Extreme weather on both ends of the spectrum hit parts of the United States last week — one of many signs that climate change is already a reality, scientists say.
On the one hand, overwhelming rains triggered two rare floods last week, one in the St. Louis and another in Kentucky, which left dozens dead and missing.
On the other hand, a scorching drought fueled California’s biggest wildfire of the year — the McKinney Fire — so intense over the weekend that huge clouds of fire, or pyrocumulus, erupted in the atmosphere.
Expect more of these extremes as the planet warms, said Kevin Reed, a climate scientist at Stony Brook University, and get ready.
“Every climate event has some climate change content because it is impossible to dissociate them,” Reed told CNN . “It’s another sign that climate change is already here. It’s not just a challenge for the next 400 or 50 years; in reality, it’s something we need to quickly adjust to, adapt and become more resilient now.”
Climate experts anticipate that heavy rain events will increase in intensity and frequency as the planet warms, as warmer air can hold more moisture. That concept is easier for most people to understand in the event of a hurricane, Reed said.
For example, Hurricane Harvey in 2017 dumped more than 1.5 meters of rain in parts of Texas and made landfall with a storm surge of more than 2 meters. Scientists said climate change has made Harvey’s rains more extreme.
But this same process occurs over land as water evaporates from soil, crops and forests. More moisture can be extracted from vegetation the warmer it gets.
“Part of this is the general circulation of the atmosphere-ocean system that moves air around the world and brings moisture to areas over land,” Reed said. “Another aspect is that, over the last 100 years, the surface of the land has warmed more than the ocean, so the biggest signal we are seeing in surface temperature is occurring on land and inland as well.”
This increases the risk of dangerous flooding. “While extreme events and floods have always been part of a climate cycle, they could become more frequent and much more intense as the planet warms,” he told the BBC. CNN Beth Tellman, a professor of geography at the University of Arizona.
“The intensity of the rains in St. Louis and Eastern Kentucky are the reality and physical manifestation of (climate change) happening right now in our lives.”
Andrew Smith, co-founder and director of the Fathom flood modeling group, analyzed the events in St. Louis and noted that while there is a strong connection between the climate crisis and extreme rainfall, the researchers also pointed to population growth as one of the factors that increased the risk and impact of flooding.
“In many ways, it’s these isolated flash flood events in urban centers that are going to have a lot of amplification of hazards and risks in the future,” Smith said. “We have more faith in finding (climate change connection) for these types of localized extreme rainfall events, which seem to be happening more often.”
Floods, wildfires, heat waves and drought paint a picture of a nation in peril. As one part of the country recovers from extreme rains, another could be scorched by deadly wildfires.
Northern California’s McKinney Fire, which exploded in size over the weekend to become the state’s biggest so far this year, advanced on Monday amid the West Coast’s historic drought.
The fire generated its own weather in the form of fire clouds, which are triggered by intense heat that forces the air to rise rapidly and are a sign of the size and intensity of the fire.
At the same time, the National Weather Service warned of the possibility of “dry lightning” on Monday – a phenomenon made more likely by the exceptional drought. Dry air evaporates rain from the storm before it hits the ground, leaving only lightning bolts capable of starting new fires and fueling existing ones, the meteorologist said. CNN Robert Shackelford.
The climate crisis is ultimately intensifying the water cycle. All of this, Tellman said, is another reason policymakers need to put more focus on adaptation – helping communities adapt to the climate crisis and become more resilient against extreme weather conditions.
“Passing laws and advancing politically in the U.S. is very important and is linked to preventing and trying to reduce the amount of rain that falls from the sky and is causing events like the ones we are seeing in Kentucky, Yellowstone and St. Louis,” Tellmann said.
“This is a real impact on our lives, so we need more mitigation, good climate legislation and we also have to invest in adaptation to reduce the impact in the future,” he added. “It’s going to get a lot worse if we don’t limit warming.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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