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hatrack

(59,442 posts)
Thu Jul 1, 2021, 09:21 AM Jul 2021

A Thunderhead Above Baffin Island In Arctic Canada, Where Thunderstorms Were Unknown 50 Years Ago

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What happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic. 'A thunderhead on the central plateau of Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic that formed north of the Barnes Ice Cap. Scientists from the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, who were in the area working on a National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported study at the time of the storm, said it produced cloud-to-ground lightning strikes and extensive thunder. Weather such as this was unheard of 50 years ago, when researchers from the institute spent four years in the same area, and are due to the increase in summer temperatures in those intervening years to the point that thunder and lightning are now a frequent occurrence. The NSF research showed current warming, measured on a centennial scale, exceeds any century in at least 40,000 years and most likely 120,000 years. The appearance of thunderheads is consistent with this warming.'

Call me pessimistic, but I don't think RCP2.6 is going to happen. I mean, that's basically an immediate, massive decline in emissions, and there are currently zero frameworks for any transformative change in a global society. Right now, we're solidly on the RCP8.5 path. That's what our species, our governments, have chosen. Talk and agreements aside. To share these incredibly optimistic pathways seems to be naive of societal, political, and economic forces beyond science. Meteorologist Nick Humphrey

A quick note - the RCP8.5 scenario is the worst-case heating scenario for the biosphere.

Global heating and precipitation patterns have combined to make the world a more difficult place for life. Humans living in the first world are experiencing what the world's poor have known for a while that the climate has changed, and it is harder to feed themselves, house themselves and maintain an optimal body temperature.

There is drought, flooding and, hail that all punish and kill the food crops we depend on for sustenance. There are other factors as well. Water in streams, lakes and the ocean is all warming, and those temperatures are killing the fish that reside in them. On land, livestock is unable to withstand the heat and humidity. Eventually, we will have to air-condition them to keep them alive. We are now hearing that we will need insects to be a part of our diet. This is all traceable to runaway climate feedbacks.

Preach it.




EDIT

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EDIT

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/7/1/2037595/-Climate-is-testing-our-ability-to-feed-ourselves-and-no-migrating-to-Siberia-will-not-save-us
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A Thunderhead Above Baffin Island In Arctic Canada, Where Thunderstorms Were Unknown 50 Years Ago (Original Post) hatrack Jul 2021 OP
Baffin Island Thunderstorms? Botany Jul 2021 #1
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