Climate change is an existential threat. If we don’t reduce and eventually eliminate our reliance on burning fossil fuels then global warming will continue and bring havoc to the planet earth. The United Nations climate change conference will take place from October 31 – November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland. This post is an update of post I wrote more than a year ago.

There are multiple goals that need to be achieved in order to reduce the harm that global warming is causing to the earth system. All parts of the earth are interconnected and work together as a whole. Molecules of CO2 that are released into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels become greenhouse gases. The fossilized remains of living things that lived millions of years ago have been dug up and burned at increasingly high rates. This has pushed the global mean temperature over 1°C. The goal of the UN conference to implement a plan to make sure the global temperature does not exceed 1.5°C.

I am going to showcase climate change by the numbers. Climate change is a menace to the world. As a result, it’s not only a menace to humankind, but all living things on the earth. The mega-fires in California, Oregon & Washington, the flooding along the Gulf Coast, and hurricane Ida are evidence that climate change is real. In this post, we’ll explore climate change by the numbers. I’ll draw resources from experts, university and government reports, and climate organizations.

In short, there is much to examine to understand and act on climate change. I’ve selected a few aspects of climate change and provided some discussion and a few graphs and charts to get at the numbers.

Carbon Dioxide

CO2 is one of the gases in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases absorb and emit radiant energy. You might think of carbon dioxide as a heat trapping gas. The first measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide were made by Dave Keeling at Caltech in the 1950s. From 1958, an ongoing measure of carbon dioxide was started by Keeling at Mauna Loa Observatory. As you can see in the two charts below, Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been increasing, and increased significantly since about 1850. The CO2 level is above 415 ppm. Some scientists think that the carbon dioxide level needs to be reduced to at least 350 ppm.

Temperature

The temperature of earth has been rising. Specifically, 19 of the 20 warmest years have happened since 2001. The Paris Agreement, which the Trump administration nixed, seeks to limit global temperature increase well below 2 degrees Celsius. In particular, to limit temperature growth, the Agreement calls for countries to reach the global peaking of greenhouse gases as soon as possible. In the 2021 UN Climate Conference, the goal is to cap the increase at 1.5°C.

Last summer, many places on the earth experienced a series of heat domes, periods of intense heat in areas that normally experience such high temperatures. The Pacific Northwest and British Columbia experienced Fahrenheit temperatures as high as 121 degrees on June 29. And today, although not located in the NW, Death Valley will approach temperatures of over 130 degrees Fahrenheit. The extreme temperatures in the NW and BC, an all-time heat record in the region, led to wildfires.

NASA presents another version of temperature data in the maps in Figure 4. You can see the “Time Series” live by clicking on this link and scrolling to Global Temperature. I’ve copied three maps. The first showing temperature variation in 1884, the second half way along the time series (about 1950), and the third map showing temperatures in 2019. It is quite obvious that the earth is getting hotter each year. We need to consult data on greenhouse gas emissions to begin to mitigate temperature rise.

Fires

The 2020 fire season has been the worst to hit California in a long time. A convergence of a really hot atmosphere, strong and ferocious winds, a dry forest floor of timber and leaves converged to create conditions that produced mega-fires, or as some scientists have said, climate fires. A good resource to begin an investigation of fires is the National Geographic resource library.

California, Texas, Colorado, Arizona and Idaho have the highest risk of property damage from wildfires. For people living in these areas, climate change is a menace.

Types of wildfires fires

• Crown fires burn trees up their entire length. Crown fires burn in the leaves and canopies of trees and shrubs.
• Surface fires burn in dead or dry vegetation lying or just growing above the ground. Dry grass or fallen leaves can fuel surface fires.
• Ground fires (underground or subsurface fires) occur in deep accumulations of humus, peat and similar dead vegetation that become dry enough to burn.

Cause and Conditions of wildfires

• Lightning or a spark from humans
• Weather condition: wind, high temperatures and little rainfall can contribute to the drying out of trees, shrubs, fallen trees, leaves and limbs as a fuel.
• Topography: Critical element because fires burn uphill faster than downhill. Many of these areas are remote, and difficult to get to fight the fire.
• Location: wildfires that burn near communities pose enormous threat to property and life.

Acres Burned in the United States

The number of acres burned across the US has nearly doubled comparing the period 1980 – 2000 to the last two decades.

California Fires

Figure 7 shows the number of acres burned in California, 2013 – 2020. Prior to this fire season, 2018 was the worst fire season in California history. What is causing California wildfires? The Camp fire in 2018 destroyed more than 18.000 structures and 85 fatalities. It destroyed the city of Paradise. The current fire season has burned more than 3 million acres. Figure 8 will bring you to the Cal Fire Incidents page of their website. From this page, you can see for your self the nature of current fires in the state.

Hurricanes

The Atlantic Ocean is the feeding ground to making of tropical depressions. Some grow into full fledged hurricanes. Some of these can become hundreds of miles in diameter. These storms can have winds of more than 150 miles per hour. Finally, hurricanes often yield 10 – 30 inches of rain each day in the path of the storm. Hurricanes have been affected by the warming of the oceans, especially the Gulf of Mexico. Further evidence that climate change is a menace.

I’ve lived in the Atlanta area, and in Tallahassee, Florida, two areas that are in the path of hurricanes. I first moved to Atlanta in 1969, and remember Hurricane Camille, a category 5 hurricane that hit the Biloxi, MS area, and caused massive damage. In 1992, hurricane Andrew ravaged southern and central Florida. Traveling to Texas for many years, I’ve seen the affects of some of the worst hurricanes of the last two decades. Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005. As a result, I developed a web-based resource for teachers about Hurricane Katrina. You can use this resource to explore any hurricane with your students or kids.

Figure 10 shows the paths of category 5 hurricanes during the past 100 years.

Conclusion

The consensus is that human activities are impacting the climate system. Our understanding of climate in one sense is a way of looking at our climate literacy. The Pew Research Center reports that most Americans say climate change affects their local community, including 70% living near the coast. More than 60% say that the government needs to do more on climate.

In the midst of a global pandemic, people in some areas of the world still see climate change as the greatest threat to their countries. This year, California fires have consumed more acreage than ever before.

It’s important that we consider climate change as current, and not something that will happen in the future. By mid century, the earth will be hotter. By then, there will be more places that will become inhospitable to live. Temperature combined with humidity will make some locations intolerable. People will have to consider migrating to more hospitable locations. This is another example that climate change is a menace to humanity.

We need to press congress to do more to protect the environment. However, the recent death of Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg (RBG) has opened the door to a political crisis that will impact humanity in ways similar to climate change. Many environmental regulations were supported by RGB. However, the Trump administration has done much damage to EPA regulations. These regulations were established to protect the air, water, and land. Trump is putting millions at risk just as has the climate crisis.