Tag Archive for: Global Warming

Warming is Shifting Napa’s Wine Growing Season

The start of wine grape growing season in California’s Napa Valley now comes nearly a month earlier than it used to because of the region’s warming climate, according to a new study from a team led by UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography researcher Dan Cayan.

The research, published online in the International Journal of Climatology on June 29, is based on an analysis of local temperature records spanning 1958-2016 that charts the effects of natural climate variations such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and the growing influence of human-caused climate change upon the seasonal rhythms and shorter term temperature extremes in Napa Valley.

Climate Change Made July Hotter for Almost Every Human on Earth

Human-caused global warming made July hotter for four out of five people on Earth, with more than 2 billion people feeling climate change-boosted warmth daily, according to a flash study.

Colorado River Losing Vast Amounts of Water Due to Warming Climate, Study Finds

For much of the last 23 years, the Colorado River has been ravaged by unrelenting dryness, its reservoirs falling to their lowest levels since they were filled. New research shows that global warming is a major culprit, shrinking the river’s flow and robbing the region of a vast amount of water.

A team of scientists at UCLA estimated that from 2000 to 2021, rising temperatures led to the loss of about 32.5 million acre-feet of water in the Colorado River Basin, more than the entire storage capacity of Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir.

July Keeps Sizzling as Phoenix Hits Another 110-Degree Day and Wildfires Spread in California

Phoenix sizzled through its 31st consecutive day of at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) and other parts of the country grappled Sunday with record temperatures after a week that saw significant portions of the U.S. population subject to extreme heat.

The National Weather Service said Phoenix climbed to a high of 111 F (43.8 Celsius) before the day was through.

Southwest States Facing Tough Choices About Water as Colorado River Diminishes

The drought-stricken Colorado River is in critical condition. Almost two years ago, the federal government declared the first ever shortage on the river, triggering cuts to water supplies in the Southwest. Today, the river remains unsustainably low. The Colorado is the lifeblood of the region. It waters some of the country’s fastest growing cities, nourishes some of our most fertile fields, and powers $1.4 trillion dollars in annual economic activity. The river runs more than 1,400 miles, from headwaters in the Rockies to its delta in northern Mexico where it ends in a trickle.

July Has Been So Blistering Hot, Scientists Already Calculate That it’s the Warmest Month on Record

July has been so hot thus far that scientists calculate that this month will be the hottest globally on record and likely the warmest human civilization has seen, even though there are several days left to sweat through.

The World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service on Thursday proclaimed July’s heat is beyond record-smashing.

June 2023-Climate Change-Record Heat-Air Quqlity

June Marked by Record U.S. Heat Waves, Severe Weather

June 2023 was record hot for some parts of the U.S., while other locations were roiled by severe weather and poor air quality, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. Heat waves led to record high temperatures in Puerto Rico, the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Great Lakes, Texas, and Louisiana.

Thick smoke from Canadian wildfires created air quality issues for millions of people in portions of the Northeast and Great Lakes this June. On June 7, around 100 million people across 16 states were under air quality alerts while New York City reported the worst air quality of major cities worldwide. According to the July 4 U.S. Drought Monitor report, about 27.0% of the contiguous U.S. was in drought, up about 8.0% from the end of May. Most of the drought expansion took place in the Midwest, Texas, and the South.

Highlights from “Assessing the U.S. Climate in June 2023” from NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

  • Heat waves impacted the southern Plains, Northeast and Puerto Rico this month, breaking temperature records and creating life-threatening conditions.
  • In June, the average temperature and precipitation for the contiguous U.S. ranked in the middle third of the historical record.
  • A total of 12 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters have been confirmed this year. These disasters consisted of 10 severe storm events, one winter storm and one flooding event.
  • Thick smoke from Canadian wildfires created air quality issues for millions in portions of the Northeast and Great Lakes this June.
  • Portions of the Midwest experienced dry soils, low streamflows and distressed crops in June. Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan each ranked in the top-10 driest June on record.

 

Temperature – ‘Record Hot’

The average temperature of the contiguous U.S. in June was 69.0°F, 0.5°F above average, ranking in the middle third of the 129-year record. Generally, June temperatures were below average from California to the central Plains and across much of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

Temperatures were above average from the Northwest to the northern Plains, as well as in the southern Plains and Florida Peninsula. North Dakota ranked third warmest on record for June while two additional states ranked among their top-10 warmest on record. Conversely, West Virginia and Virginia had their ninth- and 10th-coldest June on record, respectively.

The Alaska statewide June temperature was 50.0°F, 0.8°F above the long-term average, ranking in the middle third of the 99-year period of record for the state. Above-normal temperatures were observed across the Aleutians and in parts of the North Slope and the Southeast during the month while small pockets of below-average temperatures were observed in interior portions of the state.

Precipitation

June precipitation for the contiguous U.S. was 2.85 inches, 0.08 inch below average, ranking in the middle third of the historical record. Precipitation was above average across much of the West and in parts of the Southeast and New England.

Precipitation was below average across much of the Midwest and in parts of the Northwest, Southwest, southern Plains, Mid-Atlantic and southern New England. Wisconsin and Michigan each had their fifth-driest June on record, while two additional states had their top-10 driest June on record. Conversely, Wyoming ranked third wettest with two additional states ranking among their top-10 wettest June on record.

Across the state of Alaska, the average monthly precipitation was 2.85 inches, making last month the 19th-wettest June in the 99-year record. Conditions were wetter than average across most of the state while parts of the Northeast, Southwest and Panhandle were near normal and parts of the Southeast Interior and Aleutians observed below-normal precipitation during the month.

Billion-Dollar Disasters

Three new billion-dollar weather and climate disasters were confirmed this month, two of which occurred during the month of May. All of these disasters were severe storm events.

For 2023 to-date, 12 weather and climate disasters have losses exceeding $1 billion. These disasters consisted of 10 severe storm events, one winter storm and one flooding event. The total cost of these events exceeds $32.7 billion (CPI-adjusted), and they have resulted in 100 direct and indirect fatalities. For this year-to-date period, the first six months of 2023 rank second-highest for disaster count, behind 2017 with 14 disasters and behind 2021 which had $42.5 billion in terms of total cost.

Meteorologists say Earth Sizzled to a Global Heat Record in June and July Has Been Getting Hotter

An already warming Earth steamed to its hottest June on record, smashing the old global mark by nearly a quarter of a degree (0.13 degrees Celsius), with global oceans setting temperature records for the third straight month, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday.

June’s 61.79 degrees (16.55 degrees Celsius) global average was 1.89 degrees (1.05 degrees Celsius) above the 20th Century average, the first time globally a summer month was more than a degree Celsius hotter than normal, according to NOAA

Toxic Algae Outbreaks Off US West Coast Set to Worsen With El Niño

Sea lions and dolphins have been washing up sick or dead on Southern California beaches, poisoned by eating fish containing a dangerous neurotoxin. It’s the result of a harmful algae bloom, a natural phenomenon that turns water blue, bright green, brown or red, and occurs mostly in the summer and fall.

World Hits Record Land, Sea Temperatures as Climate Change Fuels 2023 Extremes

The target of keeping long-term global warming within 2.7 Fahrenheit is moving out of reach, climate experts say, with nations failing to set more ambitious goals despite months of record-breaking heat on land and sea.

As envoys gathered in Bonn in early June to prepare for this year’s annual climate talks in November, average global surface air temperatures were more than 2.7F above pre-industrial levels for several days, the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service said.

Though mean temperatures had temporarily breached the 2.7F threshold before, this was the first time they had done so in the northern hemisphere summer that starts on June 1. Sea temperatures also broke April and May records.

“We’ve run out of time because change takes time,” said Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a climatologist at Australia’s University of New South Wales.