Updated on July 12th, 2025
Climate change panic is trending these days. Naturally, it has become part of a huge business. Moreover, many businesses are based on climate alarmism.
No, we are in no way downplaying the impact of climate on humans (and perhaps vice versa too), because while technology expands our capabilities, we can only comfortably exist and thrive within a relatively narrow range of weather conditions.
But we also remember how often the predictions about our potentially catastrophic future have changed in recent decades. Moreover, the forecasts often changed to the exact opposite.
Nevertheless, as yachtsmen, we are concerned about whether our way of life is under threat, and whether record temperatures, storms and hurricanes in the near future will have a critical impact on the yachting industry.
When it comes to global temperatures, the current consensus is that average temperatures are rising and global warming is inevitable. Moreover, the assertion that it is caused by human activity seems beyond doubt or dispute. And if you, as a climatologist or a specialist in related fields, go against the narrative, then you will be subject to “expert” pressure, you won’t get funding, you won’t get interviews in the media, and you’ll lose your chance to get widespread recognition.
However, truly brave scientists say something like this: we don’t know and can’t predict anything, because there are too many variables. This is commendable, since voicing doubts or criticizing the accepted view can lead to ostracism or loss of reputation for those who dare to question it.
But be that as it may, there are concerns that further increases in average temperatures, combined with changes in the circulation of global ocean currents, could have a significant impact on the strength and frequency of storms and hurricanes. As evidence, they cite record-breaking hurricanes of recent years.
This is exactly what should worry us, because we know what kind of destruction can be experienced not only by boats caught in a hurricane’s path, but also by all coastal infrastructure.
But some researchers disagree with the idea that storms and hurricanes will become more frequent. They may become stronger and more catastrophic, but they probably won’t occur more often.
Moreover, the power of hurricanes, as this part of the researchers points out, seems to have hardly increased on average over the last hundred years. We do not provide here the graphs they refer to, they are all freely available, along with many articles on this topic. But the point is that similarly strong weather events have happened before. That is, we can only talk about record storms in the context of the last couple of decades or so.
Since we are not competent to make any statements when it comes to climate science, we can only hope that these claims are true. At least modern weather forecasting methods give sailors and marinas time to prepare.
But the issue of rising temperatures seems to be becoming more pressing, because if the heat waves continue to hit traditional yachting regions like the Mediterranean more often and more intensely, yachtsmen will inevitably look to higher latitudes. They are already doing so.
Subtropical marinas may struggle, while in the north, the most favorable coastal cities will thrive due to the increased length of the yachting season and the influx of visitors (wink to St. Petersburg).
This is also nothing more than one of many assumptions, because another group of grant-independent researchers talks about an upcoming cold snap that will cover all of Europe or even half the world, depending on the interpretation of the data.
Obviously, the climate issue is quite complex, so even modern modeling systems using neural networks and big data are not powerful and sophisticated enough to give us an accurate picture of the coming climate, according to experts.
And let’s not forget that there are many people today who are making huge amounts of money from climate alarmism, from the green tech industry to governments and media at all levels. As the saying goes, watch where the money is flowing.
In any case, it is safe to say that even if storms and hurricanes become more destructive in some area, sailors and the yachting industry will adapt, including the use of new technologies. And, apparently, we will see the development of new yachting regions.