
Last month was the hottest June in 174 year history according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Canada is going through a record-breaking wildfire season, sea ice is at an unprecedented low, and Vermont is recuperating from unprecedented flooding. Many people have been feeling like the world is going through a period of never-before-seen destructive events with increasing regularity. Global warming has been causing a more humid and warmer atmosphere for decades which has led to more frequent and intense extreme weather events. This June, an El Niño weather pattern has occurred which is further compounding the already extreme conditions.
It is increasingly being noted that record-level extreme weather events are happening at an alarming rate - not just in one's imagination. Michael Mann, Professor of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, shared with CNBC that the number of simultaneous weather extremes occurring in the Northern Hemisphere “seems to exceed anything [he] can remember.” According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), June was the hottest June in the 174-year records kept by the agency, as well as the 47th consecutive June and the 532nd consecutive month with average temperatures above the 20th century standard. June sea ice coverage was the lowest ever recorded, thanks mainly to the Antarctic, and there were nine tropical cyclones observed with a Global Accumulated Cyclone Energy level almost twice as much as the average for the 1991-2020 period. As of Friday, the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center notified that 93 million citizens of the United States were subject to either heat advisories or excessive heat warnings - the West Coast, the Great Basin and the Southwest were “set to become engulfed in a searing heat wave.”
The National Weather Service has predicted temperatures to exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the desert regions of southern California, southern Nevada and southern Arizona in the next few days. On Monday, Montpelier, Vermont made history by setting a new all-time maximum for rain in one day, which led to catastrophic flooding and devastation across the state. In response to this disaster, Vermont governor Phil Scott made the following statement on Tuesday: "Make no mistake, the devastation and flooding we're experiencing across Vermont is historic and catastrophic."
On June 27, Canada broke the record from 1989 of area burned in one season when it hit 7.6 million hectares, or 18.8 million acres. That number has since risen to 9.3 million hectares, or 23 million acres, due to record-breaking high temperatures that have made the vegetation particularly inflammable. The Canada wildfires have sent smoke to parts of the United States, resulting in some of the worst air quality in the world at certain points.
In 2022, NOAA recorded a total of 18 billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events, ranging from tornado outbreaks, high winds, hailstorms, tropical cyclones, flooding, drought, heatwaves to wildfires. As of this year, the agency's data reveals that 2023 has already experienced 12 such events.
CNBC Climate offers insight into a 33-year-old Canadian chemist and a well-known MIT professor who are in the process of constructing an 'electric vehicle of cement making'. The booming business of exchanging gas-powered cars to EVs is also featured, as well as a former Tesla engineer developing Aigen robots to eradicate weeds without pesticides.
Get to know the 33-year-old Canadian chemist and the well-known MIT professor constructing the 'electric vehicle of cement production'. Transforming traditional gasoline-powered automobiles into electric automobiles is a thriving industry. A former Tesla engineer has built Aigen robots to eradicate weeds without the use of chemicals.
Paul Ullrich, professor of regional and global climate modeling at University of California at Davis, informed CNBC that this year is expected to break records for extreme weather events. Scientists have expressed that global warming is causing these events to be more severe. Mann told CNBC that their own research has demonstrated that summer heat waves, floods, and other persistent extremes are being caused by human-induced climate change. Ullrich confirmed this concept when speaking to CNBC, agreeing that heatwaves, floods, and wildfires are more frequent and intense due to climate change.
Ullrich pointed out that with the emission of greenhouse gases, more heat was being retained near the ground, resulting in climbing temperatures, humidity in the atmosphere and dryer land. Scientists are completely certain that the more intense and more frequent extreme events are a result of a changed climate caused by humans. At the same time in June, the "El Niño" weather pattern started to be seen. El Niño is like throwing more fuel onto an already blazing fire. Ullrich mentioned that because of El Niño, in addition to the climate alteration brought about by people, temperatures worldwide were even higher, bringing shocking extreme events. El Niño, known as "the little boy" in Spanish, is characterized by weakened trade winds along the equator, allowing warmer ocean waters to migrate east towards the Americas. This typically results in wetter weather in the southern United States, from California to the Gulf Coast, and drier conditions in the Pacific Northwest and Ohio Valley.
Timothy Canty, Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the University of Maryland, commented to CNBC that global warming and El Niño can mix together, making it hard to distinguish what is simply a weather event or a part of a larger trend. He also noted that higher temperatures from climate change undeniably lead to more intense heatwaves and more extreme storms in wetter regions, such as the Northeastern US.
Mann likewise suggested that in order to lessen the future effects of extreme weather, it is necessary to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and clean up our polluted air. Unless greenhouse gas emissions are addressed, it is likely that more and more frequent extreme weather will persist.
According to Mann, the recent research that has been conducted suggests that the warming of the planet, which is causing extreme weather occurrences, will stabilize when carbon emissions are eradicated. He emphasizes that each person should do their part to reduce their carbon footprint, such as turning off lights, regulating heating/cooling, avoiding food waste, and using public transportation, but voting is especially important. He also brings up the success of the Montreal Protocol when it comes to tackling ozone depletion and greenhouse gasses. If individuals and organizations don't take the necessary actions to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, then the extreme weather catastrophes are just the beginning of the consequences. Mann warned that if we fail to act now, "what we're seeing right now is just the tip of the proverbial - melting - iceberg."
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