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Temperatures of up to 36 Fahrenheit above average in the Northwest Territories [1]
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Date: 2023-05-04
A pattern known as an omega block affects the jet stream over North America.
It is impossible to ascertain whether this hot weather in Canada of 36 degrees Fahrenheit and other warm temperatures above average and the US is tied to climate change caused by human activities; it is, however, notable that heat domes are becoming more frequent and powerful and can be directly linked to human activity.
Many areas of North America with mountain glaciers and permafrost have experienced record-breaking heat. Thankfully, this event happened early in the season and not in August.
A bizarrely stagnant weather pattern called an “omega block” has been dominating the atmosphere over North America, delivering a historic May snowstorm that buried parts of the country. Just as unusual, however, has been the warm side of the system, which has brought high temperatures up to 35 degrees above average. Records have toppled far and wide across the Intermountain West, the interior Pacific Northwest and especially western Canada — including in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and even Nunavut. Perhaps the most extreme was an 88-degree reading in Hay River, Northwest Territories, where highs should be in the lower to mid-50s this time of year. Maximiliano Herrera, a climate historian known for keeping track of temperature records, described the readings as “extraordinary.” In a tweet, he said the temperatures were “several degrees above anything seen that early.” Instigating the extreme warmth is a dramatic northward meandering of the jet stream, or the river of wind in the upper atmosphere that divides heat near the equator from frigid air banked up over the North Pole. That jet stream dip — within which was nestled a pocket of cold air, low pressure and spin at high altitudes — dove south over the West Coast. Then the jet stream surged into Canada, cresting north of a stagnant ridge of high pressure known as a heat dome. This high brought hot, sinking air that dried out and heated up further, simultaneously deflecting any inclement weather and squashing attempts at cloud cover. And because the jet stream deviated so far north, warm air was able to slide hundreds of miles north of where it otherwise ordinarily would be.
It is difficult to say where the next heat dome will occur, but 2023 is expected to be one of the hottest years on record. So hot that the 1.5 Celsius milestone for catastrophic warming could be breached this year, but in 2021, over a thousand people in the Pacific Northwest (including British Columbia) died from the heat that obliterated records.
Wildfires have already erupted in Alberta. Is that where the Tar Sands are located? Adaption is going to be easy peasy.
x Wildfire evacuation in northern Alberta forces up to 3,000 people out |
https://t.co/HECGDl7hY8 https://t.co/jAXAqIsKU7 — Anthony Farnell (@AnthonyFarnell) May 4, 2023
Deadly heat waves are an issue today as temperatures rise and are expected to increase non-linearly. According to a new study, despite the heatwaves in North America, the worst damage will be felt by nations too poor to deal with the impacts. I don’t think we will be safe anywhere. Some countries will get there sooner than others, but we will all deal with the catastrophic consequences of a rapidly warming world. And El Nino is coming.
From CNN:
Scientists analyzed temperature data sets spanning more than 60 years, as well as climate models, to calculate the likelihood of unprecedented heat extremes occurring – and where these might happen. They identified Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and Central America – including Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua – as “hot spots” for high-risk heat waves. The threat facing Afghanistan is particularly stark, Mitchell told CNN. Not only is there high potential for record-breaking extreme heat, but the impacts will be intensified by the huge difficulties the country already faces, he said. Afghanistan is struggling with dire social and economic problems. It also has a growing population which is increasingly exposed to the problems of limited resources, according to the report. “When a really extreme heat wave does finally come along, then there are instantly going to be a lot of problems,” Mitchell said.
If sixty thousand show up for a protest, but it receives n media coverage, did it happen? Where is the media? Not in London, that’s for sure. Excellent protest video.
x Unite To Survive. The mainstream press have largely ignored one of biggest climate protests in recent history. Thousands are protesting at Parliament to demand urgent action on climate and ecological breakdown. Meanwhile Asia suffers intolerable heatwave. #ClimateEmergency pic.twitter.com/8gpW1wGVca — JO SYZ (@j_syz) April 23, 2023
To paraphrase a well-known meme, 2023 will be the coolest year for the rest of your life.
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