PunkTheFunk 125,719 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 ‘Potentially the worst drought in 1,200 years’: scientists on the scorching US heatwave Researchers had long forewarned of this crisis and now they’re seeing their studies and models become real life The heatwave gripping the US west is simultaneously breaking hundreds of temperature records, exacerbating a historic drought and priming the landscape for a summer and fall of extreme wildfire. Salt Lake City hit a record-breaking 107F (42C), while in Texas and California, power grid operators are asking residents to conserve energy to avoid rolling blackouts and outages. And all this before we’ve even reached the hottest part of the summer. Among the 40 million Americans enduring the triple-digit temperatures are scientists who study droughts and the climate. They’d long forewarned of this crisis, and now they’re living through it. The Guardian spoke with researchers across the west about how they’re coping. "As a paleoclimatologist my main point, always, is that we are able to look into the past. By looking at tree rings and other paleoclimate records, we’re able to gain really important perspectives about how climate has varied and changed in the past. And having done that, it’s clear that what we’re experiencing now is not natural. This is undoubtedly being caused by human activities, by greenhouse gas emissions. The more we see these extreme events, piled on top of each other, and not just in the western US but globally, the more I think the reality of climate change becomes inescapable. And it feels absolutely overwhelming and sad. We are going to have less water, increased wildfires and more extreme heatwaves. But it’s also motivating. We need to continue to push for urgent action on climate change" -- Kathleen Johnson, California, Associate professor of Earth system science at the University of California, Irvine. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/18/us-heatwave-west-climate-crisis-drought Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuffsAhoy 7,433 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 We had a 6 week drought back in April/May here in NC, it was awful. I can only imagine how much worse it is out west. You remind me that it's such a wonderful thing to love. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morphine Prince 109,720 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 Hot Vax Summer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CautiousLurker 19,731 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 Damn, 42C... I wanna say this is terrifying but this has crossed into terrifying territory a couple of years ago, so... I really do hope the governments will step up soon, but I have little hope anything will happen until this disaster grows to catastrophic proportions... Even here (UK) it almost hit 30C this week and last time we only got heatwaves at the end of August... Oh well, till we're all cooked, stream this timeless bop It's a joke! When you give me that look, it's a joke! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GagaSine 7,464 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 Nice, everything is going great I see can't wait for produce to be too costly to afford for the average person Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PartySick 173,066 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 Poor Texas well, poor Texan citizens. Not that long ago they were gripped in an insane ice age looking mess and now they're being cooked alive. But "climate change is fake" they said The irony of it all though is that life on Earth will survive. Despite our best efforts to kill it, all we're really doing is killing ourselves. Whimsical bitch Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisGuyTony 35,108 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 Especially concerning if water levels keep dropping. I keep reading about record low water levels happening this year… Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife 7,081 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 All the people flocking to Vegas to avoid income tax better be prepared to ration their water. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helxig 45,428 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 I'm literally not surprised. We've been knew about climate change for decades now I'll be myself until they fūcking close the coffin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyler k 5,330 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 5 hours ago, PartySick said: The irony of it all though is that life on Earth will survive. Despite our best efforts to kill it, all we're really doing is killing ourselves. underneath it all, we're just savages mmmy name ~isn't~ aliceee Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimisaMonster 31,073 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 We're all gonna be ****ed in the next decade...bookmark me Martians Stream my new single, 💜"Heartbeat"💜, on Spotify! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJRocketMan 2,684 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 Why am I not surprised? This is so sad. I hate what my ancestors and fellow humans have done to this Earth. Also climate change is affecting Rat populations in cities causing them to explode. 🤢 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlondeQueenOfGGD 25,454 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 It was 108 here in Cali today Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bat 6,162 Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 The insane heat and weather is one of the reason I feel so blessed with all the 4 seasons here in Europe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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