The heat continues
Twenty years ago you would be hard pressed to find news and articles on climate change. Even 10 years ago you would be more inclined to find deniers with the lead story.
Today the tune has changed and much is being said about the problems of today and in the coming years ahead as the issue of the effects of our changing climate become more accepted and more profound. It all begins with a simple assessment that warmer temperatures lead to warmer waters and these warmer waters produce more energy to fuel stronger and more frequent storms.
Just this year ocean waters off the coast of Florida reached 101 degrees. Mother earth recorded her warmest July, August, September and Octobers. Extreme heat also plagued much of the planet from Europe to Australia. Wildfires consumed many parts of the globe, even islands like Maui, Hawaii had a devastating fire killing over 100 and destroying a large part of the island.
The Arctic had its warmest summer in history with much melting of the Permafrost which is vital to animal and plant life. Phoenix had 31 consecutive days above 110 degrees and El Paso recorded 44 days in a row of temperatures above 100. The previous record was 23 days.
Organizations like the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations and our own NOAA and thousands of scientists around the world continue to produce evidence that our planet is warming and we need to adopt the will to realize that we can produce a safer environment for our children and future generations.
Simply put, we are the ones responsible and we are the ones who can offer solutions. This past year we added 1.2 metric tons of co2 to the 36.8 metric tons we have produced since the Industrial Revolution. That is a lot of pollution and clearly shows we are still heading in the wrong direction.
Closer to home, December was 9 degrees above our average temperature, and in 2023 the area saw just about 12 inches of snow for the entire year. Normal is 38 inches.
Christmas saw temperatures in the low 60s and while it was warm many of our December days were cloudy although the average sunshine for the month is just 26%.
On a happy note, you will begin to see a little more light in the late afternoon sky as days are now some 15 minutes longer than on December 21st.
Summer is on its way.