Thursday, May 26, 2011
Say, How About That Weather?
In a nutshell, we're screwed.
What's up with the weather?
Scientists say there are connections between many of the severe weather events of the past month and global warming.
"Basically, as we warm the world up, the atmosphere can hold more moisture in it," said Anne Jefferson, an assistant professor in the geography and Earth science department at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
"Weather patterns that used to be limited to the South move farther north now," she said. "Both of those things together will increase the frequency with which we see these big rainstorms, and those are likely to increase flooding in the future.
I read recently (no link, sorry) that as we put more energy (as expressed by rising temperatures) into what is essentially a chaotic system (weather) we expand the parameters of what we can expect. Not only will we see more storms and tornados, we'll see a greater frequency of exceptionally strong weather events. What was once rare, starts becoming more frequent. Buckle up, looks like we're in for a bumpy ride.
What's up with the weather?
Scientists say there are connections between many of the severe weather events of the past month and global warming.
"Basically, as we warm the world up, the atmosphere can hold more moisture in it," said Anne Jefferson, an assistant professor in the geography and Earth science department at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
"Weather patterns that used to be limited to the South move farther north now," she said. "Both of those things together will increase the frequency with which we see these big rainstorms, and those are likely to increase flooding in the future.
I read recently (no link, sorry) that as we put more energy (as expressed by rising temperatures) into what is essentially a chaotic system (weather) we expand the parameters of what we can expect. Not only will we see more storms and tornados, we'll see a greater frequency of exceptionally strong weather events. What was once rare, starts becoming more frequent. Buckle up, looks like we're in for a bumpy ride.
Labels: climate change, global warming, weather
