Bad storm rising: Scientists see more disasters from climate change
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A famous saying insists that everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it. Perhaps people should do more than talk. A United Nations panel last week issued a gloomy warning that weather-related disasters and events -- floods, droughts, fierce storms -- will be on the rise this century because of global climate change.
In a special report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that the nations of the world should be preparing themselves lest they be overwhelmed by weather extremes. In the future, the report concludes, it is certain that on a global scale, hot days will become hotter and occur more often, increasing by a factor of 10 in most regions of the world.
With medium confidence, the report also predicts that droughts will intensify over the century in southern Europe and the Mediterranean region, central Europe, central North America, Central America and Mexico, northeast Brazil and southern Africa.
But it won't just be dry and hot. It is likely that the frequency of heavy precipitation will increase in the 21st century over many regions. In most areas of the United States and Canada, heavy rainstorms that occur every 20 years or so may happen three times as often by the turn of the century.
But outside the scientific world, the most vocal talk of the weather is still about denial of global warming and especially mankind's role in it, due to greenhouse gases. In listening to most Republican presidential candidates and conservative talk show hosts, the average American could easily forget that climate change is accepted by the vast majority of the world's scientists. As the findings of this report make clear, their warnings are ignored at everybody's peril.
As it is, most people can see the evidence themselves. Nature is seriously upset and unusual weather events are becoming the norm -- witness the string of tornadoes across the United States this summer. While every tornado is not evidence of global warming, the trends are hard to ignore.
Even the ranks of the true believers must be getting nervous. Last month, a prominent climate change skeptic, Richard Muller, admitted that his further research confirmed that temperatures really are rising. He didn't say what is causing it, but this acknowledgment is a big step forward. It really is time to start talking about what to do about the weather.
First Published November 25, 2011 12:00 am
