After two major hurricanes made landfall in Florida two weeks apart, conspiracy theories about weather control circulated widely on social media.
Such notions can have dangerous consequences, but there's a reason people latch on to them, as a piece written by psychology professors Iwan Dinnick and Daniel Jolley for The Conversation detailed.
Because extreme weather events are happening more frequently and growing in severity, "investigating these theories is especially crucial," the authors wrote.
People turn to conspiracy theories for comfort, according to the University of Nottingham researchers. It allows them to feel they have a measure of control instead of like they are at the mercy of an existential threat.
In the case of engineered hurricanes, however, the accusations don't add up.
"While we can seed individual clouds to encourage rain, for instance, a whole hurricane is simply far too big and too powerful for human technology to have any impact," the pair noted. "This makes climate conspiracy theories seem less plausible, as the climate is beyond the direct manipulation that other conspiracy theories depend on."
They also pointed out that people who don't believe the climate is changing are more likely to engage in these conspiracy theories. This creates a "self-perpetuating cycle," as those folks dismiss related environmental concerns and do not trust even scientists who produce evidence.
This means they don't take climate action, which is necessary to slow the rate of the rising global temperature and avoid what could be catastrophic consequences. The upper limit of acceptable warming is 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial levels, according to the Paris Agreement.
Inaction will further accelerate planetary heating, and that will feed the already more frequent and severe extreme weather events — as well as conspiracy theories.
Dinnick and Jolley said there are "thoughtful interventions" that can break the cycle. Preparing for and coping with natural disasters by better using resources and skills makes conspiracy theories less prevalent. Challenging these dangerous concepts with scientific reasoning has also proved to reduce belief in conspiracy theories.
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