Written long before the deadly fires in California this month and Hurricanes Florence and Michael raked the East Coast and Florida, the National Climate Assessment says warming-charged extremes “have already become more frequent, intense, widespread or of long duration.”
The federal report says the last few years have smashed records for damaging weather in the U.S., costing nearly $400 billion since 2015. “Warmer and drier conditions have contributed to an increase in large forest fires in the western United States and interior Alaska,” according to the report.
“We are seeing the things we said would be happening, happen now in real life,” said report co-author Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University. “As a climate scientist, it is almost surreal.”
And report co-author Donald Wuebbles, a University of Illinois climate scientist, said, “We’re going to continue to see severe weather events get stronger and more intense.”
The air pollution from wildfires combined with heat waves is a major future health risk for the West, the report says. During the fires in northern California, air quality hit “hazardous” levels, according to government air monitoring agencies.
“There’s real concern about how the West will be able to manage this increasing occurrence,” said report co-author Kristie Ebi, a University of Washington public health professor. She said global warming is already harming people’s health, but it will only get worse.
The report is mandated by law every few years and is based on hundreds of previous research studies. It details how global warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas is hurting each region of United States and how it impacts different sectors of the economy, including energy and agriculture.
“Climate change is transforming where and how we live and presents growing challenges to human health and quality of life, the economy, and the natural systems that support us,” the report says.
That includes worsening air pollution causing heart and lung problems, more diseases from insects, the potential for a jump in deaths during heat waves, and nastier allergies.
What makes the report different from others is that it focuses on the United States, then goes more local and granular.
NOAA is one of 13 federal agencies that contributed significantly to the Fourth National Climate Assessment.
“All climate change is local,” said Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Richard Alley, who wasn’t part of the report but praised it.
While scientists talk of average global temperatures, people feel extremes more, he said.
“We live in our drought, our floods and our heat waves. That means we have to focus on us,” he said.
The Lower 48 states have warmed 1.8 degrees (1 degree Celsius) since 1900 with 1.2 degrees in the last few decades, according to the repot. By the end of the century, the U.S. will be 3 to 12 degrees (1.6 to 6.6 degrees Celsius) hotter depending on how much greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, the report warns.
Outside scientists and officials from 13 federal agencies wrote the report, which was released on the afternoon following Thanksgiving. It was originally scheduled for December. The report often clashes with the president’s past statements and tweets on the legitimacy of climate change science, how much of it is caused by humans, how cyclical it is and what’s causing increases in recent wildfires.
Trump tweeted this week about the cold weather hitting the East including: “Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS – Whatever happened to Global Warming?”
Friday’s report seemed to anticipate such comments, saying: “Over shorter timescales and smaller geographic regions, the influence of natural variability can be larger than the influence of human activity … Over climate timescales of multiple decades, however, global temperature continues to steadily increase.”
Releasing the report on Black Friday “is a transparent attempt by the Trump Administration to bury this report and continue the campaign of not only denying but suppressing the best of climate science,” said study co-author Andrew Light, an international policy expert at the World Resources Institute.
Trump, administration officials and elected Republicans frequently say they can’t tell how much of climate change is caused by humans and how much is natural.
Citing numerous studies, the new climate report says more than 90 percent of the current warming is caused by humans. Without greenhouse gases, natural forces — such as changes in energy from the sun — would be slightly cooling Earth.
“There are no credible alternative human or natural explanations supported by the observational evidence,” the report says.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or become a Patron on Patreon / donate through Paypal. Please and thank you
NCA – FOURTH NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT Volume II: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States
Matthew 24 is coming to pass!
you people have overlooked the scary conclusion that God is putting harbinger judgments out to warn the nations to repent. They scientist/materialist-rationalist crowd conveniently explains away all of these horrific events as due to bad weather. Hmmm….put that way, it seems a little inadequate. The seven year tribulation will see catastrophies 100 times worse than anything seen so far…they will no doubt blame this on climate change also…we’ll see. I will be gone, raptured, by then. Hope you humanists finally figure it out and start repenting…
Amen!
For real climate science, read/watch Ben Davidson’s daily earth/solar weather news on Suspicious Observers’ website. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHSoxioQtwZeQaRnO5_9AJB2RmevUpuPT
God is angry that we are turning our backs on the Lord Jesus and bowing to the Temple Priests.
What is more ANTI-Christ than:
to crucify Him …. Under Roman Law the Jews could not impose a death sentence so TWICE they dragged Christ before Pilate demanding His crucifixion until Pilate grudgingly “Washed his hands” . Jesus was crucified by the Romans AT THE INSISTANCE of the Temple Priests who threatened “NO Crucifixion, NO Peace” Sound familiar?
Jesus was a HEREM (excommunicated) Jew … the Priests could not push for a death sentence on a “Jew in good standing”.
JUDAS ISCARIOT was a Jew ….. in good standing with the Tribe.
Nope. Jesus is Satan and he deceived the entire world.
The Black Jesus?
the creator has already marked this planet for destruction. he knew the jews would enslave us all to fiat currency so we were dead from that very day.
What weather extremes. I remember the hurricanes in the 60’s, forest fires , tornadoes, etc. The only thing that has changed is that the population has more than doubled. Places across this continent that were sparsely populated 40 to 50 years ago are now heavily populated. THAT is the difference, storms cause more damage because you have more people living in areas subject to damage.
I am sure the extreme weather disasters are going to be the “New Normal”.
House explosion rattles neighbourhood in Minnesota
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71_mg2kW0ZQ