprecedented drought in Europe and western USA, wildfires even inside the Arctic circle and now the super hurricane Ian.

This is what science predicted – global warming increases the risk of extreme weather.

Oscar Tamsen runs the risk of joining the ranks of other science deniers whose grandchildren will be left to ponder: – How could they have possibly, so ignored the bleeding obvious?

Ted Strong, Seelands