2 hours ago
The deadly heat wave that baked the Pacific Northwest in late June would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, an international team of scientists announced July 7.
In fact, the temperatures were so extreme Portland, Ore., reached a staggering 47° Celsius (116° Fahrenheit) on June 29, while Seattle surged to 42° C (108° F) that initial analyses suggested they were impossible even
with climate change, Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, a climate scientist with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute in De Bilt, said at a news conference to announce the team’s findings. “This was an extraordinary event. I don’t know what English word covers it.”
Climate change: US-Canada heatwave virtually impossible without warming
By Matt McGrath
image copyrightReuters
The searing heat that scorched western Canada and the US at the end of June was virtually impossible without climate change, say scientists.
In their study, the team of researchers says that the deadly heatwave was a one-in-a-1,000-year event.
But we can expect extreme events such as this to become more common as the world heats up due to climate change.
If humans hadn t influenced the climate to the extent that they have, the event would have been 150 times less likely.
Scientists worry that global heating, largely as a result of burning fossil fuels, is now driving up temperatures faster than models predict.
North America heat wave virtually impossible without climate change, study says Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
A man cools off in a fountain in Portland, Oregon, during a heat wave on June 28. | AFP-JIJI
AFP-Jiji Jul 8, 2021
Washington – A record-breaking heat wave that hit the western United States and Canada at the end of June would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, according to an analysis by a group of leading climate scientists.
The World Weather Attribution group said that global warming, caused by greenhouse gas emissions, made the heat wave at least 150 times more likely to happen.
Climate Change Made North American Heat Wave 150 Times More Likely: Study Climate Change Made North American Heat Wave 150 Times More Likely: Study The World Weather Attribution group said that global warming, caused by greenhouse gas emissions, made the heat wave at least 150 times more likely to happen.
A record-breaking heat wave hit western US and Canada at the end of June. (File)
Washington:
A record-breaking heat wave that hit the western United States and Canada at the end of June would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, according to an analysis by a group of leading climate scientists.
An event of this extremity would have been virtually impossible in the past, said co-author Sarah Kew of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. But we are going to be seeing more intense and more frequent heat waves in the future.
The end of June and early July saw unheard-of temperatures across B.C. and Alberta. The community of Lytton, B.C., reached nearly 50 C and was engulfed days later by a wildfire.
During the heat, sudden and unexpected deaths tripled in B.C. to 719 and weather is believed to have been a significant contributor. We ve never seen a jump in record temperature like the one in this heat wave, said Geert Jan van Oldenborgh of Oxford University. These are incredibly high temperatures for these fairly temperate regions.