India: Deadly Cyclone Michaung Causes Severe Flooding

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The Facts

  • Cyclone Michaung brought torrential rainfall and powerful winds in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday and left at least 17 dead in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu. More than 32K people have been shifted to over 400 relief camps in Tamil Nadu alone, authorities said.

  • Cyclone Michaung struck the coast of Andhra Pradesh as a "severe" cyclonic storm but later weakened.


The Spin

Narrative A

Cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are becoming more intense, potent, and destructive because of global warming and climate change. Warmer weather allows air to retain more water vapor, which is why the global community must implement policies to cool the global temperature to save lives and billions of dollars in damage.

Narrative B

It's easy to dismiss extreme weather events, including cyclones, as a consequence of climate change. However, in reality, they're usually influenced by a myriad of factors and interrelated processes. More research is needed before establishing any direct causal link between the two.

Nerd narrative

There's a 92% chance that there will be at least 2°C of global warming by 2100, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


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