Heat Waves Have Cost World Economy Trillions of Dollars. Here’s the intro to a summary of research at Dartmouth University: “Massive economic losses due to sweltering temperatures brought on by human-caused climate change are not just a problem for the distant future. A Dartmouth study published Oct. 28 in the journal Science Advances has found that more severe heat waves resulting from global warming have already cost the world economy trillions of dollars since the early 1990s—with the world’s poorest and lowest carbon-emitting nations suffering the most. Geography professor Justin Mankin and doctoral candidate Christopher Callahan, Guarini ’23, combined newly available, in-depth economic data for regions worldwide with the average temperature for the hottest five-day period—a commonly used measurement of heat intensity—for each region in each year. They found that from 1992 to 2013, heat waves statistically coincided with variations in economic growth and that an estimated $16 trillion was lost to the effects of high temperatures on human health, productivity, and agricultural output…”
Credit: Paul Douglas
These Glaciers are On Track to Disappear Within the Next 30 Years, New Report Shows. CNN has the story: “The climate crisis is touching nearly every region of the world. But perhaps one of the most visible indicators of its impact is its effect on Earth’s iconic glaciers, a major source of freshwater supply. Glaciers have been melting at a breakneck pace in recent decades, leading to around 20% of global sea level rise since 2000. Now researchers at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization have found that glaciers in one-third of the planet’s most beautiful parks and protected areas are set to disappear by 2050 – whether or not global warming is slowed. Among the glaciers on the brink of vanishing at World Heritage sites are those in two of the most visited and most beloved parks in the United States – Yellowstone National Park, which saw unprecedented flooding earlier this year, and Yosemite National Park…”
Credit: Paul Douglas
U.S. Streams are Drying Up. So reports Eos, with the trends most evident across the western United States. Here’s an excerpt: “For millennia, communities throughout North America have adapted to the ebb and flow of waterways. Water infrastructure provides reservoirs for times of drought and flood control for instances of deluge. Drought is a way of life in some parts of the United States, said Jeffrey Mount, a geomorphologist and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. “What you worry about is whether you’re picking up a trend.” Long-term shifts in streamflow could signal a fundamental change in climate that scientists believe the country’s infrastructure is not designed to endure. Unfortunately, such a trend is emerging. In the first comprehensive picture of streamflow in the United States, scientists reported that streams in the South and West have gotten drier in the past 70 years…”
Sandy file: NASA
How Hurricane Sandy Spring Weather Models Into the Mainstream. Capital Weather Gang reports: “…No model gained more publicity than “the European,” which was the first to project that unlikely turn. The news media heralded its performance and asked why “the American model,” run by the National Weather Service, wasn’t as quick to accurately simulate the storm’s path. Congress took notice and authorized the first of several rounds of funding to improve U.S. computer modeling. Scientists acknowledge that Sandy raised awareness of computer models and paved the way for improvements. Since Sandy, models have been run on ever-faster supercomputers and become more accurate. But some scientists also say the public’s and media’s focus on individual computer models has — at times — become a distraction. They say a misplaced emphasis on what the models show has diverted public attention from the forecasts produced by experts…”
File image: Paul Douglas
Renewables Provided Nearly One Quarter of US Electrical Generation to August, 2022. Encouraging details via Electrek: “Renewable energy – solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, biomass – provided almost a quarter of electrical generation in the US during the first two-thirds of 2022, according to data just released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), which was reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign. The latest issue of EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” report (with data through August 31, 2022) reflects that, year-to-date, renewables provided 23.3% of total US electrical generation, compared to 20.6% a year earlier. Further, in the first eight months of 2022, renewable energy sources (including small-scale solar) increased their electrical output by 17.5%, compared to the same period a year earlier. For the eight-month period, electrical generation by wind increased by 22% and provided 10% of total electrical generation…”