This story was originally published by Caretaker and is reprinted here in collaboration with the Climate Desk.
The extreme heat wave that has scorched the West this week would have been “impossible” if it weren’t for the climate crisis, a team of scientists has determined.
Millions of Americans from the Pacific coast to the Rockies are baking under unseasonable and dangerous heat this week, with temperatures up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit above average for the season.
Climate change, caused largely by the burning of fossil fuels, has quadrupled this type of heat over the past decade, according to a new rapid analysis released Friday.
“These temperatures are completely understated for March,” co-author Ben Clarke, a researcher in extreme weather and climate change at Imperial College London, said in a statement.
Even as recently as 2016, current temperatures were still mild, with temperatures about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit cooler, says an analysis by the World Weather Attribution, an international organization of climate researchers.
Friederike Otto, professor of climate science at Imperial College London, who also worked on the research, says: “These findings leave doubt.
To make their quick analysis, scientists analyzed the forecast for a period of five days, from March 18-22. In order to measure the impact of global warming on the extreme temperatures of the week, the researchers analyzed the weather and forecast data, and used climate models to compare how the temperature events have changed in today’s climate.
Driven by an area of high pressure in the atmosphere, the heat wave has broken temperature records in 140 cities from California to Missouri, according to the Weather Channel, as it leaves California, Nevada and Arizona under severe heat warnings on Thursday.
More heat is reserved for the coming days. The mercury is expected to continue to rise in the southwest, and temperatures are expected to drop across the plains and south later this week. By the end of the week, 100 cities could set all-time heat records for the month of March, with temperatures rising as much as 30 degrees Fahrenheit above the seasonal average, a new analysis says.
Heat is the deadliest form of extreme weather in the US Weather officials this week raised concerns about an increase in heat-related illnesses, particularly among vulnerable populations, and advised people to stay hydrated and stay indoors if possible.
The heat has also wreaked havoc on the local economy, with many California and Tahoe-area resorts forced to close or curtail operations amid the snow and high temperatures this week.
“In the American West, the seasons that people and nature have used for centuries are disappearing, putting many at risk, including outdoor workers and those without air conditioning,” Otto said.
Publish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
#Western #heatwave #impossible #climate #change #High #Country #News