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Climate change and the likelihood of extreme weather

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently released research on how climate change can affect the strength and likelihood of extreme weather events
Credit: Pivotal Weather

COLUMBIA, S.C. — This week, NOAA along with international climate scientists released the 11th annual peer-reviewed analysis, ‘Explaining Extreme Events from a Climate Perspective’. The documents say research was completed “using both historical observations and model simulations to determine whether — and by how much — climate change may have influenced particular extreme weather events.”

Studies of extreme weather events were conducted across the globe. One study found, “human-induced warming made the probability of the record-breaking winter hot spell experienced in East Asia in February 2021 between 4 and 20 times more likely.” Back home in South Carolina, we are currently averaging 25 days a year classified as dangerous or extremely dangerous heat index, according to the NWS. This number is estimated to more than double by 2030

Another study stated, "extreme rainfall experienced in the U.K. in May 2021 was 1.5 times more likely due to human-induced climate change. An increase in rainfall is a big concern for South Carolina residents. According to the EPA, since 1958, the amount of precipitation during heavy rainstorms has increased by 27 percent in the Southeast. The trend toward increasingly heavy rainstorms is likely to continue.

A few simple ways to reduce your carbon footprint include: stop buying single use plastics, do your best to keep things out of the landfill, and recycle.

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