The hottest month of recorded history was July 2017, but it's not over. Scientists revealed that 2021 is "virtually certain to be one the top 10 hottest ever recorded years" and that "fire clouds" could become a summer favorite in a monthly briefing today, August 19.
Today's global climate report is a monthly update from NOAA (the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Three climate scientists dive into the most recent numbers and forecasts regarding Earth's changing climate. They discussed how hot the planet is becoming as a result climate change and mapped out a frightening future for our planet.
Karin Gleason, NOAA's climatologist, shared that it is "virtually certain” that 2021 will be among the hottest 10 years ever recorded. Gleason and Western Regional Climate Center meteorologist Dan McEvoy stressed the dire consequences of climate change for the U.S., including rising temperatures, droughts, wildfires, and other problems related to climate change.
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Gleason stated that nine of the 10 most warm Julys since 2010 have been recorded. Based on the anomalies we have observed during the first seven month of 2021, as well as historical, global, annual temperature readings, it seems that 2021 will be among the warmest ten years.
Gleason said that July saw record temperatures and regions with above- and below average precipitation. While some areas saw unusually high levels of rainfall this summer, 47% of the United States is currently in drought. Some regions are in severe drought for quite a while.
McEvoy stated, "What I want you to remember is that this is the second consecutive year of drought conditions in the west U.S.A., and longer than it was for some places in the West."
McEvoy said that extreme heat is causing the drought to worsen, which can have dangerous consequences. McEvoy explained that the numerous factors are all "very well correlated with high fire danger."
Satellite photos show that wildfires are raging all over the globe. One of these fires, Dixie, in Northern California has burned more than 600,000 acres (2433,000 hectares) and McEvoy predicts that it will soon reach 700,000. He said that fires "explode as soon as they're ignited."
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In addition to the extreme danger to those who live in areas affected by fire, destroyed infrastructure, and so on, these raging flames also brought with them pyrocumulus cloud, or fire clouds. These are clouds that form over active fires.
McEvoy stated that they are generating huge pyrocumulus clouds, or smoke clouds, into the atmosphere. "And it's pumping incredible quantities of smoke throughout the western U.S., sometimes even reaching the eastern East Coast. He said that this is the second consecutive year we have seen fire behavior and air quality conditions throughout West.
McEvoy's slide for the briefing stated that this is only the second consecutive year of large amounts of smoke being transported across the country. He also said that there have been "dangerous and long-duration poor weather events." However, he believes the trend will continue.
McEvoy stated that all signs point to this scenario becoming more likely in future summers during the briefing. "Temperatures are expected to continue to heat. Precipitation variability plays an important role in this, as well as some wet years. The temperatures will continue to rise, so fuels will continue drying out rapidly and becoming more flammable. They'll be able burn faster and spread quicker and create these pyrocumulus clouds. We can expect more of these in the future as we experience a warmer climate.
Chelsea Gohd can be reached at cgohd@space.com. Follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @Spacedotcom
