National Guard chief cites ‘bigger, larger, more violent’ hurricanes as possible evidence of climate change

The National Guard Bureau’s top officer says he believes the world’s climate is changing, and that this year’s deadly and destructive hurricane season underscores the importance of keeping Guardsmen dispersed across the United States so they can respond quickly to natural disasters.

“I do think that the climate is changing, and I do think that it is becoming more severe,” Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel said Tuesday. “I do think that storms are becoming bigger, larger, more violent. You know, I never know if this one speck of time is an anomaly or not, but, you know, we’ve all seen now three Category 5 storms that popped out in a period of a month.”

Lengyel’s comments aren’t quite accurate. While hurricanes Irma and Maria reached Category-5 strength, hurricanes Harvey and Jose topped out as Category 4 storms. But they illustrate, nonetheless, the general’s concern now and in the future. They are worries that senior Pentagon officials, including Defense Secretary also have expressed for years, but break with President Donald Trump, who has questioned whether climate change is a hoax.

Lengyel, speaking with reporters in Washington, D.C., said the National Guard will continue responding to natural disasters as a part of its “job jar” and preparing for them alongside local first-responders across the country. To do so, he added, the National Guard must keep people and equipment staged in areas where mega storms and other environmental catastrophes are likely to put people and property at risk.