Meteorological Society Details Extreme Weather Made More Likely by Climate Change

December 16, 2021 by

The American Meteorological Society released a report this week detailing some of the extreme weather events made more likely by human-caused climate change in 2020.

The report, Explaining Extreme Events in 2020 from a Climate Perspective, presents 18 peer-reviewed analyses of extreme weather across the world in 2020 – the reports cover research from 89 scientists from nine countries examining historical observations and model simulations.

“This report reinforces the scientific consensus that human influence has created a new climate – one that is impacting extreme events today,” said Stephanie Herring, a NOAA climate scientist and editor of the report

Findings in the report include:

  • A study using model simulations and event-attribution methods suggests that climate change may have increased the likelihood that the Southwestern U.S. rainy-season monsoon would fail as it did in 2020, reigniting a multi-year drought that still shows no sign of relenting.
  • A heat wave in western Europe in May 2020 was made 40 times more likely by human caused climate change.
  • Climate change decreased the likelihood of the exceptional April 2020 cold spell over Northern China by 80%.
  • Weather conditions that led to extreme wildfires in Siberia during 2020 were up to 80% more likely than a century ago as a result of global warming.
  • Climate change was responsible for a 50% increased likelihood of the heavy precipitation in Beijing during February 2020.

Marine Insurers on Climate

Several large marine insurance companies joined an initiative linking their underwriting activities with the cutting of carbon emissions from global shipping.

Last month countries including the U.S. at the COP 26 climate summit pushed for the UN’s shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization, to adopt a zero emissions target by 2050, Reuters reported in a new article on Insurance Journal.

Companies that up for the “Poseidon Principles” for marine insurance are committing to “assessing and disclosing the climate alignment of their hull and machinery portfolios” and benchmarking those disclosures against IMO targets, Reuters reported.

The stated goal of the IMO is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from ships by 50% by 2050 from 2008 levels.

“The disclosure framework provided by the Poseidon Principles will enable us to credibly report our progress towards net-zero insurance using granular marine data,” Patrizia Kern, marine head at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, said in a statement.

Voter Climate Survey

Millions of Americans voters are willing to reward companies for taking climate action and they would punish companies they feel are blocking action.

That’s according to the results of a survey released on Thursday from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

The nationally representative survey was conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication between Sept. 10 and Sept. 20, 2021.

The survey shows that more than one in three U.S. adults would be “extremely” (8%), “very” (10%) or “moderately” likely (20%) to switch banks or credit cards if they discovered that their bank or credit card company was investing in fossil fuels companies.

Half of the respondents say they would be more likely to purchase goods or services from a company that is lobbying Congress to pass legislation to reduce global warming.

Other results show that the majorities of Americans say companies should:

  • Stop advertising their products and services on television networks that spread misinformation about climate change (75%).
  • Purchase 100% clean, renewable energy to power their operations (70%).
  • Not contribute to campaigns of political candidates who oppose action to reduce global warming (65%).
  • Car companies should do more to encourage people to buy electric vehicles (64%).

Oil and Gas

Climate change threatens much of the world’s reserves of oil and gas, Reuters is reporting.

Access to the equivalent of 40% of the world’s recoverable oil and gas reserves could be affected by rising tides, storms, floods and extreme temperatures caused by climate change,

with major producers Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Nigeria among the most vulnerable, risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft firm wrote in a research note that the news service covered on Thursday.

Extreme heat, water shortages and dust storms, could be problematic for top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, while in Nigeria, where reserves are concentrated around the Niger Delta river system, droughts and flooding present threats, the consultancy found.

Extreme cold weather this year struck hard at the main U.S. oil, gas and refining hub on the Gulf Coast, leading to long outages and reduced output, the Reuters article noted.

“These types of events are going to become more frequent and more extreme, creating even greater shocks within the industry,” Rory Clisby, environmental analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, was quoted as saying.

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