Understanding the Connection Between Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events
The article discusses the extreme weather phenomena in early 2025, linking them to human-caused climate change. It explains the evolution of scientific understanding regarding the attribution of weather events to climate change, while differentiating between climate and weather. With rising global temperatures, numerous weather patterns are increasingly influenced by climate change, necessitating heightened awareness and action.
The year 2025 commenced with extreme weather events across the globe, including strong 100-mph winds in Southern California that triggered record-breaking wildfires, and significant winter storms bringing cold weather and snow to the Mid-Atlantic and South. Amidst these occurrences, scientists reported that climate change was a significant factor in 2024 becoming the hottest year on record.
In previous decades, linking individual weather events to human-induced climate change was considered tenuous. However, recent advancements in scientific research have enabled more precise assessments of climate change’s role in various weather disasters, including heat waves, hurricanes, and wildfires.
Though not all fluctuations in weather can be directly attributed to climate change, numerous extreme weather events display a clear connection to the rising global temperatures, according to Justin Mankin, a climate scientist at Dartmouth College. He noted that the ongoing changes in climate create new weather patterns that may have never been seen before.
When distinguishing between climate and weather, scientists emphasize that climate is about long-term patterns, while weather encompasses day-to-day changes. Danielle Touma of the University of Texas at Austin metaphorically likened climate to the clothes in one’s closet, while daily weather determines which garments one selects.
The climate of a region is typically defined by the average weather conditions over a 30-year period, which means unusual weather can contribute to this average but does not solely define it. Deepti Singh, a climate scientist at Washington State University, confirmed that day-to-day weather variability is expected to continue, despite the effects of climate change.
Since the mid-1800s, when extensive fossil fuel burning began, Earth’s average temperature has risen by approximately 1.3 degrees Celsius. This rise in temperature contributes to global warming, affecting daily weather patterns even if these changes are not always apparent, as concluded by Singh.
Observably, recent trends indicate fewer freezing days in the U.S. and a sharp increase in heat extremes, with heat waves more than tripling since the 1960s. Climate change is significantly altering atmospheric and oceanic patterns, causing extraordinary weather phenomena previously unseen in certain regions, such as the intense heat wave in the Pacific Northwest in 2021.
New techniques in the last decade, known as “detection” and “attribution,” allow scientists to analyze the influence of human activity on weather events by simulating climate conditions without fossil fuel emissions. This comparison helps determine how much climate change has increased the likelihood and severity of certain weather events, including the intensified rainfall from Hurricane Helene.
Mankin likened this method to clinical trials in medicine, where outcomes in a treatment group are compared to those in a control group, aiming to understand the effects of fossil fuel consumption on climate and weather patterns.
The article explores the intricate relationship between climate change and extreme weather events, emphasizing that while not every unusual weather phenomenon is directly caused by climate change, many are influenced by the overall rise in global temperatures. Advances in meteorological science now allow researchers to connect specific weather events to climate change more effectively than in the past, raising public awareness of these critical issues.
In conclusion, the article highlights the increasingly observable link between climate change and extreme weather patterns across the globe. With the planet’s temperature steadily rising due to human activities, significant changes are occurring in weather events that can no longer be ignored. As scientific methods improve, the ability to attribute individual weather incidents to climate change further underscores the urgency of addressing environmental issues.
Original Source: www.delmarvapublicmedia.org
