+VIEWS
October 31 2023
September temperatures are “gobsmackingly bananas”, Otis changes from storm to Cat 5 hurricane in 12 hours, the challenge of phasing out fossil fuels, mosquito-borne illnesses on the rise in U.S., electric delivery vans are making economic sense
In The New York Times, climate scientist Zeke Hausfather calls attention to the enormous record warming in September 2023, when temperatures were almost 1°F above the previous high (“gobsmackingly bananas” according to one analyst). He notes: “there is increasing evidence that global warming has accelerated over the past 15 years, rather than continued at a gradual, steady pace.” He points to the reduction of particles in the atmosphere due to air-pollution controls and less coal burning (these particles reflect sunlight and provide a cooling effect), as does James Hansen, while others are not so sure — but all are worried. These scientists note that a long-standing projection of atmospheric modeling has been a possible acceleration of warming if “our aerosol emissions declined while our greenhouse gas emissions did not.” This suggests that, as we transition away from fossil fuels, there will be an additional increase in temperature due to a further reduction in atmospheric particles, making it essential that greenhouse-gas emissions be eliminated as expeditiously as possible. Hausfather concludes that “despite the recent acceleration of warming, humans remain firmly in the driver’s seat, and the future of our climate is still up to us to decide.”
The New York Times reports that a new study concludes “hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean are now twice as likely to grow from a weak storm into a major Category 3 or higher hurricane within just 24 hours.” This makes it much more difficult to forecast how severe a given storm might be, and particularly impacts the ability to accurately recommend evacuations. This study contributes to a growing body of evidence that climate change is accelerating storm intensification.
As if on cue, Hurricane Otis struck Acapulco. It intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in 12 hours, defying predictions from meteorological agencies. This provided virtually no warning to a city of 852,000 people, what a forecaster with the U.S. National Hurricane Center called a “nightmare scenario.” This was the strongest storm ever to hit western Mexico, and 24 hours later at least 27 people were dead and Acapulco was without power, water or communications…
October 15 2023
El Niño is here, the cumulative cost of carbon emissions, impacts of EVs v. fossil-fuel cars, the American Climate Corps, toxicity and waste from solar overstated
The Washington Post reports that NOAA’s climate forecasters, and those at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, have stated that the coming winter could bring a strong or even a “super” El Niño, the latter with strength rivaling the historic El Niño of 1997-1998. During that El Niño, there was extreme rainfall in California and intense drought in Indonesia. The Post also describes weather trends for different regions of the U.S. in an El Niño winter, although there is much variability.
The Washington Post reports that September 2023 is going to be the hottest September ever, and by a very large margin, displaying July-like temperatures. The average temperature in September was about 1.7°C (3.2°F) above the normal from pre-industrial times. The extreme warmth is attributed to both human-caused climate change and the growing El Niño.
While it is clear that climate change is already resulting in significant monetary damages to the world’s economy, actually calculating those damages is not straightforward. In The New York Times, David Wallace-Wells takes a look at a recent study that tries to account for the cumulative damages caused by carbon emissions over their lifetime in the atmosphere, which can be a century or more (e.g., carbon emitted in 1990 will still be affecting our climate into the late 21st century). This leads to some astonishing conclusions, not only about the cost of future emissions, but also the cumulative cost of emissions from past decades…
+VIEWS
October 31 2023
September temperatures are “gobsmackingly bananas”, Otis changes from storm to Cat 5 hurricane in 12 hours, the challenge of phasing out fossil fuels, mosquito-borne illnesses on the rise in U.S., electric delivery vans are making economic sense
In The New York Times, climate scientist Zeke Hausfather calls attention to the enormous record warming in September 2023, when temperatures were almost 1°F above the previous high (“gobsmackingly bananas” according to one analyst). He notes: “there is increasing evidence that global warming has accelerated over the past 15 years, rather than continued at a gradual, steady pace.” He points to the reduction of particles in the atmosphere due to air-pollution controls and less coal burning (these particles reflect sunlight and provide a cooling effect), as does James Hansen, while others are not so sure — but all are worried. These scientists note that a long-standing projection of atmospheric modeling has been a possible acceleration of warming if “our aerosol emissions declined while our greenhouse gas emissions did not.” This suggests that, as we transition away from fossil fuels, there will be an additional increase in temperature due to a further reduction in atmospheric particles, making it essential that greenhouse-gas emissions be eliminated as expeditiously as possible. Hausfather concludes that “despite the recent acceleration of warming, humans remain firmly in the driver’s seat, and the future of our climate is still up to us to decide.”
The New York Times reports that a new study concludes “hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean are now twice as likely to grow from a weak storm into a major Category 3 or higher hurricane within just 24 hours.” This makes it much more difficult to forecast how severe a given storm might be, and particularly impacts the ability to accurately recommend evacuations. This study contributes to a growing body of evidence that climate change is accelerating storm intensification.
As if on cue, Hurricane Otis struck Acapulco. It intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in 12 hours, defying predictions from meteorological agencies. This provided virtually no warning to a city of 852,000 people, what a forecaster with the U.S. National Hurricane Center called a “nightmare scenario.” This was the strongest storm ever to hit western Mexico, and 24 hours later at least 27 people were dead and Acapulco was without power, water or communications…
October 15 2023
El Niño is here, the cumulative cost of carbon emissions, impacts of EVs v. fossil-fuel cars, the American Climate Corps, toxicity and waste from solar overstated
The Washington Post reports that NOAA’s climate forecasters, and those at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, have stated that the coming winter could bring a strong or even a “super” El Niño, the latter with strength rivaling the historic El Niño of 1997-1998. During that El Niño, there was extreme rainfall in California and intense drought in Indonesia. The Post also describes weather trends for different regions of the U.S. in an El Niño winter, although there is much variability.
The Washington Post reports that September 2023 is going to be the hottest September ever, and by a very large margin, displaying July-like temperatures. The average temperature in September was about 1.7°C (3.2°F) above the normal from pre-industrial times. The extreme warmth is attributed to both human-caused climate change and the growing El Niño.
While it is clear that climate change is already resulting in significant monetary damages to the world’s economy, actually calculating those damages is not straightforward. In The New York Times, David Wallace-Wells takes a look at a recent study that tries to account for the cumulative damages caused by carbon emissions over their lifetime in the atmosphere, which can be a century or more (e.g., carbon emitted in 1990 will still be affecting our climate into the late 21st century). This leads to some astonishing conclusions, not only about the cost of future emissions, but also the cumulative cost of emissions from past decades…
