The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season caused over $500 billion worth of damage and contributed to nearly 600 deaths. Things were a little calmer in the Pacific, with just 13 named storms — although one, John, hit southern Mexico twice, causing an estimated $2.5 billion of damage. The 2025 season is still underway. Anticipating and preparing for these storms is an annual change, one in which science and policy intersect. How do hurricanes form, and how are they likely to change as the climate warms? How precisely can they be predicted – and what are remaining uncertainties? How can society better prepare for hurricanes now and in the future? The Deitz Family Initiative on Environment & Global Affairs will host a conversation with Professor Alexey Fedorov of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Jackson Senior Fellow Deanne Criswell, former administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The talk will be moderated by Jessica Seddon, senior lecturer and director of the Deitz Family Initiative.

The Science Policy Interchange is a series of once-monthly dialogues dedicated to reimagining the connections between humans and the wider environment and climate. In a unique format, Yale students, faculty, and practitioners will first hear from two speakers, each with a distinct background, working within a shared theme of interest at the interchange of environmental science and policy. These short introductory talks will lead a moderated group discussion devoted to elaborating connections between the science and policy aspects of the session’s theme, and to generating critical insight for contemporary environmental governance. Themes of the series will include: early-warning signals for disaster management; the evolving roles of national and international assessments in environmental decision-making; and developments in the marine carbon dioxide removal ecosystem.

The series is a part of the My Climate Risk Hub at Yale, currently convened by Jessica Seddon and supported by Bamboo Grove. My Climate Risk is a World Climate Research Programme Lighthouse Activity that seeks to “develop and mainstream a ‘bottom-up’ approach to regional climate risk, which starts with the requirements of decision-makers.”