A string of deadly storms hit the American Midwest and South yesterday. Eighteen people are reported dead. Arkansas suffered worst damage, but Oklahoma is not far behind. Louisiana was also hit, but not so severely. Interestingly, yesterday was the third anniversary of a string of deadly storms that struck Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia. One-hundred and twenty-two tornadoes killed three-hundred and sixteen people. Amazingly, not one of the articles about yesterday’s storms I have found on the World Wide Web mentions any connection with climate change. Evidently, that is a taboo theme nowadays, and especially in America. The connection between violent storms and climate change has not been established by science beyond reasonable doubt, and that is all there is to it. By the way, leading meteorologists in America declared the string of storms three years ago as one-in-a-century sort of event (“Tornadoes, Hurricanes: A Letter to The Economist,” May 9, 2011). As I argued back then, sweeping climate change under the rug will not do for much longer. This is where there are taboos galore. To be reckoned with, climate change will have to be recognized first. Or else.

Addendum (May 1, 2014)

Deadly storms have kept raging. Seven states have been hit thus far. And the number of casualties has risen to thirty-five by today. All in all, the rampage is ever more reminiscent of the one-in-a-century event three years ago. I only wonder what the leading meteorologists will have to say about this strange confluence of events. Will it turn out to be one-in-a-millennium sort of thing?