The spike in global temperatures is contributing to climate disasters that will only get worse unless we take action.
Emilie Karrick Surrusco / Earthjustice
(July 18, 2019) — Across the globe, extreme weather is becoming the new normal.
Torrential rains and flooding. Record hurricanes. Destructive wildfires. Deadly heatwaves and drought. From season to season and year to year, weather events that were once rare occurrences are now increasingly commonplace.
Human activity is causing these rapid changes. When fossil fuels are burned for electricity, heat, and transportation, carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that traps solar radiation, is released into our atmosphere. Over the past century, massive increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have caused the temperature on our planet to rise.
That spike in global temperatures is fueling climate disasters that will only get worse unless we take action. Experts say we have just over a decade to avoid climate catastrophe. Read on to learn more — and find out what we’re doing to help the planet change course.
EXTREME HEAT GETS HOTTER
As global temperatures rise, the hottest temperatures — and the number of areas impacted by extreme heat — are also rising. That means more scorching hot days in more places. Take the Texas cities of Austin and Houston, for example. Over the past 50 years, Austin has seen the number of days with temperatures above 100°F increase by one month, while Houston has recorded an additional month with temperatures above 95°F. Through 2100, scientists predict hotter temperatures and more frequent — and intense — heat waves in every region of the U.S., as explained by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
DROUGHT CONDITIONS PERSIST
Higher temperatures also lead to drier conditions. When global temperatures rise, moisture evaporates from both our planet’s waterbodies and soil. Droughts in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world have become more severe — and lasted longer — thanks to climate change. In fact, the American West is currently in the midst of a “mega drought” that ranks among the worst in the past 1,200 years, according to a recent study by scientists at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.
WILDFIRES BURN LONGER AND WIDER
Wildfires have always been a natural part of life in the western United States. However, as this region grows hotter and drier, wildfires are growing in size, ferocity, and speed. Fifteen of the 20 largest fires in California history have occurred since 2000 — and it’s no coincidence that the state’s hottest and driest years were in the same timeframe. The Camp Fire in 2018 — California’s most destructive, and deadliest, wildfire in history — destroyed an average of one football field worth of land every three seconds and killed 68 people, according to Cal Fire. Scientists predict that the Camp Fire won’t be record-setting for long.
WARMER TEMPERATURES DRIVE INCREASES IN PRECIPITATION
Warmer air increases evaporation, which means that our atmosphere contains an increasing amount of water vapor for storms to sweep up and turn into rain or snow. Just as drier areas are likely to get drier with rising global temperatures, those areas of the world that have historically trended toward heavy precipitation will only get wetter. In the contiguous United States, rainfall in 2018 broke records, with an average of 36.2 inches falling over a 12-month period — more than 6 inches above average.
SEA LEVEL RISE CAUSES FLOODING
As the planet warms, ocean waters are also warming — and expanding. At the same time, warmer temperatures are causing land ice — think glaciers and ice caps — to melt, which is adding water to the world’s oceans. As a result, average global sea level has increased eight inches in the last 150 years. Right now, the Atlantic coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico are experiencing some of the highest sea level rise in the world, which, combined with record rainfall, has led to catastrophic flooding.
HURRICANES ARE BECOMING MORE INTENSE
Hurricanes draw their energy from warm ocean water, which means that hurricanes are just getting stronger. In the future, we can expect to see more hurricanes along the lines of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the islands of Dominica, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico in 2017. Officials estimated that 3,000 people died in the aftermath of this catastrophic storm that dropped nearly a quarter of the Puerto Rico’s annual rainfall in one day and unleashed maximum sustained winds of 175 mph.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Americans across the political spectrum are feeling the urgency of our climate deadline and calling for action on a scale that matches the threat. People want a healthy environment and a thriving economy.
Unfortunately, fossil fuel companies are doing everything in their power to hold us back. They’re intent on burning every last ounce of oil, coal, and gas — even if it means the planet burns, too. And the Trump administration is doing everything in its power to help them.
Earthjustice is leading the fight against the administration’s environmental rollbacks in the courts — and we’re winning. Over the past year, the court has ruled in our favor more than 80 percent of the time. These victories rein in lawless giveaways to industry and level the playing field for clean energy to outcompete fossil fuels.
This fight to preserve a livable planet touches everyone. Working together, we can do more to break free from fossil fuels and build a healthy, sustainable world for future generations. Together, we can lead systemic change in service of the earth and justice for its people.
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Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes
