Study: Off-the-chart heat on rise

The Union of Concerned Scientists - a non-profit group founded in 1969 by scientists and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., with a mission is to combat climate change - predicts that the rise in extreme heat days will be difficult for even those used to hot, sweaty summers, says Kristina Dahl, lead author on the UCS study. Heat is already the top cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S. According to the analysis, by late century, with no reduction in global emissions, multiple cities in Texas, and Alexandria, La., would be among those expected to experience the most “off-the-charts” heat days. One of the report’s findings indicate that if the goal of the Paris Agreement is met, and future global average warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius, by late century the U.S. would see half the number of days per year with a heat index above 105 degrees Fahrenheit, on average, and almost 115M fewer people would experience the equivalent of a week or more of “off-the-charts” heat days. (Source: Union of Concerned Scientists 07/16/19) New Orleans was also highlighted in the study, and according to its maps would include the western coastal areas of Mississippi, and the eastern coastal areas of Florida that would be among the harder hit – lessened somewhat for the Alabama and NW Florida coastline. Above to much-above-average June temperatures were observed across 11 states, along the Pacific, Mid-Atlantic, and New England coasts, and the Gulf Coast where Florida experienced its third warmest June on record.