“No one wanted to pay attention to the implications of a world four degrees warmer… It's too horrendous to think about. And no one talked about it. Then a few scientists said let's have a conference and actually talk about it. They held this conference in Oxford and I went along. As the conference started, there was a kind of suppressed emotional intensity, except in the coffee breaks. It was then that I would buttonhole a couple of scientists and say: 'Well, you know we're speculating about this. But what do you really think is the situation?' And one of them just looked at me and said: 'We're f--ked.'" – Clive Hamilton
As human caused greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere, the toll from heat waves is expected to rise as a result, to the detriment of all. “Temperatures will smash records as carbon dioxide, methane and other gases continue warming the planet. Heat waves will be longer, hotter and more frequent in the future.”
“Beyond deaths, researchers are documenting that heat robs us of sleep, of smarts and of healthy births.” Every living thing on earth will experience its effect at some point in the future (and that includes the world’s wildlife, agricultural crops, fish, livestock and fresh water).
And yet despite all of the evidence around us of dying forests, tundra thawing, grasslands being turned to agricultural land, the world’s great ice sheets fracturing and melting, increasing rates of drought, floods, wildfire and storms that we are on the edge of the abyss and yet, we ignore all the flashing warning signs of biosphere collapse.
NOAA’s new analysis of heat wave patterns in the continental United States.
A new analysis of heat wave patterns appearing today in Nature Climate Change concludes that climate change driven by the buildup of human-caused greenhouse gases will overtake natural variability as the main cause of heat waves in the western United States by the late 2020s and by the mid-2030s in the Great Lakes region.
“These are the years that climate change outweighs natural variability as the cause of heat waves in these regions,” said Hosmay Lopez, a meteorologist at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory and the University of Miami Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, and lead author of the study. “Without human influence, half of the extreme heat waves projected to occur in the future wouldn’t happen.”
The research also found that climate change would replace natural variability as the main cause of heat waves in the northern and southern Plains in the 2050s and 2070s, respectively. Researchers defined heat waves as three or more consecutive days when temperatures rose to levels among the top five hottest days of the year for a region.
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Extreme heat has been the leading weather-related cause of death in the United States for the past 30 years, according to US natural hazard statistics.
Are we ready for the deadly heat waves of the future?
The human body can’t tolerate excessive heat. The biological and chemical processes that keep us alive are best carried out at a core temperature of 36° to 37° Celsius (96.8° to 98.6° Fahrenheit), with slight variation from person to person. Beyond that, “the body’s primary response to heat is to try and get rid of it,” says Jonathan Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora. Blood vessels in the skin dilate and heart rate goes up to push blood flow to the skin, where the blood can release heat to cool down. Meanwhile, sweating kicks in to cool the skin.
With repeated exposure to high temperatures, the body can become more efficient at shedding excess heat. That’s why a person can move from cold Minneapolis to steamy Miami and get used to the higher heat and humidity. But there is a limit to how much a person can adjust, which depends on the person’s underlying health and the ambient temperature and humidity. If the outside is hotter than the body, blood at the skin surface won’t release heat. If humidity is high, sweating won’t cool the skin. Two scientists proposed in 2008 that humans cannot effectively dissipate heat with extended exposure to a wet-bulb temperature, which combines heat and humidity, that is greater than 35° C. (95° F).
Forced to regulate heat without a break, the body gets worn out. Heat exhaustion leads to weakness, dizziness and nausea. If a person doesn’t cool off, heat stroke is likely — and likely fatal. The ability to regulate heat breaks down and core body temperature reaches or exceeds 40° C. (104° F). A person suffering heat stroke may have seizures, convulsions or go into a coma.
No one is immune to heat, but it hits some groups harder than others. The elderly, considered the most vulnerable, have fewer sweat glands and their bodies respond more slowly to rising temperatures. Children haven’t fully developed the ability to regulate heat, and pregnant women can struggle due to the demands of the fetus. People with chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity can have trouble dissipating heat. And, of course, people living in poverty often lack air conditioning and other resources to withstand sweltering conditions.
The mid-terms are coming.
RESIST THE TRUMP REGIME-MARK YOUR CALENDARS
March for Science: April 14
Earth Day 2018: End Plastic Pollution: Countdown to April 22.