Key Facts Of The Day 2/16

Storms and Flooding

• According to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report, sea level is going to rise one foot along U.S. coastlines by 2050.

  • This will intensify the threat of flooding and erosion to coastal communities across the country.

  • Human-caused climate change, driven mostly by the burning of fossil fuels, has accelerated global sea level rise to the fastest rate in more than 3,000 years.

  • This sea level rise will also create a profound increase in the frequency of coastal flooding, even in the absence of storms or heavy rainfall.

  • Kristina Dahl, a principal climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said research she and colleagues have done suggest that 10 to 12 inches of sea level rise by 2050 would put roughly 140,000 homes at risk of flooding every other week on average.

  • High-tide flooding in places such as Charleston, South Carolina, has quadrupled in frequency since the 1970s.

  • Storm and wastewater systems may need to be upgraded to cope with the influx of seawater. Homes and important infrastructure located within the new upper bounds of high tides might have to relocate.

• Rising sea levels affect people’s commutes, even when there’s no rain.

  • In coastal cities like Miami, roads now regularly flood due to high tides, affecting if and how people can get to work.

  •  The Shorecrest neighborhood sits on Miami’s Biscayne Bay, where sea levels are rising about an inch every few years, and it fills up with water during high tides.

  • The sewage-laden water comes up through the storm drains, filling the streets, and rising up around the tires of residents’ cars, making it impossible to drive.

  • The sea level around Miami has risen about a foot over the past century, which makes a big difference in a city with many neighborhoods that sit just 3 or 4 feet above sea level.

  • According to California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), sea-level rise by 2050 could entirely inundate state road Route 37, which runs next to San Pablo Bay, severing a vital link between dense East Bay communities like Vallejo and the wine tourism regions of Napa and Sonoma.

    • There are no alternate routes around the northern circumference of the Bay and already, the road closes about 10 times a year due to flooding.

• Massive storm threatens 11 states with severe weather of snow, floods and possible tornadoes.

  • On the cold side of the storm, snow is likely Wednesday and into Thursday all the way from northern Texas to northern New England.

  • Slippery, potentially dangerous travel and school delays or cancellations are possible in Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago, where up to half a foot of snow is possible.

  • The storm’s warmer side will bring the risk of severe storms and tornadoes in the south-central U.S. Wednesday evening through Thursday, and 11 states from Texas to Virginia are at risk for severe weather.

  • The threat of severe weather is expected to shift eastward and into parts of the mid-South and Southeast into Thursday night.

  • Heavy rain also could lead to dangerous flash flooding from the southern Plains to the southern Appalachians Wednesday night into Thursday night.

Wildfires

• As of Friday, 3,120 wildfires have burned 54,170 acres across the country.

• Fires are becoming bigger and stronger at night, the time when firefighters used to be able to gain some ground.

  • Globally, night fires have become 7.2% more intense from 2003-2020, but in the Western U.S., the number was four times greater at 28% more intense.

  • There was also a 36% increase of flammable nighttime hours between 1979 and 2020, while daytime flammable hours increased by 27%.

  • This increase in nighttime fires becoming more severe is related to the combination of temperature increase in the West plus the drought conditions.

  • Fires active overnight also require more personnel to fight the fire, which requires more work in more exhausting conditions.

  • Injuries increase based on lack of visibility and harder to identify and isolate hazard trees.

  • Firefighters many times have fewer resources available at night to help with the fire fight, especially aircraft.

Extreme Heat

• Despite adaptation resources, low-income communities will face 23 more days of heat waves than the wealthiest by 2100.

  • People with lower incomes already face a 40% higher exposure to heat waves due to a combination of location and a lack of adaptation resources, like air conditioning.

  • The U.S. already recorded its hottest summer ever in 2021, with the average temperature reaching 2.6 degrees higher than usual.

• The drought in Central Nebraska is worsening as planting season approaches.

  • Farmer Clay Govier of Broken Bow said he hasn’t received measurable moisture since early November.

  •  The dryness is having an immediate impact on cover crops and winter wheat.

• There are a growing number of startups with inventions aimed at adapting food to drought.

  • Deal value in the agricultural technology industry has increased every year over the past decade, almost quadrupling since 2016.  Last year, companies in the sector saw $7.8 billion worth of investment.

  • The start up, Opti-Harvest, produces specially colored polymer tubes, panels and cones that are placed on, above or around trees or other crops, to get more sunlight to leaves that wouldn’t otherwise see any.

    • Accelerated growth may mean crops need less water.

• In California, home to the country’s most profitable agricultural region—the San Joaquin Valley—warm-season temperatures have climbed 2.5 degrees since the 1970’s, and a projected increase of another 3.6 degrees is baked in for mid-century.

  • For vegetation, an average difference of 1.8 degrees can be significant.

New Reports And Data

• A February 2022 study found that low-income communities will face 23 more days of heat waves than the wealthiest.

• A February 2022 report found that sea level is going to rise one foot along U.S. coastlines by 2050.

• A February 2022 study found that thousands of species of tiny plantlike organisms may evolve too slowly to keep up with Earth’s changes as the climate crisis continues.