SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Firefighters huddle for shelter while battling a fire in Southern California this week.
(Photo: Reuters)
As Southwest Burns, Climate Scientists Warn: You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet
"If we continue with business-as-usual burning of fossil fuels, by mid-century what we think of as extreme summer heat today will become a typical summer day."
Jun 22, 2016
Wildfires in the southwestern U.S. continued to rage on Wednesday. The combination of extreme heat and erratic winds fueled the devastation, and firefighters warned that blazes near Los Angeles were only about 10 percent contained.
As residents flee and emergency crews attempt to contain the infernos, climate scientists warn that these deadly fires are climate change in action.
More than 20 fires are also burning in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Washington state, Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico. Meanwhile, record-breaking heat reached 123degF in Palm Springs and 115degF in Phoenix. Death Valley recorded the country's hottest temperature on Monday at 126degF. At least six deaths have been attributed to the extreme heat.
Michael Mann, a professor of meteorology at Penn State University who was in Phoenix for the Democratic National Platform committee meeting last weekend when the temperatures hit 106degF, told the panel that the extreme weather was "an example of just the sort of extreme heat that is on the increase due to human-caused climate change."
The California cities of Azusa and parts of Duarte were evacuated as twin wildfires burned through the San Gabriel Valley, destroying more than seven square miles combined. Firefighters with the Angeles National Forest Service told ABC News that the conditions were the hottest they'd ever encountered.
Mann warned on Tuesday that the worst is yet to come.
"The likelihood of record heat has already doubled in the U.S. due to human-caused warming, and that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg," he told the Huffington Post.
The high temperatures have stymied emergency workers' efforts to extinguish the fires, which began burning before the heatwave hit.
Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, told the HuffPost that there was no question the fires and scorching temperatures were the result of human-caused climate change.
The added heat from rising greenhouse gases equated to "running a small microwave oven over every square foot, at full power for 6 minutes, for every month of drought conditions" in the affected region, Trenberth said. "So what used to be a regular heat wave now has extra oomph, and the danger is not just heat" but also a wildfire risk.
Mann also warned that if immediate action is not taken to curb climate change, scorching heat in the region could become the new normal by 2050.
"If we continue with business-as-usual burning of fossil fuels, by mid-century, what we think of as extreme summer heat today will become a typical summer day," he said.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
arizonacaliforniaclimate changeclimate scientistscoloradoenvironmentextreme heatextreme weatherfossil fuelsgreenhouse gasesheatwavemichael mannmontananevadanew mexicoutahwashingtonwildfires
Wildfires in the southwestern U.S. continued to rage on Wednesday. The combination of extreme heat and erratic winds fueled the devastation, and firefighters warned that blazes near Los Angeles were only about 10 percent contained.
As residents flee and emergency crews attempt to contain the infernos, climate scientists warn that these deadly fires are climate change in action.
More than 20 fires are also burning in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Washington state, Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico. Meanwhile, record-breaking heat reached 123degF in Palm Springs and 115degF in Phoenix. Death Valley recorded the country's hottest temperature on Monday at 126degF. At least six deaths have been attributed to the extreme heat.
Michael Mann, a professor of meteorology at Penn State University who was in Phoenix for the Democratic National Platform committee meeting last weekend when the temperatures hit 106degF, told the panel that the extreme weather was "an example of just the sort of extreme heat that is on the increase due to human-caused climate change."
The California cities of Azusa and parts of Duarte were evacuated as twin wildfires burned through the San Gabriel Valley, destroying more than seven square miles combined. Firefighters with the Angeles National Forest Service told ABC News that the conditions were the hottest they'd ever encountered.
Mann warned on Tuesday that the worst is yet to come.
"The likelihood of record heat has already doubled in the U.S. due to human-caused warming, and that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg," he told the Huffington Post.
The high temperatures have stymied emergency workers' efforts to extinguish the fires, which began burning before the heatwave hit.
Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, told the HuffPost that there was no question the fires and scorching temperatures were the result of human-caused climate change.
The added heat from rising greenhouse gases equated to "running a small microwave oven over every square foot, at full power for 6 minutes, for every month of drought conditions" in the affected region, Trenberth said. "So what used to be a regular heat wave now has extra oomph, and the danger is not just heat" but also a wildfire risk.
Mann also warned that if immediate action is not taken to curb climate change, scorching heat in the region could become the new normal by 2050.
"If we continue with business-as-usual burning of fossil fuels, by mid-century, what we think of as extreme summer heat today will become a typical summer day," he said.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Wildfires in the southwestern U.S. continued to rage on Wednesday. The combination of extreme heat and erratic winds fueled the devastation, and firefighters warned that blazes near Los Angeles were only about 10 percent contained.
As residents flee and emergency crews attempt to contain the infernos, climate scientists warn that these deadly fires are climate change in action.
More than 20 fires are also burning in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Washington state, Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico. Meanwhile, record-breaking heat reached 123degF in Palm Springs and 115degF in Phoenix. Death Valley recorded the country's hottest temperature on Monday at 126degF. At least six deaths have been attributed to the extreme heat.
Michael Mann, a professor of meteorology at Penn State University who was in Phoenix for the Democratic National Platform committee meeting last weekend when the temperatures hit 106degF, told the panel that the extreme weather was "an example of just the sort of extreme heat that is on the increase due to human-caused climate change."
The California cities of Azusa and parts of Duarte were evacuated as twin wildfires burned through the San Gabriel Valley, destroying more than seven square miles combined. Firefighters with the Angeles National Forest Service told ABC News that the conditions were the hottest they'd ever encountered.
Mann warned on Tuesday that the worst is yet to come.
"The likelihood of record heat has already doubled in the U.S. due to human-caused warming, and that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg," he told the Huffington Post.
The high temperatures have stymied emergency workers' efforts to extinguish the fires, which began burning before the heatwave hit.
Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, told the HuffPost that there was no question the fires and scorching temperatures were the result of human-caused climate change.
The added heat from rising greenhouse gases equated to "running a small microwave oven over every square foot, at full power for 6 minutes, for every month of drought conditions" in the affected region, Trenberth said. "So what used to be a regular heat wave now has extra oomph, and the danger is not just heat" but also a wildfire risk.
Mann also warned that if immediate action is not taken to curb climate change, scorching heat in the region could become the new normal by 2050.
"If we continue with business-as-usual burning of fossil fuels, by mid-century, what we think of as extreme summer heat today will become a typical summer day," he said.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.