2023-07-19 15:48:38
2023-07-19 15:48:35
2023-07-19 15:44:32
1712707
There is nothing even remotely normal about where Earth's climate system is going, thanks to human pollution and greed.
_____________________________
"Is this extreme weather the ‘new normal?’ There’s no such thing, scientists say"
Summer in the Northern Hemisphere is playing out like an apocalypse movie: a tale of heat, floods, and fire. But scientists warn this may only be a preview of the unpredictable chaos to come if the world continues to pump out planet-heating pollution.
Just over halfway through July, and already a slew of extreme weather records has been broken.
A prolonged, unrelenting heat wave has scorched large parts of the South and Southwest United States. Temperatures in Phoenix, Arizona, have hit at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3C) for a record-breaking 19 consecutive days, and emergency departments are flooded with heat-related illness.
Southern Europe is experiencing one of its most extreme heat waves on record, with wildfires raging in Greece, Spain, and Switzerland. And in Asia, temperatures have pushed above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in China, while parts of South Korea, Japan, and northern India are experiencing deadly flooding.
In a statement on Tuesday, Petteri Taalas, secretary general of the World Meteorological Organization, called this relentless cascade of extreme weather “the new normal.”
But some scientists now balk at that framing.
“When I hear it, I get a bit crazy because it’s not really the new normal,” said Hannah Cloke, a climate scientist and professor at the University of Reading in the UK. “Until we stop pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, we have no idea what the future looks like.”
She is one of many scientists who warn that while this summer is very bad, it’s only just the beginning. As long as global temperature continues to rise, they say, the world should brace for escalating impacts.
And as the climate crisis accelerates, the stage is set for more surprises.
“The weather extremes will continue to become more intense, and our weather patterns could change in ways we yet can’t predict,” said Peter Stott, a science fellow at the UK Met Office.
_____________________________
FULL ARTICLE -- https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/19/world/extreme-weather-heat-floods-abnormal-climate-scn/index.html
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency
_____________________________
"Is this extreme weather the ‘new normal?’ There’s no such thing, scientists say"
Summer in the Northern Hemisphere is playing out like an apocalypse movie: a tale of heat, floods, and fire. But scientists warn this may only be a preview of the unpredictable chaos to come if the world continues to pump out planet-heating pollution.
Just over halfway through July, and already a slew of extreme weather records has been broken.
A prolonged, unrelenting heat wave has scorched large parts of the South and Southwest United States. Temperatures in Phoenix, Arizona, have hit at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3C) for a record-breaking 19 consecutive days, and emergency departments are flooded with heat-related illness.
Southern Europe is experiencing one of its most extreme heat waves on record, with wildfires raging in Greece, Spain, and Switzerland. And in Asia, temperatures have pushed above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in China, while parts of South Korea, Japan, and northern India are experiencing deadly flooding.
In a statement on Tuesday, Petteri Taalas, secretary general of the World Meteorological Organization, called this relentless cascade of extreme weather “the new normal.”
But some scientists now balk at that framing.
“When I hear it, I get a bit crazy because it’s not really the new normal,” said Hannah Cloke, a climate scientist and professor at the University of Reading in the UK. “Until we stop pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, we have no idea what the future looks like.”
She is one of many scientists who warn that while this summer is very bad, it’s only just the beginning. As long as global temperature continues to rise, they say, the world should brace for escalating impacts.
And as the climate crisis accelerates, the stage is set for more surprises.
“The weather extremes will continue to become more intense, and our weather patterns could change in ways we yet can’t predict,” said Peter Stott, a science fellow at the UK Met Office.
_____________________________
FULL ARTICLE -- https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/19/world/extreme-weather-heat-floods-abnormal-climate-scn/index.html
#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency
