Are You Feeling the Heat?

Are You Feeling the Heat?

Expect more extreme weather due to global warming.

Record breaking heat waves. Freezing cold temperatures. Melting ice caps. What’s the common factor?

Global warming.

Last week our nation experienced a surreal heat wave leaving farmers to plant their crops six weeks early and trees ready bloom.

Despite the warm temperatures in the United States, hundreds of people in Europe died during a severe cold wave.

What’s going on?

Scientists say that global warming is the cause of this erratic weather. Temperatures are increasing as more energy and water vapor enters our atmosphere.

A report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, confirmed evidence that links global warming to an increase in heat waves, a rise in heavy rainfall, and frequent coastal flooding.

The Facts

United States government scientists reported that February was the 324^th consecutive month that global temperatures exceeded their average.

According to a research group in New Jersey, this year the United States has set 17 new daily highs for every new daily low.

Bad Taste

Mr. Purinton, a syrup producer in Huntington, Vt., has been tapping maple trees for 46 years.

This year he tapped his trees two weeks early.

The taste of maple syrup is ruined when the heat wave hits and the trees bud. Purinton was forced to cut his production in half this year.

Source of the Problem

Greenhouse gases are causing the Arctic to warm more quickly than the rest of the planet. The ice cap has melted 40 percent since the early 1980s causing a piece of ice the size of Europe to melt away.  

This ice would have reflected the sun’s heat rays. Now that it’s water, it is absorbing extra heat and releasing it into the atmosphere.

“This means that whatever you have today– be it wet, hot, dry or snowy– is more likely to last longer than it used to,” said Dr. Francis, Rutgers Atmospheric Scientist.