I'm posting this graph by Eliot Jacobson here because I think it's truly remarkable how strong this outlier is growing to be.
It means that #sea temperatures are extremely unusually higher than normal, and the departure from the historical record is almost off the charts. #climatechange#heat
The effects? I couldn't tell you, but I do get the idea that it won't be very pleasant
“I’m not innocent, I broke the law and deserve to pay for my crime. However, I’m still a human. They even have warnings on the radio ... but we sit here and fry.”
We've grown used to warnings about dangerous "wet bulb" temperatures in places like India and Southeast Asia, but this is the first time I can recall seeing it in the Caribbean...
Parts of Puerto Rico reached a life-threatening heat index of 125 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, driven by a combination of an intense heat dome, El Niño, and climate change.
Puerto Rico is so hot this week that it’s baffling some weather experts, who warn that other parts of the world will likely experience similar extreme heat this year as climate change and an exceptionally strong El Niño drive global temperatures to historic highs.
Florida-based meteorologist Jeff Berardelli warned of “life-threatening heat” in Puerto Rico, with conditions on the island becoming “so hot that some meteorologists are astonished.”
The heat index — which combines temperature with humidity — soared above 100 degrees Fahrenheit across much of the territory on Monday, with parts of Puerto Rico reaching a heat index as high as 125 degrees. High humidity combined with high temperatures can be especially dangerous since less sweat can evaporate off your body to cool it off.
Berardelli linked Puerto Rico’s extreme heat spell this week to several overlapping factors, including the formation of a fierce heat dome just east of the island, a strong El Niño weather pattern amplifying heat waves, and other extreme weather and climate change generally making the oceans warmer. Tropical oceans, he said, have warmed roughly 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the Industrial Revolution.
The high temperatures might also be getting impacted by what Berardelli called a “wavy jet stream,” when the fast flowing air current that moves around the upper hemisphere of the planet gets interrupted and wobbles like a spinning top rotating off kilter. It’s the same mechanism that has also caused the polar vortex to shoot down into southern states in the U.S. in recent winters, and scientists believe climate change is playing a role in that interruption.
Ultimately, Berardelli said, Puerto Rico’s heat wave shouldn’t be viewed as an isolated incident, and he warned that other parts of the world should anticipate similar hot spells in the coming months.
“As we go deeper into 2023 and El Niño intensifies, we should expect a stunning year of global extremes which boggle the meteorological mind,” he said. “The base climate has heated due to greenhouse warming and a strong El Niño will push us to limits we have yet to observe.”
In case you haven't yet had your daily dose of climate $&!*: "Reduction in sea ice in Antarctica has resulted in the deaths of an estimated 10,000 emperor penguin chicks [in 2022].
"In 2022, satellites recorded a colony of emperor penguins disappearing into the Bellingshausen Sea as the ice they were living on melted away.
"The chicks had not fully developed waterproof feathers and they most likely froze to death."
Understanding the effects of #heat on the human body is a 21st century #climate survival skill — not just for yourself, but for your friends/family/others around you.
As #RishiSunak prepares to reduce the winter fuel allowance for #pensioners, taking our cue from #SteveBarclay, we should now all loudly accuse Rishi Sunak of withholding #heat from the elderly....
"July is on track to be Earth's hottest month on record - Early July set daily heat records, and now experts say it is "virtually certain" the month will be the hottest since records began in the 1940s."
...
"The World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service on Thursday proclaimed July’s heat is beyond record-smashing. They said Earth’s temperature has been temporarily passing over a key warming threshold: the internationally accepted goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit)."
Why #nighttime#heat can be so dangerous and why it’s getting worse
On average, nights are warming faster than days in most of the United States, a national climate assessment found.
By Rachel Ramirez, CNN, Jun 30, 2023
"Summers are getting hotter than ever, shattering all-time high temperature records, straining the energy grid and damaging critical infrastructure.
"#HeatWaves also are coming to include another increasingly dangerous element: overnight temperatures that don’t cool down enough to offer sufficient reprieve from stifling heat, particularly for people without access to #AirConditioning.
“'Most people don’t realize that hot nighttime temperatures have been outpacing daytime temperature increases across most populated regions worldwide in recent decades,' Columbia University’s Data Science Institute postdoctoral research scientist Kelton Minor told CNN.
“'We think it’s because as the days grow warmer, there is more moisture in the air that traps the heat,' the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health’s executive director, Lisa Patel, told CNN. 'During the day, that moisture reflects the heat, but at night, it traps the heat in.'
#Increasing nighttime heat is even more common in #cities because of the #UrbanHeatIsland effect, in which #metro areas are significantly hotter than their surroundings.
"Places with a lot of #asphalt, #concrete, buildings and #freeways absorb more of the sun’s heat than areas with ample #parks, #rivers and #tree-lined streets. At night, when temperatures are supposed to cool down, the retained heat is released back into the air, said University of Washington climate and health expert Kristie Ebi.
"Areas with a lot of #GreenSpace – with grass and trees that reflect sunlight and create shade – are cooler on summer’s hottest days, she said.
“'Many cities put together #CoolingShelters, but people have to know where they are, how to get to them and what hours they operate,' Ebi told CNN, noting city officials must rethink #UrbanPlanning to consider #ClimateChange."
The Portland Trail Blazers have been informed that Damian Lillard wants a trade specifically to the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, multiple sources tell @TheAthletic
More Texans Died From Heat in 2023 Than Any Other Year on Record
"In August, Texas lawmakers sent a letter to the U.S. Postal Service urging the agency to supply bottled water to letter carriers on their route following claims by San Antonio postal workers and residents that the agency stopped doing so during the summer heatwave. Lawmakers asked the agency to create a plan to ensure that letter carriers are permitted to “take necessary breaks from the heat without retaliation, access cold water without having to pay out of pocket and visit a store or return to the station to pick up water bottles without penalty.”
A recent citation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration stated that USPS failed to protect its workers from the heat on June 20, the date of Eugene Gates Jr.’s death. The heat index in Dallas ranged from 96 to 113 degrees that day. OSHA proposed a $15,625 fine and recommended that the Postal Service train employees on how to deal with heat, allow them to take water breaks on hot days and begin their work day earlier in the morning to reduce their exposure to high temperatures.
The Postal Service did not respond to a request for comment."
"Earth has just experienced its 11th straight warmest month on record -- a preview of the brutal temperatures forecast for the summer, according to scientists."
ABC News reports: "May 2023 through April 2024 was the warmest 12-month stretch on record with a global average temperature of 2.90 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1850 to 1900 pre-industrial average."
Southern US Reaches Dangerous "Wet Bulb Temperature". Here's What That Means (www.iflscience.com)
Multiple southern states and a few midwestern states are at "extreme threat" levels of "wet bulb temperature".
NBA Finals - Miami Heat @ Denver Nuggets Game 5 Discussion Thread (Denver Leads 3-1)
Discussion Thread for Game 5 of the NBA Finals...
The Denver Nuggets win Game 5 of the NBA Finals and the first NBA Championship in franchise history!!!
Congrats Denver!!! 🎉🥳🎉
[Charania] Breaking: Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has requested a trade out of Portland, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets are among leading suitors for one of the NBA’s 75 Greatest Players ever. (twitter.com)
The Portland Trail Blazers have been informed that Damian Lillard wants a trade specifically to the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, multiple sources tell @TheAthletic