Research Cites Role of Warming in Extremes
Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto Agency
A dry lake bed at Lake Arrowhead State Park near Wichita Falls, Tex. A severe drought in the Midwest was one of several extreme weather events analyzed in a new report on climate change published Thursday.
By KENNETH CHANG
Published: September 5, 2013
Scientists have long predicted that global warming will worsen heat waves and torrential rainfalls. In some parts of the world, that is exactly what happened last year, climate scientists reported Thursday.
Rising temperatures add energy to the atmosphere, and computer models warn that this will produce wider and wilder swings in temperature and rainfall and alter prevailing wind patterns. In examining a dozen extreme weather events last year, scientists found that evidence that human activity — in particular, emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels — was a partial culprit in about half of them.
It's actually horrifying to think what may happen in the future. But while telling people of the consequences may scare them maybe for a day or two ( certainly know I have this problem), what should we as the human population do to fix this? Or does it really even need fixing at all?
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