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| Punishing heat and drought this year wrecked this German sunflower field |
The heat waves that have been plaguing much of the Northern Hemisphere this month really do seem to have been boosted by climate change.
The sheer number of heat waves, and the fact that so many records are being broken, is evidence that we might be in a "new normal" of summer temperatures.
Of course, heat waves occur every summer. The past is full of humdingers, too.
For example, in the Dust Bowl 1930s often saw temperatures in the 110 to 120 degree range through vast areas of the Great Plains. Just like this year, punishing heat waves hit both New England and Old England (Great Britain) in July, 1911.
This year, however, the heat has been popping up with unusual frequency and intensity throughout much of the Northern Hermisphere. (This is not a global heat wave, as some would have it. The Southern Hemisphere is in winter, so no heat there to speak of. Plus, some places in the North have escaped the worst of the heat.)
Still, the record heat waves have hopscotched the Northern Hemisphere at a dizzying pace this summer. England, Scandinavia, Quebec, Japan, North and South Korea, Texas, California, Siberia, Germany, and yes, here in Vermont.
Today will be the 13th day this summer with temperatures in the 90s in Burlington, Vermont. That in itself is not a record in this record breaking summer, but it's more tha double the average number of 90s per summer. And the season isn't even over yet.
ATTRIBUTION
Although it's hard to pin a single weather event on climate change, scientists are starting to get better at making that determination. For instance, the Guardian recently had this reporting on the European heat wave:
"The heatwave searing northern Europe was made more than twice as likely by climate change, according to rapid assessments by scientists.
The result is preliminary but they say the signal of climate change is 'unambiguous'. Scientists have long predicted that global warming is ramping up hte number and intensity of heat waves, with events even worse than the current one set to strike every other year by the 2040s."
The Guardian had this money quote: "Serious climate change is 'unfolding before our eyes,' said Professor Rowan Sutton, director of climate research at the University of Reading. 'No one should be in the slightest surprised that we are seeing very serious heat waves and associated impacts in many parts of the world.'"
In the past, I've talked about how a warming Arctic might be messing with the jet stream, causing it to move more slowly, and get stuck in patterns that leave certain regions trapped under the same weather regime for months.
Evidence is mounting that this jet stream problem is related to climate change. The jet stream is fueled by the contrast between a cold Arctic and hot tropics. The Arctic is warming up faster than everywhere else, so the contrast between hot and cold is lessening. Less contrast means a weaker jet stream.
"Heat waves over northern hemisphere continents in recent years fit the hypothesis that rapid Arctic warming is playing a role," Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University told New Scientist.
This summer has left many scientists stunned at how many hot temperature records have fallen. According to Axios:
"Climate scientists told Axios that while they are not surprised by the simultaneous extremes observed so far this summer - reports have warned about this for years - they are taken aback by the severity and number of extreme events.
'Even for somebody who understands extreme weather and how climate change affects extreme weather, what's happening this summer is incredible,' said Bernadette Woods, chief meteorologist and climate matters program director at Climate Central, a non-partisan climate science research and communiciations group."
ECONOMIC PAIN
The worst part about heat waves is obviously the fact that they kill. Heat is often the deadliest weather disaster possible. Wildfires are another deadly and destructive side effect of climate driven heat waves.
But even if you lucked out this summer and live in a place that stayed relatively cool (Hello Upper Michigan!) you are still probably going to suffer from the heat.
As Bloomberg noted recently, some commodity prices are rising because of the hemispheric heat. Grain prices are rising, in large part because heat and drought in places like Texas, Russia and other parts of Europe.
In some places, the hot, stagnant conditions mean river water is too warm to cool electric generating plants. And the lack of breezes brings wind turbines to a standstill.
Anyone who works outside knows that higher temperatures affect productivity. I know from my gardening business that I'm not working as hard as I'd like during this long, hot summer.
Even people who work in air conditioned offices are less productive during heat waves, NBC News reports.
Suicide rates rise in heat waves. Heat waves make us dumber, too, often slowing the brain by 13 percent.
Nothing good can come from these heat waves. But we are stuck with them. And they're going to get worse in coming years and decades.
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