Climate change infographic hurricanes9/27/2023 ![]() ![]() World leaders have already agreed we need to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius from preindustrial levels. Humans keep putting more greenhouse gases up there. ![]() So there's a lag.ĬOPLEY: But there's a much bigger problem. So we're going to be living with the consequences of the emissions we've already put into the atmosphere. Would that stop this extreme weather?ĬOPLEY: The reality is that carbon dioxide hangs around in the atmosphere for a long time, like hundreds of years. Now, this is a hypothetical question because we're nowhere near close to actually stopping greenhouse gas emissions. And that will continue forth.ĬOPLEY: Scientists say this pattern of extreme weather is going to continue until we stop emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.ĮSTRIN: OK. WEAVER: What you're seeing - and you can see that in all the records globally - is that the lows aren't as low as they used to be and the highs are higher than they used to be. Is that it?ĬOPLEY: You know, when I spoke to Professor Weaver, what he says is we're not necessarily going to continue seeing record-breaking heat year after year, but there's every reason to believe we will keep breaking records in the future, especially during years with an El Nino weather pattern. Hot air also heats oceans and fuels hurricanes. And that's because there are going to be more intense storms because hotter temperatures will mean less snow and more rain.ĮSTRIN: OK, that's interesting. And what we're seeing then as a direct consequence of that is, you know, more energy being fed into the system.ĬOPLEY: And when you look at the intense rain we've seen in Nevada, state officials say flooding is going to become more common there in the future. He's a professor of Earth and ocean sciences at the University of Victoria.ĪNDREW WEAVER: This year, what we've seen is remarkable ocean temperatures worldwide. So what we're seeing right now in Brazil, for example, where a cyclone has caused severe flooding, is the kind of extreme event that we can expect to happen more often as the planet gets hotter. ![]() So that's amplifying the warming that we're getting from climate change.ĮSTRIN: OK, and does that warming have any connection to the extreme rainfall that we've been seeing in Brazil and Greece and other places?ĬOPLEY: So what we know is that warmer air holds more moisture and warmer water acts like fuel for hurricanes. It's a natural weather pattern that happens periodically, and it's pushing up global temperatures. But what's also happening right now is something called an El Nino. And that's mainly because we keep burning fossil fuels, which releases greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, trapping heat close to the Earth. So what we're seeing is that heat waves are happening more and more frequently and the hot days are getting hotter. This summer was the hottest on record, with heat waves in places like the U.S., Europe and Japan. MICHAEL COPLEY, BYLINE: Good morning, Daniel.ĮSTRIN: Let's start with the heat. And much of the world has been baking in intense heat.ĮSTRIN: What is going on? Michael Copley joins us from NPR's climate desk. Following deadly wildfires in the Nevada desert, people got stuck in the mud at the Burning Man festival when torrential rain soaked the driest state in America. Dozens recently died in Brazil when a cyclone dropped more than 11 inches of rain in 24 hours.Īnd Greece has been dealing with severe flooding. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |