[Music]
extreme weather events have been making
headlines on a regular basis and a
discussion on what is causing them
unavoidably brings the thorny issue of
climate change back to center stage
welcome to watchmojo.com –nt we’re
counting down ten crucial facts you
should know about extreme weather number
ten what is global warming climate
change is a shift in long-term averages
for weather patterns in the Earth’s
climate system it also refers to
isolated but severe deviations from
weather averages usually called extreme
weather events for example snowfall in
Boston during the winter of 2015
reached 76 inches by February you can’t
see anything this morning this blizzard
is dropping visibilities down to near
zero at times and it shows no signs of
letting up compared with their normal
winter average of 31 inches this could
be labeled an extreme weather event a
main indicator of climate change is
global warming an increase in average
global surface temperatures one cause of
global warming is a change in the
Earth’s atmospheric composition to
include more greenhouse gases like
carbon dioxide these naturally occurring
gases have been pushed to have normally
high levels since the beginning of the
Industrial Revolution according to a
United Nations Intergovernmental Panel
for climate change global surface
temperature and atmospheric carbon
dioxide levels in recent times are
unprecedented when compared to previous
millennia number 9 is global warming a
real issue
the main contention in the debate on
climate change is whether it is actually
caused by human activity an assertion
which scientists have agreed upon
however Earth’s climate has changed many
times throughout its history before
human activity played a role notably
there have been numerous glacial periods
or ice ages the potential for natural
global warming has led to a small
minority in the scientific community
denying human-caused global warming or
disputing its negative consequences you
can pick out
particular skeptics but you can’t really
say can you that the the hundreds of
scientists around the world who have
looked at this have gotten together and
conspired to manipulate data the global
economy is dependent on the consumption
of fossil fuels such as oil which is a
leading cause of increased atmospheric
carbon dioxide thus any attempt to
mitigate global warming through reducing
greenhouse gas emissions would pose a
significant threat to economic
performance there is a major global
divided over whether the developed or
the developing world should shoulder
these economic burdens and whether the
economic sacrifices are worth any
potential benefit to the environment
number eight how dangerous can extreme
weather be the future impact of extreme
weather stemming from climate change
will vary around the world according to
the United States Environmental
Protection Agency warmer average global
temperatures will likely lead to more
intense longer and more frequent heat
waves causing droughts that will
adversely affect agricultural production
most prominently extreme precipitation
events are projected to increase
globally as is the severity of tropical
storms the impact that Hurricane Katrina
had on New Orleans in 2005 is an example
of the devastation such weather events
can cause the UN’s Meteorological
Organization stated that the beginning
of 2014 saw an unusual number of extreme
weather events from heat waves in
Slovenia and Australia to temperatures
in Russia and the Arctic being ten
degrees Celsius above average Britain
experienced its wettest winter in more
than a century during this time frame
and the southern hemisphere its hottest
year ever recorded number seven what is
the current weather situation in North
America a series of for severe blizzards
inundated the northeastern United States
beginning in November 2014 accompanied
by extreme cold February 2015 saw parts
of California and other parts of the
West Coast hit with heavy rainfall which
caused landslides and flooding an area
that was hit particularly hard by record
snowfall was New England with some
cities being slowly strangled by over
ten
of snow as the snow moves further south
unprepared states will face freezing
rain snow and sleet with some declaring
states of emergency over a month before
the official beginning of spring cities
and civilians were bracing for more
winter weather across the south nearly
half a million people still without
power tonight number six
how are people preparing for extreme
weather throughout the globe many
governments are developing policies in
order to adapt to climate change
attempting to diminish a populations
vulnerability to extreme weather events
these measures range from engineering
drought tolerant crop varieties to
attempting to engineer the climate
itself for example by developing schemes
to remove carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere countries in the developing
world are expected to suffer most from
the effects of global warming and the UN
established the Green Climate Fund in
2010 to redistribute money from the
developed world to the developing world
to finance the construction of
infrastructure that will help provide
better flood defences and mitigate the
effects of rising sea levels and severe
tropical storms basically wants to keep
coal in the hole and to get emissions of
greenhouse gases down as close to zero
as we possibly can as soon as we can
number five what are the costs of
extreme weather three months worth of
rain fell on of renovates in three days
those who’ve remained have been without
power or freshwater failing to prepare
for extreme weather can cost a city an
industry and a country a vast amount of
lost revenue budget expenditures and
more according to the US Department of
Homeland Security a lack of preparedness
cost the United States 1.15 trillion
dollars in economic losses from 1980 to
2010 the travel industry is hit
particularly hard as it is increasingly
susceptible to extreme weather in the
form of ice volcanic ash and heavy
snowfall furthermore travelers are also
affected as disrupted travel plans lead
to billions of dollars of out of work
time and unforeseen out-of-pocket costs
cities too are
particularly affected by extreme weather
as flooding and extreme heat can wreak
havoc on the delicate technological
systems that allow a city to function
from power grids to sewage systems
number four what is a polar vortex
beginning in December 2013 Canada and
the eastern United States were hit by a
cold wave that lasted five months this
cold wave was the result of southward
shifts of the north polar vortex and
consisted of two separate episodes the
first in December 2013 and the second at
the beginning of 2014
take a look behind me you can see the
vapor rising from Lake Michigan here
it’s that cold as the entire region was
blanketed with heavy snowfall and record
low temperatures businesses schools and
flight cancellations became the norm in
total over 200 million people were
affected with some estimating the
damages and loss of revenue in the realm
of over five billion dollars u.s. number
three what is being done to curb global
warming the main international agreement
set up to address global warming is the
United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change treaty established in
1992 its first major accomplishment was
the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 an
international agreement that would see
countries commit to reducing their
greenhouse gas emissions which went into
effect in 2005 four and ten Americans
still live where pollution levels are
often dangerous to breathe
however the world’s biggest polluter the
United States did not ratify the
agreement as they would have had to pay
for their emissions if they did not cut
them down to a certain level China the
world’s second biggest polluter also did
not ratify the protocol but was not
covered under its limits in 2014 the
United States and China signed their own
independent joint agreement to curb
their carbon emissions and to increase
their use of clean energy sources number
two how good are we at predicting
whether the science of accurately
predicting the weather forecast
has improved significantly since the
invention of supercomputers
and the subsequent collection of
thousands of data points from around the
world
forecasting now relies on computer-based
models which are generated from the
weather broadcasting stations located on
land water and air altogether there are
over a million weather-related data
points that circulate every day leading
to a more accurate daily weather
forecast as well as advanced warnings
for those living in regions that are
susceptible to flash floods tsunamis
tornadoes and more number one what are
the predictions for the future
researchers predict that temperatures
will increase about two to ten degrees
Fahrenheit by the end of the century
there have been several predictions for
the future including for the weather and
climate change researchers are
predicting that by the end of the
century the United States will suffer a
mega drought far worse than any seen in
the past thousand years if carbon
emissions do not start declining by 2050
there is a high risk of a decade-long
drought in the southwest and Central
Plains on the other side of the pond the
British Royal Society predicts a
significant increase in extreme weather
in terms of droughts floods and heat
waves
it seems that humankind must begin to
prepare for the worst as it works
towards the best did these facts
surprise you to vote for which news
story is covered next
head over to watchmojo.com slash suggest
and be sure to hit that subscribe button
for more newsworthy top 10s published
every week
[Music]
extreme weather events have been making
headlines on a regular basis and a
discussion on what is causing them
unavoidably brings the thorny issue of
climate change back to center stage
welcome to watchmojo.com –nt we’re
counting down ten crucial facts you
should know about extreme weather number
ten what is global warming climate
change is a shift in long-term averages
for weather patterns in the Earth’s
climate system it also refers to
isolated but severe deviations from
weather averages usually called extreme
weather events for example snowfall in
Boston during the winter of 2015
reached 76 inches by February you can’t
see anything this morning this blizzard
is dropping visibilities down to near
zero at times and it shows no signs of
letting up compared with their normal
winter average of 31 inches this could
be labeled an extreme weather event a
main indicator of climate change is
global warming an increase in average
global surface temperatures one cause of
global warming is a change in the
Earth’s atmospheric composition to
include more greenhouse gases like
carbon dioxide these naturally occurring
gases have been pushed to have normally
high levels since the beginning of the
Industrial Revolution according to a
United Nations Intergovernmental Panel
for climate change global surface
temperature and atmospheric carbon
dioxide levels in recent times are
unprecedented when compared to previous
millennia number 9 is global warming a
real issue
the main contention in the debate on
climate change is whether it is actually
caused by human activity an assertion
which scientists have agreed upon
however Earth’s climate has changed many
times throughout its history before
human activity played a role notably
there have been numerous glacial periods
or ice ages the potential for natural
global warming has led to a small
minority in the scientific community
denying human-caused global warming or
disputing its negative consequences you
can pick out
particular skeptics but you can’t really
say can you that the the hundreds of
scientists around the world who have
looked at this have gotten together and
conspired to manipulate data the global
economy is dependent on the consumption
of fossil fuels such as oil which is a
leading cause of increased atmospheric
carbon dioxide thus any attempt to
mitigate global warming through reducing
greenhouse gas emissions would pose a
significant threat to economic
performance there is a major global
divided over whether the developed or
the developing world should shoulder
these economic burdens and whether the
economic sacrifices are worth any
potential benefit to the environment
number eight how dangerous can extreme
weather be the future impact of extreme
weather stemming from climate change
will vary around the world according to
the United States Environmental
Protection Agency warmer average global
temperatures will likely lead to more
intense longer and more frequent heat
waves causing droughts that will
adversely affect agricultural production
most prominently extreme precipitation
events are projected to increase
globally as is the severity of tropical
storms the impact that Hurricane Katrina
had on New Orleans in 2005 is an example
of the devastation such weather events
can cause the UN’s Meteorological
Organization stated that the beginning
of 2014 saw an unusual number of extreme
weather events from heat waves in
Slovenia and Australia to temperatures
in Russia and the Arctic being ten
degrees Celsius above average Britain
experienced its wettest winter in more
than a century during this time frame
and the southern hemisphere its hottest
year ever recorded number seven what is
the current weather situation in North
America a series of for severe blizzards
inundated the northeastern United States
beginning in November 2014 accompanied
by extreme cold February 2015 saw parts
of California and other parts of the
West Coast hit with heavy rainfall which
caused landslides and flooding an area
that was hit particularly hard by record
snowfall was New England with some
cities being slowly strangled by over
ten
of snow as the snow moves further south
unprepared states will face freezing
rain snow and sleet with some declaring
states of emergency over a month before
the official beginning of spring cities
and civilians were bracing for more
winter weather across the south nearly
half a million people still without
power tonight number six
how are people preparing for extreme
weather throughout the globe many
governments are developing policies in
order to adapt to climate change
attempting to diminish a populations
vulnerability to extreme weather events
these measures range from engineering
drought tolerant crop varieties to
attempting to engineer the climate
itself for example by developing schemes
to remove carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere countries in the developing
world are expected to suffer most from
the effects of global warming and the UN
established the Green Climate Fund in
2010 to redistribute money from the
developed world to the developing world
to finance the construction of
infrastructure that will help provide
better flood defences and mitigate the
effects of rising sea levels and severe
tropical storms basically wants to keep
coal in the hole and to get emissions of
greenhouse gases down as close to zero
as we possibly can as soon as we can
number five what are the costs of
extreme weather three months worth of
rain fell on of renovates in three days
those who’ve remained have been without
power or freshwater failing to prepare
for extreme weather can cost a city an
industry and a country a vast amount of
lost revenue budget expenditures and
more according to the US Department of
Homeland Security a lack of preparedness
cost the United States 1.15 trillion
dollars in economic losses from 1980 to
2010 the travel industry is hit
particularly hard as it is increasingly
susceptible to extreme weather in the
form of ice volcanic ash and heavy
snowfall furthermore travelers are also
affected as disrupted travel plans lead
to billions of dollars of out of work
time and unforeseen out-of-pocket costs
cities too are
particularly affected by extreme weather
as flooding and extreme heat can wreak
havoc on the delicate technological
systems that allow a city to function
from power grids to sewage systems
number four what is a polar vortex
beginning in December 2013 Canada and
the eastern United States were hit by a
cold wave that lasted five months this
cold wave was the result of southward
shifts of the north polar vortex and
consisted of two separate episodes the
first in December 2013 and the second at
the beginning of 2014
take a look behind me you can see the
vapor rising from Lake Michigan here
it’s that cold as the entire region was
blanketed with heavy snowfall and record
low temperatures businesses schools and
flight cancellations became the norm in
total over 200 million people were
affected with some estimating the
damages and loss of revenue in the realm
of over five billion dollars u.s. number
three what is being done to curb global
warming the main international agreement
set up to address global warming is the
United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change treaty established in
1992 its first major accomplishment was
the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 an
international agreement that would see
countries commit to reducing their
greenhouse gas emissions which went into
effect in 2005 four and ten Americans
still live where pollution levels are
often dangerous to breathe
however the world’s biggest polluter the
United States did not ratify the
agreement as they would have had to pay
for their emissions if they did not cut
them down to a certain level China the
world’s second biggest polluter also did
not ratify the protocol but was not
covered under its limits in 2014 the
United States and China signed their own
independent joint agreement to curb
their carbon emissions and to increase
their use of clean energy sources number
two how good are we at predicting
whether the science of accurately
predicting the weather forecast
has improved significantly since the
invention of supercomputers
and the subsequent collection of
thousands of data points from around the
world
forecasting now relies on computer-based
models which are generated from the
weather broadcasting stations located on
land water and air altogether there are
over a million weather-related data
points that circulate every day leading
to a more accurate daily weather
forecast as well as advanced warnings
for those living in regions that are
susceptible to flash floods tsunamis
tornadoes and more number one what are
the predictions for the future
researchers predict that temperatures
will increase about two to ten degrees
Fahrenheit by the end of the century
there have been several predictions for
the future including for the weather and
climate change researchers are
predicting that by the end of the
century the United States will suffer a
mega drought far worse than any seen in
the past thousand years if carbon
emissions do not start declining by 2050
there is a high risk of a decade-long
drought in the southwest and Central
Plains on the other side of the pond the
British Royal Society predicts a
significant increase in extreme weather
in terms of droughts floods and heat
waves
it seems that humankind must begin to
prepare for the worst as it works
towards the best did these facts
surprise you to vote for which news
story is covered next
head over to watchmojo.com slash suggest
and be sure to hit that subscribe button
for more newsworthy top 10s published
every week
[Music]
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