Can we expect a lot more heat waves in the future, and is this the new normal?



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The northern hemisphere is experiencing a record summer, with extreme temperatures leading to forest fires, cooked landscapes, and causing disruption and devastation on four continents.

The death toll continues to rise and thousands have been hospitalized. Weather shows no signs of weakening

Amidst chaos, a harsh message emerges: it's the "new normality" and from that moment on, we can only expect to worsening heat waves.

Scientists have long warned that these intense heat waves would become more common with greenhouse gas emissions.

As temperature records continue to plummet around the world, the question remains: are we living normally?

Can we expect more heat waves in the future?

The direct attribution of heatwaves to climate change is difficult, but experts are largely in agreement that heat waves will increase in both cases.

"No one should be surprised to see very serious heat waves and associated impacts in many parts of the world," says Professor Rowan Sutton, a researcher in climatology at the university. from Reading.

"An increase in the frequency and severity of heat waves has been a robust prediction of the science of climate change for decades."

Indeed, in 1976, 2003, 2006 and 2018, there were four others that equaled the heat wave. The average world has warmed about 1 ° C since the 19th century, which should not stop. As long as nations continue to emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere

"Warming will continue and there will be many more heat waves, some of which are more severe than in the rest of the world. decades ahead, "said Professor Sutton. means that all our summers will be dry?

No. In fact, some summers will be much wetter.

In fact, after the heat waves of the early 2000s, the United Kingdom experienced a period of extremely wet summers

"This literally cooled people's expectations of climate change for the summers British". , a graduate student in meteorology at the University of Reading

"But that in itself was potentially an impact on climate change because the jet stream was stuck in an unusual pattern – and instead a model bringing warm weather and dry UK, it was cold and wet. "

" The wait is … we'll see some summers like this – very dry and extremely hot – and d & # 39; Other summers will be a complete wash at an unprecedented level, and what will be "

There are so many factors influencing the global weather, but one of the key messages is that climate change is likely to make extreme weather events at both ends of the spectrum more common [19659019] How exactly does climate change affect time?

It makes sense to think that a warmer world would produce more waves of heat r but it is more difficult to understand how climate change affects time.

Dr. Friederike Otto, a researcher in climatology at the University of Oxford, explains that there are two basic ways in which climate change affects the time: the thermodynamic effect and the dynamic effect.

The thermodynamic effect is simple: high average temperatures mean more extreme heat events.

The dynamic effect is more complex. Changes in atmospheric composition and increased temperatures affect atmospheric circulation – where weather systems develop and how they move.

Thus a heat wave exacerbated by high global temperatures could be blocked over the UK effect in the atmosphere, but this same effect can also prevent heat waves from hitting the country

Should we be concerned about a future of intense heat waves?

Heatwaves Deadly The Policy Director of the Grantham Research Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) warned of the number of deaths due to the current UK spell. by the end of summer, the hot weather will probably exceed 1,000.

Other unfortunate effects of extreme heat include disturbance of agriculture and wildlife.

We stressed the need to reduce greenhouse gases if we want the weather to become even more extreme, but they also asked the government to look at the evidence and start treating the waves of heat as a public health emergency.

"If you think this is not what you would like to live every summer, and would like to have a nice summer in the future, think about who you vote for in the next election," he said. declared Dr. Otto. [ad_2]
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