New York (CNN) Virgin Group founder Richard Branson rode out Hurricane Irma in his wine cellar on his private island in the British Virgin Islands.

Tuesday, as many of the same islands braced for the impact of Hurricane Maria, he appeared on CNN's "New Day" with a message: "Climate change is real."

"Look, you can never be 100% sure about links," Branson said after anchor John Berman asked if he saw a correlation between the recent hurricanes and climate change. "But scientists have said the storms are going to get more and more and more intense and more and more often. We've had four storms within a month, all far greater than that have ever, ever, ever happened in history."

"Sadly," he continued, "I think this is the start of things to come."

Branson noted that recent storms like Irma, which tore through the Caribbean, and Harvey, which ravaged Houston, Texas, have been extremely devastating.

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