India saw back-to-back cyclones. While cyclone Tauktae rammed into the west coast, the incipient cyclone Yaas struck the east coast.

We know that humanity’s carbon footprint has shifted the baseline conditions of the climate, the context in which every weather event takes place. But trying to isolate the human influence from everything else that is going on can be really hard, especially for hurricanes, or what scientists call “tropical cyclones.”

They’re super complex and the quality of the historical data we have for them isn’t great. We do have physics, though. Hurricanes are driven by the transfer of heat from the sea to the air through evaporation. The storm’s maximum possible wind speed, or its potential intensity, depends in part on how warm the ocean is – and of course, we’re warming the ocean.

But, is this normal? Why are cyclones happening so frequently? Is it linked to climate change? Watch to find out!