Key Facts Of The Day 07/12

Hurricanes

• On Tuesday, forecasters nearly doubled the estimates to 15 inches for rain totals that could fall in south Louisiana this week, from a disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico.
  • The system also is expected to dump rain on Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle, regardless of development.
  • The heaviest rain will be possible along the coast, with Boothville expected to get 10 to 15 inches through Sunday from the Gulf disturbance.
  • Heavy rain is possible all week, with the extreme southeastern tip of Louisiana forecast to get up to 15 inches of rain through Sunday.
  • The disturbance has a 30% chance of developing into at least a tropical depression this week.
• Kids want to put Montana on trial for unhealthy climate policies.
  • Their lawsuit asserts that Montana — by fostering fossil fuel as its primary energy resource — is contributing to a deteriorating climate and violating the children’s right to a clean and healthful environment guaranteed in the state’s constitution.
  • This lawsuit comes after unprecedented flooding washed out bridges, ravaged roads, forced the evacuation of thousands of tourists, and temporarily closed the Yellowstone National Park.

Wildfires

• As of Tuesday, there are currently 79 large active wildfires that have burned 2,896,445 across AK, AZ, CA, ID, MT, NV, NM, TX, UT, and WY. As of Tuesday, 35,964 wildfires have burned 5,021,894 acres across the country.
• In Alaska, 58 fires have burned 2,481,373 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Arizona, 3 fires have burned 30,969 acres as of Tuesday.
• In California, 2 fires have burned 7,198 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Electra Fire has burned 4,478 acres and is 85% contained as of Tuesday.
  • The Washburn Fire has burned 2,720 acres and is 20% contained as of Tuesday.
• In Idaho, 1 fire has burned 108 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Montana, 1 fire has burned 355 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Nevada, 2 fires have burned 7,955 acres as of Tuesday.
• In New Mexico, 1 fire has burned 341,735 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire has burned 341,735 acres and is 93% contained as of Tuesday.
• In Texas, 7 fires have burned 10,040 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Utah, 3 fires have burned 16,059 acres as of Tuesday.
• In Wyoming, 1 fire has burned 653 acres as of Tuesday.

Extreme Heat

• On Monday, searing temperatures pushed Texas’ power grid to the brink.
  • San Antonio recorded a blistering 106 degrees.
  • Austin recorded 104 degrees.
  • Both Houston and Dallas reached the 100-degree threshold.
  • An initial estimate released by ERCOT found that power demand yesterday hit a peak of 78,264 megawatts, which would break the state record set last Friday.
  • The spike in electricity demand stoked concerns of potential blackouts and prompted the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid operator, to ask residents to conserve power.
  • The state has come uncomfortably close to pushing its power system over the brink on several occasions this year.
  • Andrew Dessler, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University said “This year is on track to rival 2011 as the hottest summer in Texas history, but the state is not prepared for the increasing temperatures.”
  • ERCOT still uses historical temperature data to make demand forecasts, leading the grid operator to underestimate how much power it will need.
  • A spokesperson for ERCOT confirmed that roughly 12 gigawatts of dispatchable power were offline due to forced outages yesterday.
• A new study found that most major U.S. cities are unprepared to handle record-high summer temperatures.
  • Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found most big city municipal plans broadly referenced heat as a problem but didn’t outline intervention strategies. 
  • Cities’ solutions to rising temperatures didn’t necessarily match the severity or complexity of the problem — treating excessive heat like a hurricane or flood, with solutions that only entailed sending residents text message alerts and opening air-conditioned public cooling centers.
  • Researchers found that planting trees was the most common intervention method cities mentioned in their municipal plans as well as sun-reflecting cool roofs.
  • Researchers noted that providing shade outdoors is an effective way to protect people from sunlight exposure, but only a few cities mentioned shade in their municipal plans.
  • Researchers also found that excessive heat was only identified as an equity issue one-third of the time.
• The climate crisis is driving food nationalism and changing global trade.
  • As of July 12, at least 19 countries have imposed export restrictions on agricultural goods in the hope of staving off hunger.
  • As of June 30, wheat prices were up 42% and maize prices were up 47% compared to January 2021.
  • Most countries are seeing food inflation of more than 5%, and governments are responding by trying to insulate themselves from these shocks and arrest domestic inflation by restricting exports.
  • Malaysia in May put restrictions on exports of its chicken products as hens, on top of facing a grain feed shortage, tend to produce fewer eggs in extremely hot weather.
  • The recent wheat export ban by India—the world’s second-largest producer—came after a heatwave in March and April slashed yields.

New Reports And Data

• A July 2022 study found that most U.S. cities are underprepared for rising heat.
• A July 2022 study found that prenatal exposure to chemicals in consumer and industrial products is associated with rising liver disease in children.