Incredibly hot temperatures are being seen throughout the northern hemisphere this summer. From the western United States all the way across to the East Coast, across much of Europe, and to China, oppressive heat and other extreme weather conditions are running rampant. Concerns that what we are witnessing are, indeed, signs of climate change are mounting.
This appears to be the new trend. Record heat waves established in places as varied and faraway as North America, the Arctic, Europe, the Middle East, and China are intense enough to establish new records with heat. Then, maybe a year or two later, those same records are themselves eclipsed by new ones. And through it all, we are seeing other intense weather conditions, such as massive storms like Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Ida in 2021. Some of these used to be regarded as storm of the century, or once in a lifetime. It appears, however, that we need to expect them once every few years now.
So far this year, the news has been all about record heat waves.
How bad has it been?
Europe, which traditionally used to have relatively mild summers, has experienced a number of scorching hot stretches during the summer in recent years. Record hot temperatures seem to be set, and then eclipses with new heat waves just a year or two later. There are also wildfires that raged in several regions in Europe, including in France, Portugal and Spain, countries that are not used to such things. Here is one description with specifics from an article by Mark Landler of the New York Times just days ago:
For the first time on record, Britain suffered under temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius — 104 Fahrenheit — on Tuesday, as a ferocious heat wave moved northwest, leaving a trail of raging wildfires, lost lives and evacuated homes across a Europe frighteningly ill-equipped to cope with the new reality of extreme weather.
The Middle East has also seen unusually hot, sweltering conditions this year, seeing some records setting there, as well. It was recently 46.5 degrees Celsius (115.7 Fahrenheit) in Ahvaz, Iran. Tunisia has seen similarly scorching heat that has damaged crops that the country relies upon. And remember, these are regions that traditionally are quite familiar with intense heat in the summers. Yet, they feel overwhelmed by these recent phenomenon. China is enduring similar extremities in heat.
North America has not been spared, either. It has been relentlessly hot throughout much of the continent, especially parts of the United States, all summer long. Some of the worst conditions have been happening just in recent days, and there appears to be no immediate relief in sight. New heat records were seen all across much of the South yesterday, especially across Texas and Louisiana. According to the Weather channel, which was on at my job, Shreveport, Louisiana saw temperatures of 105 Fahrenheit today, which was a new record. It reached 106 degrees in Austin, Texas, which also sets a new record there. And in Dallas, it was a whopping 109 degrees Fahrenheit, setting a new record for that city. And those cities are, by and large, no strangers to hot weather. So it is saying something.
While watching the news at the end of my overnight shift this morning, the anchors were mentioning how measures were being put into effect here in New Jersey, where we have been experiencing some dry and very hot conditions. In order to reduce water usage in hopes of avoiding a water crisis, they mentioned that people would be able to water their lawns and/or hose their cars only on certain days, I believe it was based on last names. And as they were mentioning this, one old guy - a Trump supporter - was there and waved this away impatiently, stating that he had his own schedule, clearly implying that any measures to try and limit water usage basically did not apply to him. And I could not help but think that it was this kind of attitude that has so contributed to these kinds of strange weather patterns to begin with, because it sure feels like this is unnatural, and that human activity has contributed to this. It was also a depressing reminder that, despite the mountain of evidence to show that climate change is real, we just are not collectively smart enough to actually do enough meaningful things, to regulate ourselves, and avoid the catastrophe that appears to be coming.
Here are the links to the news articles that I used in writing this particular blog entry:
Europe’s Heat Wave Shatters British Records and Drives Wildfires by Mark Landler, July 19, 2022:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/19/world/europe/europe-uk-heat-record-wildfires.html
HOME EARTH NEWS Extreme Record-Breaking Heat: Heatwaves and Fires Scorch Europe, Africa, and Asia TOPICS:Earth ObservatoryGeographyNASAWeatherWildfires By SARA E. PRATT, NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY JULY 19, 2022:
https://scitechdaily.com/extreme-record-breaking-heat-heatwaves-and-fires-scorch-europe-africa-and-asia/
China endures summer of extreme weather as record rainfall and scorching heat wave cause havoc by Nectar Gan, CNN , July 20, 2022
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/20/china/china-summer-extreme-weather-climate-change-intl-hnk-mic/index.html
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