International News: America experiences effects of extreme heat this summer

Posted: Saturday, July 15, 2023. 4:45 pm CST.

By Celeste Chang: NBC News reports that scientists have predicted a climate of extremes as the Earth warms beyond acceptable benchmarks because humans continue to belch fossil fuel pollution into the atmosphere.

Professor in the Earth and planetary sciences department at Johns Hopkins University, Ben Zaitchik, stated, “All of this is entirely consistent with what greenhouse gas warming does and is in line with the trends we expect.” He continued, “Still there’s something that feels surprising — emotionally surprising — when you see these happening with increasing frequency and severity.”

Though researchers have not calculated how much climate change has changed the odds of the specific weather events causing disruptions this summer, scientists see the “fingerprints” of climate change varying across the landscape of America. The events have peeved communities in almost every region of North America. It has taken lives, damaged homes and stolen the pleasures of summer for residents.

Earlier this month, Earth had its hottest recorded days for average global temperatures. Some scientists believe that is a signal that El Niño – one-half of the recurring climate pattern across the tropical Pacific, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation which shifts back and forth irregularly every two to seven years – is taking control and raising temperatures on top of background warming from climate change.

Sea surface temperatures in North America have been record hot since mid-March. The lengthened marine heat wave is cooking waters off the coast of Florida, pushing ocean temperatures about 5-7 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. Oceans have reportedly absorbed about 90 percent of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases.

NBC reports that “Canada saw more acreage burned this year by wildfires than any other year on record. A record-smashing heat wave this spring primed northern Canada for the fires that have burned more than 37,000 square miles of land so far, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Scientists are predicting wildfires to increase in North America as temperatures warm and make fire behavior more likely. A build-up of fuels from fire suppression and forest management practices is also contributing to the problem.”

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