In 2024, the Atlantic hurricane season saw a high number of named storms, which included 11 named hurricanes and seven tropical storms.
One of those storms was Hurricane Milton, which brought a tremendous amount of rain and a widespread outbreak of tornadoes to parts of Florida, as the National Weather Service detailed. The storm also brought a wave of conspiracy theories that left many scratching their heads.
While experts attributed the rapid intensification of Hurricane Milton to near-record high temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, some conspiracy theorists saw an opportunity to speculate with their own reasons. Several pointed to the idea that the storm was engineered by scientists to inflict as much damage as possible.
One Redditor was inundated with so many of these conspiracy theories that they took to the r/NoStupidQuestions subreddit to ask why.
In the post, the Redditor noted that under every post regarding weather updates on Hurricane Milton, they saw these conspiracy theories being shared. "Where did this start and why did it get so prevalent?" the original poster asked.
There's no question that Hurricane Milton was a formidable and dangerous storm as it built up strength in the Gulf of Mexico in early October 2024. At its peak, the storm was designated as a Category 5 hurricane on Oct. 7, with maximum sustained winds of 180 miles per hour. Its central pressure of 897 millibars ranked as the fifth most intense hurricane in the Atlantic basin in history, according to the Florida Climate Center.
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Although Hurricane Milton diminished in strength before making landfall near Siesta Key on Oct. 9, the storm was responsible for at least 14 deaths (higher by some estimates) and an estimated $50 billion in damages, as the Harvard Gazette detailed.
The effects of the changing climate are being felt all across the world. One of these effects is the increase in average water temperatures, similar to the very warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico. According to NOAA, warm waters act as fuel for hurricanes. The warmer the water temperatures, the greater the chance a hurricane can develop into a major storm.
Although scientists have not confirmed that hurricane frequency has increased with global temperature increases, the thinking is that such storms are generally more likely to be stronger.
As stated by one commenter, some conspiracy theorists might just be scared of the reality of the increasing global temperatures. "People get scared of things outside their control," wrote the commenter.
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Definitely 💯 Another commenter reiterated the same point in much harsher terms. "Everything is a conspiracy theory when you don't understand how anything works," they wrote.
One user wrote, "People refuse to believe that Climate Change is a real thing."
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