The Earth is too Warm

 

Have you noticed? The temperatures are pretty hot outside these days. Yes, I know it is July and in DC, MD, VA. we expect those hazy, hot, and humid days each summer. And, luckily for us, June was cooler than usual, so there were many pleasant evenings where one could dine outdoors.

However, in the Southwest, such as in Texas and Arizona, residents had many consecutive days with temperatures well over 100 degrees. Some days registered the highest temperatures ever recorded for several cities there.

For example, last year Austin had sixty-eight days of temperatures over 100 degrees. They set the record in 2011, which had 90 days over 100. However, this year the 100-degree temperatures came earlier than usual. Forecasts still call for temperatures in Austin and the hill country in the coming week to range from 96 to 107, with some days going as high as 112 degrees Fahrenheit.

Arizona is also having high temperatures with Phoenix recording 107 degrees last week, and severe high temps continuing this week. On July 3^rd, the temp was 117 degrees there.

The weather phenomenon of El Nìno is having an effect this year, but it is also aided by a weather system called a heat dome that has settled over the area. The heat dome holds the weather in place  and blocks other atmospheric winds from moving it onward. As most of the weather in the US moves from the west to the east, a stationery system over the mid-South changes weather patterns across the country.

That enormous dome in the center of the country allowed the smoke from the over 100 wildfires currently burning across Canada to blanket the east coast skies for several days in June. From New York City, south through Philadelphia, and down to Washington, DC, skies were hazy and visibility was minimal. Air quality alerts ranged from code orange through code purple with air hazard particle counts over 200 and higher. The fires continue to burn out of control, despite having firefighters from several nations helping to fight them. The forests are dry from several years of drought and are burning easily, mostly from lightning strikes. We can probably expect more days of hazardous air quality throughout the summer in the DC area.

The hottest average temperatures for the earth ever recorded happened this year between July 3-5 when the temperature was 63 degrees (62.96)Fahrenheit. The findings were from 110 degrees recorded in Jingxing, China to the continent of Antarctica, which saw temperatures as much as 8 degrees above normal. Antarctica is having its winter season. Charts (from NOAA and the University of Maine,) which have measured this data over many years, showed a spiking uphill trend.

This may also ring more severe storms as the temperatures of the Pacific rise with El Nino weather patterns. When the water temperatures are high, storms such as cyclones and hurricanes churn the waters faster and bring stronger winds and heavier rainfalls.

Pakistan, which saw tremendous devastation earlier this year, from heavy rains and flooding, is again suffering from the summer monsoon deluges that are expected to continue through September. The world saw additional flash floods recently in Italy, Malawi, Mozambique, Brazil, Peru, Spain, Sudan, and parts of China and Turkey. In Turkey, the flooding was in an area also devastated by earthquakes earlier this year.

About 23% of the US is currently in a drought situation. That includes Maryland, which has seen rainfall this year several inches below expectations. Sudden thunderstorms brought over 3/4 inch of rain in 2 hours to the area last week, causing roads to be overwhelmed and necessary water rescues.

The heavy rains seen in California this year have lessened the threat of wildfires there, so that has been good news. Droughts continue throughout much of the country, however.

Across the world, “flash droughts” are a recent phenomenon and occur more often in the humid tropics. Scientists see them, as reported in the New York Times, to be a consequence of human-induced climate change as they may occur in areas that were not considered in danger of droughts. The study predicted, “In the coming decades, even if global warming increases only relatively modestly, flash droughts will become even more common and speedier in almost every region of the globe,”…

With more areas of floods across the world and more areas of drought, it is expected that there will be more migration out of these troubled areas.

The World Food Program (WFP) notes famine in several countries in Africa: Burkina Faso, Mali, Somalia. and South Sudan.

The United Nations announced today that South Sudan is on the verge of Civil War. WFP also notes the following: “From the Central American Dry Corridor and Haiti, through the Sahel, Central African Republic, South Sudan and then eastwards to the Horn of Africa, Syria, Yemen and all the way to Afghanistan, conflict, and climate shocks are driving millions of people to the brink of starvation.”

They estimate that 345 million people in the ̀world have food insecurity. 70% of them are because of violence and conflicts, the rest are because of climate shocks and high prices for food and fertilizer. 

The US military studied water as an issue for national security and historically, for world or regional insecurity. The ability for populations to have secure water resources created many conflicts throughout history. These conflicts continue today. In the US, states in the west are trying to settle disputes about the use of the water from the Colorado River as dams are being drained. The US Army War College studied water security throughout the world in 2017. You can find the report here.

The report concludes:

“A long history of political tensions and violence associated with poor water policies and management, combined with new threats associated with growing populations, new ideological challenges, and a changing climate make it urgent that we better understand – and work to reduce — the risks of water-related conflict. Solutions to water tensions exist but the failure to address these issues greatly increases the risks that violence and conflict over water will grow and that military and intelligence resources will be called into action. The British politician, Tony Benn, said, “War represents a failure of diplomacy.” If we fail to manage water sustainably, strategically, and effectively, water will be an increasing source of conflict. The good news is that smart solutions exist if we have the foresight and initiative to pursue them.”

The information above is sobering to me, and I hope to you as well. There are serious issues around the world and in our country that can be tied to issues related to climate change. Other issues of geography, politics, and diplomacy impact the inability to find solutions easily. Tough problems, yes, but these are problems that are killing millions of people across the globe. Children with malnutrition may never realize their full potential. Movement across borders to escape wars and famine causes global instability. The deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea should affect everyone; they cannot become forgotten people. As a mother, I cannot imagine what it might be like to send one’s family members off on a migrant boat and never hear from them again and never know if they were alive or dead. And how desperate must these people be to get on an unsafe boat to find a better life? We, as a world, need to find better solutions. In the US, we say the way to reduce the number of immigrant trains is to provide more stability in their home countries. But governments that are run by dictators or military forces have little desire to change.

Global climate change is here. We have still a bit of time to make modifications. Recently, I read that the manufacturers of large tractor-trailers have agreed to electrify their fleets within about a dozen years, reducing the emissions from their current diesel engines. Large Ocean Liners are also looking to better their fleets’ carbon footprints, but according to many reports, they have a long way to go. Despite agreeing to be ready by 2030, many liners are still polluting the oceans and fouling the air. Some have moved to liquified natural gas as a fuel, but it is still a carbon fuel. Reuters recently reported on this issue. Cargo ships and container ships are major polluters as they use heavy diesel fuel, Vox recently reported on this industry and how it affects our climate. The industry is vital to world trade and has indicated it will run clean ships by 2050; some shippers have plans to do this by 2040.

Why am I discussing trucks and ships? These are major industries that keep our global economy running. Therefore, they, as known polluters, have a responsibility to step up and help provide solutions. Costs will be high, but we need clean air to breathe and a planet that needs to stop heating up. The world is already seeing a cost in lives lost, instability, and tragic weather events.

It is past time to get serious about global climate change. What can you do? More about that in future weeks.

Til next week-Peace!