I have written a fair bit about climate change here on Continuations. It seems that in the US we have about a weeks worth of debate after a big storm such as Sandy and then it quickly dies down. So this year given the so far relatively uneventful hurricane season the debate seems entirely absent. That is tragic because none of the fundamentals have changed and we are seeing the devastating results now in the Philippines. Super typhoon Haiyan has apparently killed at least 10,000 people there and dislocated as many as 500,000 people.

There are lots of pictures of destruction on the ground but to give this storm some context the following two pictures seem particularly important. The first one was taken from the International Space Station (from NASA) and with the curvature of the earth gives a sense of the huge scale of this storm:

The second one is a similar image taken from an NOAA satellite except that it shows the strength of the storm and has outlines of the Philippine islands which further indicate the extraordinary scale:

It is not just the size of the storm though that should make us all worry but also its record wind speeds. Haiyan is not only the most forceful typhoon but the strongest storm recorded anywhere to date. Preliminary data suggests that the storm had sustained windspeed of 195 mph (315 km/h) and gusts at 235 mph (380 km/h). To put this into perspective – on the Long Island Sound we have “small craft advisories” starting when the wind goes above 25 mph sustained. This is almost 10x that which is 100x the energy (which rises with the square of the speed).

What is powering these massive storms? The rise of global temperatures and in particular the rise of ocean temperatures. 2013 was tied for the highest ocean temperature since we began measurement. For a detailed rundown see this extensive NOAA report.

So here is a double call to action. First, donate some money for disaster relief in the Philippines. Second, join and support 350.org the global movement to solve the climate crisis.