|
|||
Late Breaking News |
|||
| Date: July 17, 1998 12:41 pm Contact: Ozone Action Kymberly Escobar (202) 265-6738 kescobar@ozone.org |
|||
Latest News Releases
|
Record Breaking Heat & Extreme Weather of 1998 Random Incidences or Early Warning of Global Warming? |
||
| WASHINGTON - July 17 - The weather has been a hot topic of conversation
across the country this year. Nightly news broadcasts often lead with stories about the
weather, reporting the havoc it has wrought with respect to how people and the environment
are impacted and the mounting costs associated with rehabilitating harmed communities.
From record breaking heat, El Nino-related floods to droughts and forest fires in Florida,
it's hard to recall a year when the weather has been such a national preoccupation. Unfortunately one question is not being asked: Are these extreme weather events just random incidences or are they a signal that we are witnessing the impacts of global warming? Consider the following: RECORD BREAKING HEAT CONTINUES This year's average global temperatures have surpassed records set in 1997, the warmest year since reliable datakeeping began in 1880. Each month from January to June has broken the previous record for that month. Nine of the past eleven years have been the warmest on record. Tom Karl, Director of the National Climatic Data Center, told The New York Times that the odds are extremely low that temperature records would be broken two years in a row. He noted that the temperature jump is "rather spectacular" and "to see every month breaking the record is rather significant." .......... Hot, hot, hot -- Amarillo, TX experienced thirteen days in June of temperatures over 100 degrees. In a stable climate, the probability of this record event is 1 in 200 years. Under climate change the predicted probability increases to 1 in 6 years. Extreme heat such as this leads to a loss of soil moisture. The Texas Agricultural Statistic Service reported in June that 66% of livestock on range and pasture lands and 41% of the statewide corn crop were in poor to very poor conditions. The Texas Agricultural Extension Service reported that the heat, combined with the lack of rain, has already cost Texas agriculture $1.5 billion, which translates into a $4.6 billion loss to the state's overall economy. Global warming is thought to have aggravated this year's El Niño An analysis done by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) examined the 10 strongest El Niño events of this century and found that they have become more frequent and warmer as the Earth's global temperature has increased. Although the correlation does not equal causation, a possible consequence of climate change is more frequent and vigorous El Niño events. According to Dr. Kevin Trenberth, Senior Scientist at NCAR, "the research shows [recent El Niños] to be sufficiently unusual, [which] suggests that the climate may be changing in such a way as to make this behavior more likely." FLOODS AND DROUGHTS OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS Climate change causes enhanced climate variability. For example, the recent Florida forest fires were a result of an unusually wet and mild winter and spring, followed by drought conditions and exceptionally warm temperatures from late March to the end of June. The exceedingly hot dry weather caused underbrush to rapidly dry out and serve as fuel for the pervasive fires. As of July 5, 483,000 acres and 365 structures had been consumed by fires resulting in an estimated $276 million in damages according to Florida's Emergency Operation Center. In addition to the droughts and high precipitation experienced in Florida, many areas of the country have been inundated by record rain and snowfalls while other areas are praying for moisture as the dry spells continue. .......... Dry, dry, dry -- The period of April –June 1998 was the driest in 104 years of reporting in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. .......... Wet, wet, wet -- Numerous new rainfall records have been established this year across the northern half and western US. June was the second wettest June in 104 years in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, the Ohio Valley, Tennessee Valley, and central Appalachians, and the third wettest in Iowa and Maine. Since 1910, precipitation has increased by about 10% across the US primarily due to heavy and extreme daily rain and snowfall. The key to the increase is that precipitation is more extreme, resulting in floods and blizzard conditions. The severe ice storm in the northeast resulted in over 500,000 customers without power. In Maine, four out of five residents lost electrical service at some point during or after the storm, and nearly 3 million feet of power lines were destroyed. Overall damages were well over $300 million. These incidences are not isolated events. It is becoming more evident that they are part of a growing trend as climatic data indicates that such extreme events are increasing over the United States. The scientific consensus about global warming has predicted that these types of weather events are going to become more frequent in the future as global temperatures continue to increase. Global warming is here. It is irresponsible for us to blame this year's weird weather occurrences on El Niño when the evidence is clear something more significant is in play here. We encourage you to consider the connection between the extreme weather we are experiencing and the gradual warming of our climate in any upcoming analysis you do of weather events. Addendum: Despite these clear warnings, Republicans in Congress are poised to gut funding in this budget cycle for energy efficiency and prohibit EPA from even "contemplating" taking action to limit these sorts of devastating climatic changes. ### |
|||
