More than 40 percent of Americans live in places affected by global warming and the effects of the climate crisis of 2021, and about 80 percent experienced an extreme heat wave, according to a new analysis by the Washington Post.
The year 2021 was undoubtedly the number of unprecedented climatic disasters to hit the entire world, floods in Europe, fires in Greece and Turkey, extreme weather conditions and phenomena we have yet to encounter like rain in Greenland's snow dome.
The United States has been significantly affected by climate change, as the next analysis reveals.
Severe fires have been raging in California for years, and appear to be spreading to other areas.
Just about a week ago, severe fires broke out in Colorado that consumed a lot of property, tens of thousands were evacuated from their homes.
The heat waves that hit the area were particularly extreme, along with severe hurricanes that led to much destruction, even during periods when they are not typical.
According to an analysis of official government data and media reports conducted by the Washington Post, during 2021 at least 656 people were deprived of their lives in disasters resulting from the climate crisis such as fires, floods and the like.
These disasters befell 820 counties in the United States, and one in four Americans was affected to some degree by them.
A house catches fire during the burning of the giant marshal in Colorado, Photo: AFP
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the disasters have led to damage of at least $ 104 billion, with the total amount yet to be calculated by officials given the total number of incidents, including those that occurred at the end of the year.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has declared about eight emergencies during 2021, the highest number of cases since 1998.
The big concern is that 2022 is expected to be even more severe as the temperature of the earth continues to rise - we are getting closer to the critical warming point of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The climate conference in Glasgow that took place this year also did not bring encouraging news and no particularly significant steps were taken at it.
According to current calculations, by the end of the century warming of more than 3 degrees is expected.
Fire damage in Colorado, Photo: AFP
As mentioned, just last week there were unusual fires in Colorado.
The scientists were very surprised by the timing, the rapid spread and the foci of the fire.
The "Marshall" fire spread over 6,000 acres within hours due to strong winds.
The soil and grass in the area began to dry up in the summer due to the drought of decades.
According to Jennifer Balch, a scientist and director of the Earth Sciences Laboratory at the University of Colorado, the period between June and December was the hottest recorded and the driest period in the Denver area since the early 1960s - making fire conditions more reasonable, even in less typical times.
After the severe fires, snow came and covered the burnt ruins - which only underscored the extreme of the weather.
While in North Florida it snowed which particularly surprised the locals, who are not used to seeing white flakes in the area.
The main cause of the huge fires: climate change
Also, a study published in recent months has strengthened the link between the climate crisis and the major fires of recent years.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, shows that climate change is the leading cause of the huge fires that have erupted in the past two decades in the western United States.
The study addressed the question of what caused the dramatic increase in the number of fires and examined whether this was an effect of climate change or simply a natural change in weather patterns.
According to the results of the study, 68% of the increase in the "vapor pressure deficit" (VPD) levels between 1979-2020 is due to climate change, while the rest is due to natural changes in weather patterns.
The VPD represents the difference between the actual amount of water present in the atmosphere and the maximum that the atmosphere can hold.
The greater the difference, the more water is attracted to the air from the soil and plants, and as they dry out - conditions are created that lead to fires.
Philadelphia floods, September 2021, Photo: AP
"The results of the study indicate that the western region of the United States is likely to have passed a critical threshold, and that global warming has a greater impact on the increase in the vapor pressure deficit than the effect of natural atmospheric changes," said Prosper Rong Fu, one of the study's authors.
The results of the study seem to be proving themselves in the data and in reality, with fires only spreading across the US and it seems that extreme weather conditions are expected to occur in 2022 as well. Back, we seem to be very, very close to her.
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