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Earth Science

Heatwave Across US West Breaks Records For Highest Temperatures (theguardian.com) 73

An intense heatwave across the US west has brought unusually warm temperatures to the region -- some of the highest of the season -- and broken heat records. From a report: Millions of Americans from Phoenix to Los Angeles to Seattle are under heat alerts. Even before this latest bout of extreme weather, which began on Wednesday and is expected to last through the weekend, summer 2024 was already considered the hottest summer on record.

In California, the desert city of Indio saw its hottest 5 September at 121F (49.4C), breaking a previous record of 120 from 2020, while Palm Springs tied its heat record for the day at 121F. The city recorded its all-time high of 124F in July. The Los Angeles region has not yet broken any records -- although Burbank tied for its all-time high of 114F -- the area is bracing for a days-long stretch of triple-digit temperatures. This week Phoenix marked 100 straight days at 100F or more and its hottest 5 September at 116F. In the Pacific north-west, schools around Portland closed early due to the heat and the typically cool Seattle broke its daily temperature record on Thursday at 89F.

This summer was the hottest on record across the world and the Earth saw its hottest day in recorded history on 22 July, which broke a record set the previous day. Heatwaves are growing more frequent, more extreme and longer-lasting in the US west and across the world as the climate crisis drives increasingly severe and dangerous weather conditions. Heatwaves are the weather event most directly affected by the climate crisis, an expert told the Guardian in July.

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Heatwave Across US West Breaks Records For Highest Temperatures

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  • FAKE NEWS (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Orange Jesus sez its all a China-Democrat HOAX!

  • Yes and... (Score:1, Troll)

    by jmccue ( 834797 )

    Yes and keep building manufacturing plants in the US South and Southwest were they are already water stressed. The rate we are going, the extreme US South will be unlivable in 50 years, but people are still moving there.

    You think there is a migrant problem now ? Just wait to the 2070s and watch what happens to NA and Europe. But hay, at least I can still drive my SUV and crank the AC. Want a fix quickly, remove the Oil subsidizes.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      Fun fact, the large manufacturers in my state use water reclamation to reduce potential impacts to ground water table, and allow them to operate

      It costs a little more, but it is worth it.

      We also have planning laws that require demonstration of 100 years of water supply before allowing more growth

      The facts are that these things are all manageable if you have laws in place to regulate them and do not get suckered into right-wing pro-business lies to not involve government oversight

      • by jmccue ( 834797 )

        Yes people point this out a lot, but here is an article and indicates this water re-claimation is not working as AZ was told it would.

        https://fortune.com/2024/04/08/tsmc-water-usage-phoenix-chips-act-commerce-department-semiconductor-manufacturing/

        TSMC’s wastewater discharge increased 30% between 2018 and 2022 ...

        I think once the eyes stop watching, corporate cost savings begin with water being wasted. I have seen a few articles in the past few months stating that these plants are pushing a Pollyanna type narrative.

        • Fun thing about statistics, is when you are operating with little waste (currently 90% re-use) any increase percentage LOOKS like a large number, even though the actual volume of waste is low

          I am in no way shilling for TSMC, I grew up next to a Motorola plant that is now a Superfund site, and used to work tracking test wells around Intel sites.

          I am simply stating that sometimes percent increase is not a valid measurement, like when police officer deaths dropped to zero under Obama, but Trump spewed about m

  • by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Friday September 06, 2024 @03:14PM (#64769048)

    "Hey Google" or "Alexa", the temperature goes up a tiny fraction of a degree next to the datacenter that will tell how to glue cheese on pizza and how to buy the glue with express next-day delivery.

  • Phoenix, yikes (Score:4, Informative)

    by DaveyJJ ( 1198633 ) on Friday September 06, 2024 @03:36PM (#64769106) Homepage
    I can still remember being there in mid-summer more than 20 years ago at the community pool at 11PM at night. The air temp still showed 100F and the concrete pool deck was noticeably hot on your feet. 100 straight days? Wow, glad I'm not there any more.
    • by will4 ( 7250692 )

      Report the news about heat and not have to link every weather story to climate crisis without direct proof of this event being due to climate crisis.

      >Heatwaves are the weather event most directly affected by the climate crisis

  • Its time to stop talking about future goals and start talking about how we can make immediate reductions in emissions now.

    As a start, institute and immediate reduction in speed limits.This was used successfully to reduce gas consumption during the oil crisis of the 1970's.

    Provide public financing for any permanent home improvements that result in immediate or very short term reductions in emissions. There are plenty or energy savings investments that would pay for themselves but people are unwilling to put

    • I can't imagine why no one agrees with you.
      • I can, there is little or no money to be made from immediate reductions in emissions. And the painful impacts are immediate right along with the emission reductions. And the pain is mostly going to be felt by the rich and powerful people who are creating the lion's share of the emissions.
        • Establishing a very high vehicle registration fee for new vehicles is going to be mostly felt by the rich and powerful? Do you think you should turn your brain on?
          • Yes, new cars are only bought by the affluent. Poor people don't buy new cars. But obviously everyone is going to feel some pain if we are going to reduce our emissions immediately. If it were only the poor and middle class that wouldn't stop us. But reducing emissions is inevitably going to hit the rich hardest.
            • And you also think taxing parking spots will mostly affect the rich?
              • No. But it won't disproportionately effect the poor either. You really are determined to make this a class struggle aren't you? It isn't any more than anything else where money talks and can make one immune to consequences. But I can understand why people who are used to being immune based on their wealth would object to solutions that don't allow them to buy their way out.
                • You really are determined to make this a class struggle aren't you?

                  No, your ideas are obviously moronic, but you can't see it. I'm trying to understand where your misconception lies. You have a lot of confidence.

    • Or just transition the considerable subsidies in public money that fossil fuel companies currently enjoy over to renewable energy & efficiency projects. Think of it as less of easing across & more like driving a stake through the oil industry's cold, remorseless hearts to save us all from those vampires, sucking the life out of our planet.
      • As someone above pointed out the immediate barrier to renewable energy is the lack of solar panels, not money. Its also not clear that simply adding solar panels will reduce emissions. As I understand it, we have been increasing consumption faster than we have put up solar. Emission reductions have largely come from closing coal plants and most of the replacement power has come from switching to lower emission natural gas, not solar.
        • Historically, the switch has been made to gas but that's changing. China's ramping up solar panel production & battery technologies are advancing in leaps & bounds. A little shrewd investment, redirected from oil & gas, can easily kick-start solutions to some of the outstanding barriers to wider renewables adoption. You know, if we're actually serious about stopping cooking ourselves.
    • Would you like to see money just wildly surge to climate projects like it surges to defense spending? This is how: https://www.genolve.com/design... [genolve.com]
    • Passenger jets arguably provide a service to many. General aviation is more of a rich people's hobby that we could do without. Leaded gasoline in 2024 should be illegal. Unmuffled, they sound like Harley's in the sky. Which would be fine if they just went from point A to B, but they seem to loiter, circle, and fly by constantly the more you write in local publications complaining about them.
      • I think the responses here pretty much summarize the problem. Even people who agree we have a climate "crisis" think it can be solved painlessly without any changes in their lives. I don't believe that is possible. Which may mean its not really possible for us to stop the warming process. We are going to have to live with it. We will only allow things to change when we are forced to. We will put sea walls around the wealthy coastal enclaves and let the poor ones flood. Or in the case of some pacific islande

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