Warmer temperatures, catastrophic weather, and sea level rise are at the top of the list of worries when it comes to climate change. But there's another, more subtle way that the heating planet is affecting New York and New Jersey: rain.

According to historical weather charts and rainfall measurements from Manhattan's Central Park, the 10 wettest years on record have occurred since 1972; five of those, since 2003. While that has meant that the region has only rarely experienced drought in recent years, it's become more vulnerable to issues like flooding. As David Robinson, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University  and the New Jersey State Climatologist, even a seemingly small increase in temperature can set off rainier weather.

"A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture," Robinson told WNYC's Richard Hake. "With a 1-degree-Celsius, almost 2-degree rise in temperature, the atmosphere can hold about 7 percent more moisture,"

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