As Cleveland heads into a weekend with extreme heat watches and heat indexes topping 100 degrees, a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists warns that with no or little action on climate change, cities like Cleveland could see exponential increases in days with heat indexes in the triple digits by the middle of the century.
For example, the report notes, Columbus, by historical average, should see about one day per year by the middle of this century when the heat index eclipses 100 degrees. If no further action is taken on climate change, the report warns that number could be 52 by 2075, and 16 if rapid action is taken.
“If we wish to spare people in the United States and around the world the mortal dangers of extreme and relentless heat, there is little time to do so and little room for half measures. We need to employ our most ambitious actions to prevent the rise of extreme heat,” the study says. “Over the last 30 years, on average, exposure to extreme heat was the top cause of weather-related deaths in the United States.”
Dangers are most severe for children, the elderly, the sick, the poor and outdoor laborers and include heat stroke, exhaustion, heart attacks and respiratory issues.
They warn:
Late in the century (2070–2099), with no action to reduce heat-trapping emissions, the following changes can be expected:Sign up for Scene’s weekly newsletters to get the latest on Cleveland news, things to do and places to eat delivered right to your inbox.• The United States will experience, on average, four times as many days per year with a heat index above 100°F, and nearly eight times as many days per year above 105°F, as it has historically.
• At least once per year, on average, more than 60 percent of the United States by area will experience off-the-charts conditions that exceed the NWS heat index range and present mortal danger to people.
• More than 60 percent of urban areas in the United States—nearly 300 of 481—will experience an average of 30 or more days with a heat index above 105°F.
• The number of people who experience those same conditions—still assuming no population change—will increase to about 180 million people, roughly 60 percent of the population of the contiguous United States.
• The number of people exposed to the equivalent of a week or more of off-the-charts heat conditions will rise to roughly 120 million people, more than one-third of the population.
This article appears in Jul 17-23, 2019.
Wait for more moronic Republitards like the one above me, who hasn’t a f*cking clue what he’s talking about, or the orange loser in the White House to tell us all it’s not real, it’s a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese, blah blah blah.
Meanwhile, watch the effects pile up as seas get warmer and sea levels rise. All of you climate change denialist dipshits should go take a dip in a body of warm Florida water, maybe the necrotizing fasciitis will listen when you tell it that its not real.
No? That’s okay, nobody else is going to listen to you either because you squandered any minute amount of credibility you may have once had defending concentration camps and denying reality. How does it feel to be so consistently wrong about, well, everything?
That’s another one of their favorite lies, it’s natural or it’s the suns fault. Anything to avoid admitting any responsibility. This has become more common since the consequences of man made climate change are becoming impossible to deny.
These are the same people who, years ago, were denying anything was happening. They aren’t any more well informed now than they were then. The suns output is actually pretty consistent and any decent climate models take the effects of warming from the sun into account.
Don’t listen to the ill informed, do your own research and find out the truth that people like the oil companies and the dummy above me don’t want you to know, and never let them forget how wrong they were, and are.
We can just push the boulder on down the road because the majority of us will be dead by 2075.
Speaking of ill informed, another form of denial is witnessed above. “We don’t need to worry and/or do anything because we’ll be dead.” Saying nothing of the fact that you’re further f*cking the world for future generations, we’re already seeing the effects.
The necrotizing fasciitis I mentioned is becoming more prevalent because the water is now degrees warmer than its been during any other time in our lives. Combine that with wide spread flooding in low lying coastal areas, which we’re also ALREADY seeing in some areas of the United States, and you have some of the current wonderful effects of man made climate change, largely thanks to do nothing advocates in government and business like the genius above. Forget 2075, we’ll be seeing some of the worst of sea level rise by 2050, if not before.
What a stupid, defeatist attitude to have. It amazes me the sheer amount of mental gymnastics people will perform in order to convince themselves that they’re both guiltless and powerless. Instead of maybe doing some research or simply listening to those who are smarter than you are, and I’m not talking about myself. This is the scary side of the Dunning-Kruger effect, people do no research, disregard all expert opinion and make stunningly dumb assertions like the one above me. Don’t be that guy, learn the truth and learn what you can do to help.
Now, wait for the inevitable “it’s all a conspiracy anyway, maaaaaaaaan!” posts to begin…
Exactly what the f’k is an old geezer like me supposed to do about it…other than trying to stay alive and not keeling over and dying from heatstroke?
I’ll be dead long before 2075. Male life expectancy in this country is around 78, which doesn’t give me too many more years. With a little luck and good health and not doing stupid things like smoking (I quit more than 25 years ago). i might have a dozen years left, tops.
So tell me, WTF am I supposed to do? I am already seeing more negative effects from the heat with every passing summer, but that’s geezerhood catching up with me. Climate change is just speeding up the process. How do I help? Stop driving and just become a shut-in? That’s gonna happen anyway, regardless.