Main content

Is climate change to blame for Hurricane Melissa?

Extreme weather or oceans warming? The science of what makes hurricanes so deadly. And how a largely ignored strain of bird flu may be the next human pandemic risk.

What’s been called the storm of the century - Hurricane Melissa – has barrelled through Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas over the past two days. Hannah Cloke, Professor of Hydrology at the University of Reading, explains whether Melissa was caused – or made worse - by human-made climate change.

As the H5N1 bird flu season picks up across British farms, virologist Ian Brown from the Pirbright Institute assesses its threat and turns our attention to a largely ignored strain of bird flu – H9N2 – which a recent study suggests is becoming adapted to human cells.

The interstellar comet 3I/Atlas has inspired some bizarre theories about alien life coming into our solar system. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ science journalist Roland Pease, who has been watching these cosmic events and the pseudoscientific myths that follow in their wake for decades, gives us his take.

And mathematician Katie Steckles brings us her favourite finds from the world of science.

If you want to test your climate change knowledge, head to bbc.co.uk search for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University to take the quiz.

Presenter: Victoria Gill
Producers: Ella Hubber, Jonathan Blackwell, Tim Dodd
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Available now

28 minutes

On radio

Tomorrow 20:30

Featured

  • .

Broadcasts

  • Thursday 16:30
  • Tomorrow 20:30

Explore further with The Open University

Discover more fascinating science content with The Open University

Podcast