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Science “If we are to avoid catastrophic climate change, the top priority must be to reduce CO2 pollution to zero as soon as possible. In 2018, children play in a fountain at the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Photo by JOHN CETRINO / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock (9826979k)
While it’s not that simple, experts have been saying for decades that climate change will bring more extreme heat.
According to a Boston Globe report, it’s less about the temperature itself and more about the time of year, number of days and the overall severity of a heat wave that shows the impact of climate change. .
Although Boston declared a thermal emergency Sunday through Tuesday, Wednesday was the fifth day in a row with temperatures above 90 degrees. This equates to a record for the longest heat wave in June (1925), according to the Globe, and represents many more hot days than is typical so early in the year.
The Globe reported that while a particular heat wave cannot be attributed to climate change – as it could have been hot this week even if CO2 levels were not so out of control – the duration and severity of the wave heat were probably affected by overheating.
Data shows climate change continues to impact temperatures
In a report from The Globe, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows the number of 90-degree days in Boston and Milton, as well as the number of nights that do not drop below 70 degrees, has increased since late. -1800.
The warming of the atmosphere is due to rising levels of greenhouse gases, largely carbon dioxide, which NOAA says have been rising steadily since 1960. In a press release On June 7, NOAA announced that scientists at its Mauna Loa Atmospheric Base Observatory had measured the highest ever monthly average of atmospheric carbon dioxide, at 419 parts per million.
“We add about 40 billion metric tonnes of CO2 pollution to the atmosphere per year,” said Pieter Tans, senior scientist at NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory. “It’s a mountain of carbon that we extract from the Earth, burn and release into the atmosphere as CO2 – year after year. If we are to avoid catastrophic climate change, the top priority must be to reduce CO2 pollution to zero as soon as possible. ”
After five days of 90-degree heat, local temperatures will finally start to drop on Thursday.
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