What forecast? Where?
| The heat is on: global warming could mean many more days over 90, 95, and 100°F for the USA | Unless climate change is controlled severe heat waves and health threats could become common. | provided by Environmental Defense Fund | | |  n analysis released today by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) shows that US cities are expected to experience many more days over 90, 95 and 100°F in the future than they currently average unless swift action is taken to bring global warming under control. The analysis is available free at 192.111.219.6 on the World Wide Web.  "This year's devastating heat waves and tragic heat-related deaths may provide a picture of a typical summer of the future unless emissions of greenhouse gases are significantly reduced," said EDF scientist Dr. Janine Bloomfield. "Our analysis shows that without greenhouse gas controls many cities across the US can be expected to experience a substantial increase in very warm days by the year 2100. Children, the elderly and those already weakened by illness are especially vulnerable to heat-related illness and even mortality during prolonged periods of hot weather."
For example, the medium warming scenario (plus 3.6°F) shows the following yearly averages:
| | | - Miami currently averages 23 days over 90°F, by 2100 it could average 121, a 98 day increase
- Houston currently averages 89 days over 90°F, by 2100 it could average 132, a 43 day increase
- Washington, DC currently averages 32 days over 90°F, by 2100 it could average 58, a 26 day increase
|  | The analysis is based on the range of findings of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an international group of thousands of scientists advising governments on the scientific consensus on climate change, and historical weather data from the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The weather data were used to establish the annual average number of days selected cities experienced temperatures exceeding 90, 95, and 100°F. These averages were compared to three scenarios for climate change that span the IPCC range of scenarios for the year 2100: increases over current average temperatures of 1.8°F. (low), 3.6°F. (medium), and 5.4°F. (high). The medium scenario represents the IPCC's current best estimate of projected temperature increases for the year 2100 due to global climate change. The analysis also ranks 34 cities by their increase in number of days over 90, 95, and 100°F. using the medium warming scenario (plus 3.6°F). The rankings are available free at edf.org on the Web.
"If we want our grandchildren to inherit a safe and stable climate, it's critical that affordable early reductions of greenhouse gas emissions be started immediately," said Bloomfield. 
| | |
|
