Pielke Jr. issued this statement on August 28: “There is no reason to be debating Harvey and climate change in the context of an unfolding disaster, other than political opportunism and attention seeking. It’s not a good look for scientists or journalists who are promoting this issue. The IPCC and other assessments are quite clear on this subject and one storm doesn’t change that. A better focus in the short term is on those with expertise in disaster response and recovery. The politicized debate over climate change can wait.”
Extreme weather expert Dr. Roger Pielke Jr.: “President Obama saw four hurricane landfalls. President George W. Bush saw 18. Obama had the fewest landfalls per year of any President since 1901. Lucky.” He added: “George W. Bush had 18 (4+ per year). Obama had 4 (0.5 per year).”
“US hurricane landfalls over the past 8 years equals 4. That is the lowest on record. Highest/8 yrs = 22 in 1916,” Pielke Jr. added.
