Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke at the kickoff for Climate Week NYC this morning, and warned that New York’s year of severe weather is a window into what climate change could mean for the city. So far this year, the city has weathered a tornado, heavy snowfall and a hurricane that was downgraded to a tropical storm, but still wreacked havoc on parts of the city and the surrounding area.
“We’ve seen the rainiest day and rainiest month ever,” Bloomberg said. “A tornado. A hurricane. The snowiest January on record. And 16 blistering days of 90-degree-plus heat.”
Speaking at the New York Academy of Sciences in 7 World Trade Center, Bloomberg said the weather could be coincidental. But perhaps not.
“Perhaps, they’re warnings of what the future holds, unless we act now,” said the mayor.
Bloomberg spoke alongside former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who called climate change “something that is easy to solve.”
Blair acknowledged that, while not everyone believes that the earth is growing warmer, he said action still needs to be taken soon.
“Even just on a precautionary basis, it is sensible to act,” he said.
