Question: The passage given below is followed by four summaries. Choose the option that best captures the author’s position.
For each of the past three years, temperatures have hit peaks not seen since the birth of meteorology, and probably not for more than 110,000 years. The amount of carbon dioxide in the air is at its highest level in 4 million years. This does not cause storms like Harvey – there have always been storms and hurricanes along the Gulf of Mexico – but it makes them wetter and more powerful. As the seas warm, they evaporate more easily and provide energy to storm fronts. As the air above them warms, it holds more water vapour. For every half a degree Celsius in warming, there is about a 3% increase in atmospheric moisture content. Scientists call this the Clausius–Clapeyron equation. This means the skies fill more quickly and have more to dump. The storm surge was greater because sea levels have risen 20 cm as a result of more than 100 years of human – related global warming which has melted glaciers and thermally expanded the volume of seawater.
Option 1 is incorrect. The author’s position is that global warming has made the storms more powerful. He explains how this happens. Option 1 is eliminated because it emphasizes Harvey and distorts the idea in the paragraph.
Option 2 is incorrect. It talks about the unpredictability of the extent of damage that a storm can cause. This idea is irrelevant. Eliminate option 2.
Option 3 is correct. It captures all the points the author has highlighted and the author’s position correctly.
Option 4 is incorrect. It begins “it is naïve to think…” The author does not hint at anything like this. Eliminate option 4.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.