Hurricane Sandy killed at least 62 people and caused billions of dollars of damage to America's east coast. Water from the superstorm, which hit on Tuesday night, has flooded subways and tunnels in New York City and cut off electricity to millions of homes. Politicians and scientists are now asking whether America and the world are ready for such devastating and deadly weather events. Sandy has firmly put climate change back onto the agenda of the 2012 presidential election. Former U.S. vice president Al Gore told reporters: "Hurricane Sandy is a disturbing sign of things to come. We must [pay attention to] this warning and act quickly to solve the climate crisis." Mr Gore added: "Dirty energy makes dirty weather."

Climate expert Dr Shaye Wolf warned of "a future full of Frankenstorms". He said: "Climate change raises sea levels and super-sizes storms. The threat of killer winds and crushing storm surges will grow by the year unless we get serious about tackling greenhouse gas." Other scientists say a mixture of rare weather systems caused Sandy. They say that warmer temperatures and rising sea levels were probably not the reason for the hurricane. Meteorologist Kevin Trenberth said of Sandy: "A lot of [different] weather conditions that lined up [caused] what we might call a meteorological bomb." Sandy is certain to get politicians once again asking questions about fossil fuels and pollution.