Feedback Loop Between Extreme Weather and Fossil Fuels Makes the Case for Clean Energy

As clean energy continues to grow storms continue to highlight the dangers of oil and gas. Fossil fuels and storms are locked in a perilous relationship that sees each contribute to the destructive force of the other. Extreme weather events have repeatedly ravaged Texas oil infrastructure.

Storms wreak havoc with both the economy and the environment. Preliminary estimates put the economic cost of Hurricane Harvey at $190 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in US history. There are also costs in the fossil fuel sector associated with Hurricane Harvey passing right through the hub of the US petroleum and natural gas industries in southeast Texas.

Mother Nature Strikes Back: A Review of Extreme Weather in 2016

Extreme weather is a deadly corollary of climate change. A UN study found that between 1995 and 2015, 600,000 people died from natural disasters. Global warming is known to exacerbate the intensity of extreme weather events. We are already seeing clear evidence of climate change playing a role in a growing number of natural disasters. Thanks to advances in attribution science we can now see the role that climate change plays in driving a succession of increasingly severe extreme weather events.

The Eye of the Storm: Hurricane Matthew, Attribution Science and Climate Change (Video)

It is widely accepted that warmer seas contribute to hurricanes but there are also a number of other factors that contribute to extreme weather events. Here is a review of the evidence linking climate change and Hurricane Matthew.

Matthew has already wreaked havoc in Cuba and the Bahamas and it has killed almost one thousand people in Haiti. Four Americans are known to have died due to the storm. There are currently states of emergency in effect in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Although Matthew has been downgraded from a level 5 to a level 1 hurricane it still packs a punch.  It looks as though central Florida was spared the worst, but cities along the East Coast are bracing for the storm.

Infographic - Extreme Weather (Pakistan, East Africa, Pilippines)

"Catastrophic" Ice Storm Slams the Southeast and Heads North

The US southeast from Alabama through South Carolina was hit with a very unusual ice and snow storm. Officials and forecasters in several states in the Deep South called the storm "catastrophic." The storm is being blamed for at least 15 deaths in the South and hundreds of car accidents.

The winter storm has impacted an area stretching from northern Florida all the way to Maine, but it is being felt most in the South where people are least accustomed to ice and snow. 

Already three quarters of a million people are without power and that number is expected to increase as more ice and snow fall. These power outages could leave people in the cold, dark for days. An ice storm in the Atlanta area in 2000 left more than 500,000 homes and businesses without power. After a snowstorm stranded thousands two weeks ago, the mayor of Atlanta, urged people to stay home. This left the business district virtually devoid of life. The area includes the headquarters for companies like Home Depot, UPS, Delta and Coca-Cola.

Video - A Satellite View of Weather in 2013

This is what a year's worth of weather looks like on Earth. In this video you can see Super Typhoon Haiyan, October’s freak blizzard in the Midwest, powerful windstorms in Europe in November and December, and tropical storms throughout the year.

Freak Weather: Alaska is Warmer than Alabama

The weather in the US has been turned upside down with the far north being warmer than the deep south. At the end of January 2014, the temperature in northern Alaska reached an all time high according to the National Weather Service in Fairbanks. While a warm air mass in Alaska is breaking records in the far north, southern states are suffering under the influence of another polar vortex. It is a twisted climatic irony that Alabama is far colder than Alaska.

Extreme Weather and Existential Reflections on Life in the Anthropocene

This article was written in November for Global Warming is Real. As 2013 winds down, it is appropriate that we consider extreme weather events as a focal point of reflection.  These events can help us to marshal the resolve we need to take a science based look at the facts and consider the ways that we can act for a better future.

The recent spate of deadly tornadoes in the U.S. and the carnage of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines are poignant opportunities for us to reflect on the future of civilization. These events are tangible reminders of the sometimes intangible reality of human existence in the anthropocene. Extreme weather affords an opportunity to come to terms with the evidence that shows how human activities are degrading the Earth’s ecosystems.

While it is difficult to attribute any individual extreme weather event to global warming, when looked at over time, we see a convincing pattern.

The Middle East Hit by Anomalous Winter Storm

Almost unheard of cold weather and snowstorms have blanketed the Middle East. Both Egypt and Israel have been hit hard with record cold and snowfalls more characteristic of Canada than two of the warmest and driest places on earth.

Starting on the night of Wednesday December 11 and extending into the weekend, Israel was hit by the heaviest winter snowstorm in 60 years. The storm prompting school closures, canceled flights, snarled traffic and blocked access routes to the Israeli capital. Not since December 1953 has Israel seen so much snow including areas as far south as the Negev Desert on Friday.

Europe Pounded by its Worst Storm in Decades

A powerful storm swept across Europe early in December smashing into coastal communities on the North Atlantic and North Sea. Extreme weather events have garnered a great deal of attention of late, in particular the horrific Typhoon in the Philippines, however Europe is also being pounded by its own climate extremes. A storm called Xaver has brought tidal surges and hurricane force winds that have killed at least seven people in northern Europe. There has also been widespread flooding and hundreds of thousands of people are without electricity.

The deadly storm which has included heavy snowfalls has killed at least seven people in Poland, the UK, Sweden and Denmark. Fallen trees are making some roads impassible and flights, rail and ferry services have all been disrupted or canceled. Many schools have also been closed.

Infographic - Warming Temperatures and Extreme Weather

Infographic - Extreme Weather: A Survival Guide

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Global Extreme Weather 2013 Timeline (Tiki-Toki)

In this post Tiki-Toki reviews some of the extreme weather events that have occurred around the globe in 2013. The pattern for extreme events that we saw in 2012 continued into 2013. In early 2013, parts of the Southern Hemisphere witnessed record-high temperatures, with Australia experiencing its hottest month in January 2013 since record-keeping began more than a century ago. Meanwhile, the central and northeastern United States saw record snowfall and blizzard conditions. Precipitation continued to be extreme throughout the spring, with Spain seeing its wettest March on record and China experiencing its wettest May since 1973. At the same time, New Zealand saw its worst drought in three decades, and California experienced its driest year-to-date. To illustrate this pattern, the World Resources Institute put together a timeline of extreme climate and weather events in 2013, which builds on the previous 2012 timeline.

Two Extreme Weather Reports Presented at COP 19/CMP 9 Support Climate Finance

Two extreme weather reports released at COP 19/CMP 9 lend support to the need for climate finance. The UN has indicates that this year was one of the warmest years on record and a Global Climate Risk Index shows that the countries most vulnerable to extreme weather are also some of the poorest. The top ten warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998. On Wednesday November 10 the UN declared that the first nine months of 2013 were the seventh warmest on record since records began in 1850. 2013 is tied with 2003 with an average global land and ocean surface temperatures 0.48C above the 1961-1990 average. WMO secretary general Michel Jarraud indicated that growing levels of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) mean that warming is inevitable.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) further announced that there is a trend of extreme weather and they stated that the impact of storms like Typhoon Haiyan are being exacerbated by rising sea levels. While it is impossible to attribute an individual weather event to climate change, that should not be taken to mean that there is no relationship. They clearly stated that rising seas make coastal populations more vulnerable to storm surges. Seas have risen by about 20 cms (8 inches) in the past century.

Video - Superstorm Sandy Costs Tens of Billions More than Original Estimates

Less than one month before the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy many New Jersey residents, businesses and communities have learned that the costs of Sandy are much higher than the tens of billions originally estimated. Monday, US Strong will release a new report, Extreme Weather, Extreme Costs: The True Financial Impact of Superstorm Sandy on New Jersey Homeowners, Businesses and Municipalities, that helps clarify just how high that cost is. The report details the true financial costs of Sandy to homeowners, businesses and communities—and includes stories and interviews with impacted individuals.

Video - Cost of Extreme Weather in September 2013 in the US and Around the World

Almost two months before Super-typhoon Haiyan struck the Philipines, WeatherNationTV Chief Meteorologist Paul Douglas goes over the cost of severe weather. As reviewed in the video, billion of dollars of damage was caused by flooding in China, Russia, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Extreme winter conditions were reported in South America as well as drought and hail which damaged crops in the US.

Video - Extreme Weather May not be More Frequent now but it Will Be

We're living in a warmer world, we're living in a melting world, and sea levels are rising. Bill Patzert, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, says while we may not be seeing evidence of more frequent weather events in the US at present but we are seeing clear evidence of global warming and this is known to increase extreme weather events.

Extreme Weather = Extreme Costs

Extreme weather has exorbitant costs for American taxpayers and people around the world. Earlier this year US Strong released a report titled "Extreme Weather, Extreme Costs: The True Financial Impact of Superstorm Sandy on New Jersey Homeowners, Businesses and Municipalities," which indicated that the cost of Hurricane Sandy alone was much greater than initially thought.

The longer we wait to deal with climate change, the more extreme weather events we can expect and the greater the costs to reign in greenhouse gas. emissions. Even if the scale of the humanitarian crisis associated with extreme weather somehow fails to impact people, the costs most certainly will.

Video - Superstorm Sandy Climate Change and Extreme Weather: Two Women that are Models of Resilience

Here are the stories of two women who have played key roles in post Sandy recovery. Here is a very brief review of a few highlights from hurricane Sandy as well as a caution about extreme weather caused by climate change.

As Governor Cuomo said, "There is a wake-up call here and there is a lesson to be learned, there is a reality has existed for a long time that we have been blind to and that is climate change, extreme weather, call it what you will and our vulnerability to it, it was true ten years ago it was true five years ago it is undeniable today."