Post on 25-Dec-2015
RUSSIA. Deadliest heat wave ever.
55,000 dead.$15 billion in damage.
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1831
HORN of AFRICA. Drought caused widespread famine.
30,000 dead.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/01/02/396307/top-10-global-weather-events-of-2011/?mobile=nc
THAILAND. Heavy monsoon rains.
600 killed.$45 billion ($18% of GDP) in damage.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/01/02/396307/top-10-global-weather-events-of-2011/?mobile=nc
95º F/35º C - Ascension Islands
97º F/36º C - Solomon Islands
99º F/37º C - FInland
102º F/38º C - Belarus
108º F/42º C - Ukraine
108º F/42º C - Colombia
108º F/42º C - Zambria
114º F/45º C - Russia
116º F/46º C - Nigeria
116º F/47º C - Cyprus
116º F/47º C - Bolivia
117º F/47º C - Myanmar
118º F/48º C - Chad
122º F/50º C – Sudan
123º F/50º C - Qatar
124º F/51º C - Jordan
126º F/52º C – Saudi Arabia
126º F/52º C – Iraq
127º F/53º C – Kuwait
128º F/54º C - Pakistan
119º F/48º C - Niger
Record heat in
2010Countries that set new record highs in 2010
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1831
Are all these records and extremes
a coincidence?
CLIMATE
CHANGE
Connect the dots.
Texas
Horn of Africa
Russia
New Mexico
Arizona Russia
Europe
19 Countries
Break
Temperature
Records
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Irene
Tennessee Pakistan
Mississippi River
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1831
Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent and severe all over the planet.
500
450
400
350
300
250
150
100
50
01980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Other weather related events
Storms
Floods
Droughts
Geophysical
year
number of reported disasters per year
Source: CRED (2011)
http://www.swissre.com/rethinking/crm/
Estimated costs of natural disasters
have risen from $25 billion in
the 1980s to over $130 billion today
“““The evidence is in: global warming has caused severe floods, droughts, and storms. More violent and frequent storms, once merely a prediction of
climate models, are now a matter of observation.”
- Scientific American
It’s time we start connecting
THE DOTS
This is the world of climate change.
Climate change increases the likelihood of
extremeweather events...
Just like smoking increasesthe likelihood of being diagnosed with
lung cancer.
““- Dr. KevinTrenberth, National Center for Atmospheric Research
“...all weather events are
affected by climate change because the environment in which they
occur is warmer and wetter than it used to be.”
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wcc.142/full
As global temperatures rise due to global warming,the atmosphere can hold more moisture. Molecules inwarmer air spread out farther, creating more spacefor water vapor to form.
As global temperatures rise due to global warming, the atmosphere can hold more moisture. Molecules in warmer air spread out farther, creating more space for water vapor to form.
More water in the atmosphere means when it does rain,
It really
pours
We’re experiencing these impacts now.
Climate change is no longer a problem of the future;
2010 floods in Pakistan: most expensive natural disaster in nation’s history. $9.5 billion in damage, 20 million people displaced.
FLOODS
Number of Hydrological EventsFlood, Mass Movement with Relative Trend
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1831
1980 19902000
years
300%
200%
100%
0%
There has been a 20% increase in the most extreme rainfall events in the US over the past century.
SEVERE STORMS
Number of Meteorological EventsStorms with Relative Trend
http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/bibliography/related_files/kek0801.pdf
300%
200%
100%
0%
1980 19902000
years
2011: driest year on record in Texas.
Half a billion trees were destroyed by wildfires.
DROUGHTS
Trends in Occurrence of Wild FiresNumber of Recorded Major Wild Fire Disasters (1950-2000)
http://www.grida.no/graphicslib/detail/trends-in-occurence-of-wild-fires_175a#http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/16/us-drought-trees-texas-idUSTRE81F02W20120216
= 10 years
1950 2000
1950 2000
1950 20001950 2000
1950 2000
2010: the Aceh province of Indonesiaalone lost 80% of its coral reefs.
CORAL REEFS
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/01/09/207309/coral-reefs-second-worst-beating-on-record-2010/
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2010/12/07/207141/j-e-n-veron-coral-reefs-bleaching/
“The science is clear: Unless we change the way we live, the Earth’s coral reefs will be utterly destroyed within our children’s lifetimes.”
J.E.N. Verone, Former Chief Scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine Science
Rising tides divided the South Pacific Carteret Islands in half, creating the first climate refugees.
SEA LEVELS RISING
Sea Level Over the Rise of the Last Century
http://www.grida.no/graphicslib/detail/sea-level-rise-due-past-and-scenarios-due-to-global-warming_8599http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kj9z1
cm
years
EXTREME COLD/SNOW
Anomalies in Northern Hemisphere Snow Cover
http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/drought/snow.shtmlhttp://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1831http://www.grida.no/graphicslib/detail/anomalies-in-northern-hemisphere-snow-cover_124b
years
2009-10: Mid-atlantic US had snowiest winter on record.
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
-31965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008
Mill
ion
Sq
uare
Kilo
mete
rs
Discussion
What changes are we experiencing in ourcommunity?
How are they connected to climate change?
This sounds like our world is
breaking
But we can
fix it
We have to act
NOW.We have to act
TOGETHE
R.Photo credit: Milan Ilnyckyj
In 2011, network news channels ran
only 14 climate change stories–
down from 147 in 2007.
Coverage around the world declined
42% from 2009. Yet the number of average citizens who believe
our planet is warming is on the rise.http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/02/29/434563/poll-americans-understanding-climate-change-increasing-with-more-extreme-weather-warmer-temperatures/
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/01/03/396546/silence-of-the-lambs-media-herd-coverage-climate-change-drops-againhttp://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/01/09/400795/network-news-coverage-collapsed-in-2011/
What can we DO?
It’s our job to make sure everyone is connecting the dots
– even if our politicians and media won’t tell the story.
Join to stop climate change.
So send this information to your friends, family, and your favorite climate skeptics.
And when impacts happen in your community…connect the dots.