![]() In an email correspondence with CBS News, Oldenborgh said: "We agree completely with meteorologists. Adaptation and mitigation are urgently needed to prepare societies for a very different future," the paper states.Įven seasoned scientists who routinely study the link between extreme weather and climate change, like study co-author Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, were shocked at how out-of-bounds the recent heat wave was. "Our results provide a strong warning: our rapidly warming climate is bringing us into uncharted territory that has significant consequences for health, well-being, and livelihoods. The team found that if Earth keeps warming on the current trajectory, and by mid-century we surpass the Paris Climate Accord's goal of limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), then heat waves of this magnitude will no longer be 1-in-1,000-year events - they will happen once every 5 to 10 years. Perhaps even more concerning are their conclusions about our future. In addition, the World Weather Attribution team also found that climate change made this heat wave at least 150 times more likely and nearly 4 degrees hotter than it would have been before humans began warming the climate back in the 1800s. The core of the heat dome, as measured by the thickness of the air column over British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, is – statistically speaking – equivalent to a 1-in-1,000-year event. The finding verifies an estimate CBS News reported last week as scientists took stock of the record-breaking heat. And the study warns, "As warming continues, it will become a lot less rare."Įven in today's warmed climate - where average global temperatures have increased by 2 degrees Fahrenheit since pre-industrial times - the analysis finds that this heat wave is a 1-in-1,000-year event. ![]() The extremity of the heat wasn't just unusual - it would have been "virtually impossible without human-caused climate change," according to a new analysis by 27 climate scientists from the World Weather Attribution network. ![]() Officials say several hundred people were killed by the heat, and that number is expected to rise after assessments are complete. The very next day, 90% of the town burned to the ground as over 100 wildfires scorched British Columbia. Lytton, Canada, broke that nation's all-time record three days in a row, topping out at 121 degrees. ![]() Portland, Oregon, climbed to 116 degrees, breaking an all-time record by an astonishing 9 degrees. Even seasoned meteorologists could not believe what they were seeing as seemingly impossible heat persisted day after day. Just a week ago, the Pacific Northwest - a place normally known for its cool and wet climate - endured the most extraordinary heat wave ever observed there in modern times. ![]()
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