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Traffic warden Ry Rogers guards a street corner during his eight-hour shift in the scorching sun on July 12, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. A heatwave followed, with temperatures reaching 106 degrees Celsius. More than 50 million Americans from California to Texas to Florida will be grilling in dangerously hot temperatures this week as a heatwave intensifies across the southern United States.
Frederick J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images
If you’re feeling the alarming frequency of record-breaking extreme weather, you’re not alone. Scientists say it’s not your imagination.
“The number of extreme weather events we’re currently seeing in the northern hemisphere at the same time seems to exceed at least what I can remember.” Michael Manna professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Pennsylvania told CNBC.
Globally, June was the hottest June on record in 174 years The federal agency said Thursday that it is being held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was the 47th consecutive month and 532nd consecutive month that the average temperature in June was above the 20th century average.
The amount of sea ice measured in June was the lowest on record globally, largely due to record low sea ice levels in Antarctica. According to NOAA.
Nine tropical cyclones formed in June. It is defined as a storm with wind speeds exceeding 114 miles per hour, and the global cumulative cyclone energy representing the total duration and intensity of tropical cyclones is: As of June, it was almost double the average from 1991 to 2020, according to NOAA..
As of Friday morning, 93 million people in the United States had received excessive heat warnings or advisories, according to a statement from the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center. Bulletin issued on Friday morning. “A scorching heat wave will engulf much of the West Coast, Great Basin and Southwest,” the National Weather Service said.
A person is treated by a doctor after collapsing at a convenience store in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 13, 2023. The person said he was experiencing hot flashes, dizziness, fatigue and chest pain, so he was referred to an EMT. A prolonged heat wave hits the southwest as record temperatures continue to rise.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Flooding in downtown Montpelier, Vermont, Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Vermont has been under a state of emergency since Sunday night after heavy rains continued into Tuesday morning and flooded the state.
Washington Post | Washington Post | Getty Images
On June 27, Canada surpassed the record set in 1989 by burning 7.6 million hectares, or 18.8 million acres, in a single season. And that area has since grown to 9.3 million hectares, or 23 million acres, with record high temperatures making the vegetation a flare-up point for wildfires.
These record-breaking Canadian wildfires have engulfed parts of the United States and created some of the worst fires in the world at various points.
A view of the city as smoke from the Canadian wildfires fills the sky on June 30, 2023 in New York City, USA. Canada’s wildfire smoke is creating dangerous fog as New York City’s Air Quality Index reaches 160. People were warned to avoid physical activity outdoors, and those who spend time outdoors were advised to use a tight-fitting face mask when air quality was unhealthy.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
During 2022, $18 billion separately Weather and climate hazard events such as tornado outbreaks, high winds, hail storms, tropical cyclones, floods, droughts, heat waves, and wildfires, according to NOAA data. According to NOAA, there will be $12 billion in weather disasters by 2023 so far.
“This year will almost certainly break the record for the number of extreme weather events.” Paul UlrichA professor of regional and global climate modeling at the University of California, Davis, told CNBC.
Scientists say global warming is making extreme weather even more severe.
“Our own research shows that the trend toward more frequent extreme summer weather, such as heat waves and floods, is being driven by human-caused warming,” Mann told CNBC. rice field.
Ulrich agrees. “The increased frequency and intensity of heatwaves, floods and wildfires could be directly attributed to climate change,” Ulrich told CNBC.
Wildfires burn above the Fraser River Valley near Lytton, British Columbia, Canada, Friday, July 2, 2021. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called an emergency meeting of his ministers as a lingering heat wave continues to spark numerous wildfires in western Canadian provinces. Crisis group dealing with this issue.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“Due to greenhouse gas emissions, we are trapping more heat near the surface, resulting in higher temperatures, more moisture in the air, and a drier surface,” Ulrich said. Stated. “Scientists are very confident that the increased frequency and severity of extreme events are a direct result of human modification of the climate system.”
A weather pattern called “El Niño” arrived in June as well.
El Niño is like adding light fuel to an already smoldering fire. “The recent El Niño event has increased temperatures around the world, exacerbating the warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions,” Ulrich said.
Mann said the combination of man-made climate change and El Niño “is causing a surge in these extremes.”
Animation of sea surface temperature over the past 6 months
NOAA
El Niño, which means “little boy” in Spanish, occurs when the normal westward trade winds along the equator weaken and push warm water eastward toward the west coast of the Americas. The United States experiences a moderate to strong El Niño in the fall and winter, with wetter-than-average rainfall from Southern California to the Gulf Coast, and drier-than-average over the Pacific Northwest and Ohio Valley.
When global warming and El Niño are occurring at the same time, “it can be difficult to distinguish what is just a weather phenomenon or part of a long-term trend.” Timothy CantyA professor of atmospheric and ocean sciences at the University of Maryland told CNBC.
What is clear, however, is that climate change will increase the likelihood of extreme weather events.
“The increase in temperature due to climate change is undisputed, with each increase in temperature doubling the impact of extreme heatwaves. Rain and more severe storms are expected,” Ulrich told CNBC. “To avoid even more extreme changes, we need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and act to clean up polluted air.”
And as global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, Mann says, the trend for more and more extreme weather events is expected to continue.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels can help mitigate extreme weather trends.
An infographic titled “Antarctic Sea Ice Drops to Lowest Level in 43 Years”, created in Ankara, Turkiye on March 1, 2023. The level of sea ice surrounding Antarctica has fallen to its lowest level since 1979.
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“The good news is that new research shows that surface warming, which causes more extreme weather, stabilizes rapidly when carbon emissions stop, thus rapidly decarbonizing the economy. This will prevent things from getting worse and worse,” Mann told CNBC.
Each person’s contribution to reducing our climate footprint will help, Chianti said.
“People have asked me essentially, ‘What can I do as an important individual?’ It’s a society made up of individuals that has led us to this point,” Chianti said.
Individuals can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by making small changes such as turning off the lights when they are not in their rooms, turning down the heat or increasing the air conditioning when they are not at home, avoiding food waste, and using public transportation. Emissions can be reduced.
Voting is also very important, Chianti said. Citing the Montreal Protocol as an example, Canti said government leaders have been able to successfully move forward on international environmental crises in the past. “We have a roadmap for working together to solve environmental problems in ways that benefit everyone,” Chianti said.
“Tackling the ozone hole requires governments, scientists and business working together, and the Montreal Protocol and its proposed amendments have been huge successes not just for ozone, but for the climate,” Chianti said. The same chemicals that destroy layers, chlorofluorocarbons, are also very bad greenhouse gases. “The ozone hole is slowly healing, and thanks to measures taken in the 1980s, we were able to avoid even worse global warming. It is also used.”
But unless individuals and organizations take aggressive steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this series of extreme weather events will portend the future.
“If we don’t act, what we’re seeing right now is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg that will melt,” Mann told CNBC.