At Least 111 Dead as 7.4 Earthquake Hits Colombia

Is climate change making earthquakes more dangerous or is seismic risk purely a geological issue unrelated to global warming?

Published AUG 10

At Least 111 Dead as 7.4 Earthquake Hits Colombia

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Above: A police officer walks amid the debris of a damaged store in Manizales on Aug. 10. Image credit: John Bonilla/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Climate-concerned narrative

Global warming is making earthquakes more frequent and more dangerous, especially in coastal cities. Rising sea levels increase hydrostatic pressure on tectonic faults, disrupting seismic cycles and pushing faults closer to rupture earlier than expected. Colombia's Pacific Coast is among the areas facing compounding risks from climate-driven quakes, landslides and tsunamis that demand urgent investment in monitoring and resilient infrastructure.

GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences

Climate-skeptic narrative

Earthquakes are driven by tectonic plate movement powered by mantle convection, a geological process that operates on timescales and forces completely independent of human activity. Climate change simply does not belong in the conversation about what causes seismic events. Pinning earthquake risk on global warming distracts from the real work of understanding fault systems and building safer infrastructure in geologically active zones.

American University