Past emissions from top polluters will keep the planet warmer for decades to come

edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan

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Add as preferred source Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain If someone leaves the faucet running in your bathroom and the house floods, it's easy to assign responsibility for the damage. But for other disasters—bigger, more complicated and costlier ones—the link between cause and effect isn't as clear.

In recent years, scientists have improved methods for connecting extreme weather events, sometimes called climate disasters, to climate change. Advancements in attribution science clarify how burning fossil fuels has increased the likelihood of extreme weather occurring. These findings form the backbone of a growing list of lawsuits attempting to hold major emitters responsible for deaths and damages incurred during climate disasters.