Extreme heat, wildfires and floods will ravage the world this summer: How scared are scientists?
Fire in Hawaii is the deadliest in the United States in nearly 100 years.
When the flames took the biggest part of the city, many people chose to flee to the sea.
– Our streets are gone, the whole city is gone, our lives are gone, that’s what a survivor, Chuck Dicker, told Fox News.
About 80 percent of the city of Lahaina was destroyed. According to authorities, about 1,000 people have not yet been accounted for.
Increasingly less rain and rising temperatures have helped increase fire danger in the U.S. Pacific Islands, as in many other places.
As the globe warms, no place is completely safe from disaster.
– All file types is hit in all possible places. I ask myself: What will the next summer bring?
This is what Kikki Kleiven, director of the Bjerknes Center for Climate Research, told VG.
While greenhouse gas emissions are increasing globally, climate change is hitting harder and harder.
If the world does not change its course drastically, we will only get more poor weather in the coming years, believe scientists VG spoke to.
13,000 researchers and FN call our time in a climate crisis – climate emergency.
Around 250 firefighters fighting the great fire on Tenerife. The fire is out of control, reports the authorities on the Spanish holiday island.
– The situation is not exactly very positive, said the head of the regional government, Fernando Clavijo, in a press conference late Wednesday.
Major forest fires also affected Kashakstan, USA, Canada and Greece.
Here’s how it looked in Cascais, Portugal on July 25:
VG asked four Norwegian climate scientists on the development we are currently affected by:
Will extreme weather increase in the coming summers?
– Clear trends is that extreme weather will increase in scope until we manage to stop global warming. But some years will be worse due to natural climate variability. This year and next, El Niño in the Pacific Ocean will give temperatures an extra boost. While heat waves hit large areas at the same time, torrential rains are usually more limited in extent and occur less frequently and more randomly. The chance is great for new heat waves in southern Europe next summer, but relatively small that we will have another extreme weather of the type “Hans” here with us.
– Since we always emitting record amounts of CO2, it will continue to get warmer. Unfortunately, extreme weather will therefore increase even more in both dimensions and intensity. But 2023 had big impacts of some kind, so the first years to come will probably not have such intense heat waves and forest fires as this year.
– All file types is hit in all possible places. I ask myself: What will the next summer bring? Extreme weather Hans is an example of heavy rain and subsequent flooding, which we must prepare for will happen more often. We will also have more frequent and more severe droughts.
– The trend and always Higher global temperatures are followed by chilling weather. So we can expect extreme events in the coming summers as well. But it is impossible to say where and when heat waves, droughts and torrential rains will hit.
In Greece had to The landmark Acropolis was closed, and the Red Cross had to hand out water to thirsty visitors.
July was the hottest ever recorded, according to figures from the European Union’s climate monitoring service.
There level that it was the hottest month in 120,000 years.
– Climate change, that is what the Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres said
– It is very scary, and this is only the beginning. The era of global warming is over; The time of global boiling is upon us, Guterres said.
According to NTB, it called for immediate efforts and radical measures to cut emissions that contribute to the warming of the planet.
The heat wave was also brutal last year:
In total, it claimed 61,672 lives in Europe, researchers estimate in a new study.
Are you surprised by the limitations of the weather this summer?
Hans Olav Hygen:- Extreme weather “Hans” surprised me with its strength and direction. But it probably shouldn’t be. We have historical examples of similar events. Outside of Norway, I am perhaps more frightened than surprised by how often and severely we are affected. For example Spain, which was once again ravaged by heat waves and drought. During El Niño periods, we historically see global temperatures rise, which coincides with the fact that the world set a new heat record for the hottest month in July.
Tore Furevik: – No, I’m not surprised. As long as we continue to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the earth will get warmer and we will have more and more frequent extreme weather. This is what we saw last summer, both in Europe, North America and large parts of Asia.
Bjørn Hallvard Combines: – Unfortunately, I am not surprised by the extreme weather in 2023. We never know in advance exactly how hot and wet it will be, but the summer we had is completely in line with what scientists predicted.
Kikki Kleiven: – The extreme summer weather was not surprising. But in several areas there were also great deviations from the norm that it surprises and scares me: such as record low levels of winter sea ice in Antarctica and extreme temperatures in the North Atlantic. This is a reminder that old temperature records are being broken because we continue to burn coal, oil and gas.
Strong temperature jump in the ocean and a massive loss of sea ice in Antarctica had scientists worried.
In the North Atlantic, temperatures have been at record levels since March.
At the beginning of August, the average surface temperature was 1 degree higher than the highest already measured at this time of the year.
In this country too, the weather is developing:
VG was analyzed weather data from 1957 to present to show how Norway is changing.
The ocean absorbs much of this heat. The ocean is engaged in carbon capture and storage at a high level.
More than 90 percent of the surplus heat from global warming is stored here.
When “Hans” hit Norway in summer, rivers and cities were flooded. Farmers lost crops and vital infrastructure was lost.
But China, India, Slovakia and Japan are also among the countries that have experienced the water masses.
In May, residents of Italy were forced to leave their homes, while others could roam the streets:
Is there a match between the actions of Norwegian politicians and the speed of climate change?
Bjørn Hallvard Combines: – Current political actions do not match the gravity of the situation, both in Norway and elsewhere. We have ambitious promises to cut emissions, and that’s positive. But the shows go in a completely wrong direction. We are only in the starting hole to adapt to tomorrow’s climate, for infrastructure, agriculture, security and more. Politicians, businesses and private individuals must all play a role here.
Tore Furevik: – Like all other countries, Norway must replace fossil energy sources with renewable energy sources, and must be as well prepared as possible for the increase in extreme weather. It is a formidable task ahead of us. Based on the policies they are following, it is difficult to see that the majority of the Storting has taken this to heart.
Hans Olav Hygen: – The picture is multifaceted. During the “Hans” weather, we saw how Norway’s emergency services came together and did a very positive job. At the same time, extreme weather causes a lot of unnecessary damage, because we have not been positive enough to adapt to the current or future climate. Climate knowledge must go deeper in the decisions. We must work in a balanced way on at least three fronts at the same time: emission reduction, climate adaptation and preparedness.
Kikki Kleiven: – If we want to avoid the most dangerous consequences of climate change, we must cut emissions quickly. At the same time, there is an urgent need to take action to adapt the regions of Norway to the effects of climate change, which is now too late to stop. Norway must increase speed and effort – both with reducing Norwegian emissions and helping other countries with energy transition and climate adaptation.
Him too: