Study says climate change added $8 billion to the cost of Superstorm Sandy

Study says climate change added $8 billion to the cost of Superstorm Sandy

FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2012 file photo, a boat floats in the driveway of a home in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in Lindenhurst, N.Y. While President Barack Obama signed a law Friday, March 21, 2014 that will delay steep increases to flood insurance paid by many, nearly 60,000 policyholders in New York state are among the 1.1 million nationwide who will see their federally subsidized flood insurance premiums rise as part of changes to the National Flood Insurance Program, according to a review of federal data by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)

UNDATED (AP) — A new study says climate change added $8 billion to the massive costs of 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. Tuesday’s study says sea level rise was four inches higher than it would have been without human-caused warming. Scientists say four inches may not sound like much but in New York it meant a lot more damage, including 36,000 homes flooded. This is one of the first studies to put a dollar amount to climate change’s contribution to extreme weather events. Past studies only said individual disasters were more likely and stronger because of climate change. This study used computer simulations to show how much worse it was.

 

FILE – In this Oct. 30, 2012 file photo, a boat floats in the driveway of a home in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in Lindenhurst, N.Y.  (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)