If you've thought your weather app has been on a rollercoaster lately, you're not alone.
Climate change has taken the weather script and rewritten it with a flair for the dramatic.
We just experienced two devastating major hurricanes in a single year over here in the United States.
Unfortunately, this might be the new normal.
Climate change has a major impact on daily weather, cranking up the unpredictability, and showing us that Mother Nature is really not happy with us at the moment.
Let's explore how our changing climate is setting the stage for weather we've hardly seen before.
But, before we get into the meat and potatoes, we have to start with the soup and salad.
What is the Difference Between Climate and Weather?
Real quick, the soup, let’s talk about the difference between climate and weather.
Simply put, weather is what you see outside on any particular day, while climate is the pattern of weather in a place over many years.
Weather is…
Weather is the conditions of the atmosphere at a specific place and time over the short term.
Weather is highly variable. One day it could be hot and sunny and then the next day could be cold and rainy.
Weather forecasting involves using data collected from weather stations, satellites, and computer models to predict conditions for the next few days or weeks.
It’s also very localized. The weather in your city could be rainy and blah, while the next city over could be sunny and nice. You can experience the weather by stepping outside!
A good weather example is, “it's raining today in New York City.”
Climate is…
Climate is the average atmospheric conditions over a specific region over a long period of time.
Over a short period of time the climate doesn't change very much, but over a long period of time it does change. Usually, this change is very slow and happens over decades or longer.
When predicting climate change, scientists are looking at how it will change over decades or centuries, rather than days or weeks.
Unlike weather, climate affects a large region like an entire continent, ocean, or even the entire globe.
For example, “the average temperature in New York has increased over the last century.”
What is Climate Change and What Causes It?
On to the salad - a brief overview of climate change and how it works.
Climate change is…
Climate change is when the global temperatures and weather patterns change significantly over time.
What Causes Climate Change?
The primary cause of current climate change is the greenhouse effect, which causes global warming.
The greenhouse effect is when greenhouse gases (water vapor (H₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O)) trap heat in the atmosphere, leading to an increase in temperature globally.
The climate on Earth has changed many times throughout history. In fact, three of the five major extinctions in history were due to climate change.
Usually, this is because of natural causes like volcanic eruptions, shifts in Earth’s orbit, solar radiation changes, ocean currents, or glaciation. But since the Industrial Revolution, there are human factors in climate change, like burning fossil fuels and
deforestation.
How Climate Change Works
Earth’s atmosphere naturally contains the greenhouse gases I listed above.
These greenhouse gases are extremely good at holding in heat. When the sun shines, the heat you feel is infrared radiation. This heat bounces off of the Earth’s surface and goes back into space. Greenhouse gases trap about two-thirds of the outgoing infrared radiation in the atmosphere instead of letting it go back into space.
This is good! It keeps our Earth nice and warm and cozy, and is essential for our current functioning environment.
However, a disruption in this cycle, say by dumping tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in an extremely short amount of time, is not good.
Remember, these gases hold heat, so the more gas in the atmosphere, the more heat is held in the atmosphere instead of being sent back into space. This causes the global temperature to rise, known as global warming.
At a certain point, global warming causes a positive feedback loop. Normally positive means good, but not this time.
Hot temperatures cause water to evaporate, and that leads to more water in the atmosphere, which means more water vapor to hold heat, which leads to warmer temperatures, and run it all back over and over again until it reaches a point that humans can no longer survive.
By the way, Earth will be totally fine during all of this. She’s been through worse. It’s us and the other carbon lifeforms that need to worry.
How Does Climate Change Impact Daily Weather Patterns?
Okay, now that we've gotten all the educational stuff out of the way, it's time to get to the “fun” part. How does climate change actually affect the weather?
Temperature Extremes
One of the most common changes in the weather that we all can feel are the temperature extremes like heat waves during the summer and cold snaps in the winter.
The Earth is experiencing an increase in global temperature due to global warming, and that is leading to more intense and longer heat waves, as you can see from the graph below taken from
epa.gov.
What we used to think of as extreme heat, like 100°F (~38°C), is getting more and more common in many parts of the world, even in areas that have not seen those temperatures in human’s existence.
Unfortunately, many parts of the world were not built to handle extreme heat. We saw this with England in 2024. Their infrastructure was not built to handle the energy required for everyone to use an air conditioner. This led to extremely high energy prices, but much worse for those that could not afford it, who were subject to increased health risks like heat stroke.
And the nights aren’t giving any relief either, since they are not cooling down like they used to. It’s hard to sleep in extreme heat, and sleep deprivation makes it difficult to live a healthy life.
On the flip side, we are also seeing more intense cold snaps during the winter months.
Now, many people are like “Well if there is still cold weather, then global warming isn’t even real, right?” Wrong.
We are actually seeing less and less cold temperatures by the year. We are even seeing less cold snaps overall, except they are increasing in intensity.
This happens due to changes in atmospheric circulation patterns. As the planet warms, cold air from the Arctic is getting pushed south because of the disruption of jet streams and polar vortex events.
Even in Buffalo, our winters are becoming milder. We only had one month with average temperatures under freezing in 2023, compared to three in 2013.
Precipitation Changes
As the global temperature increases, more and more water is being absorbed into the atmosphere through evaporation.
Warmer air can hold more moisture. For every degree Celsius increase in temperature, the air holds approximately 7% more water vapor. That explains the stickiness of a hot summer day due to humidity.
Now when precipitation occurs, it will be a lot heavier and more intense because there is more water to drop.
However, it does not mean that there is more rain overall. What's happening is that there are longer dry periods that are broken up by short, but intense rainfall, snowfall, or storms.
In fact, it looks like the wet places on Earth are getting wetter, and the dry places on Earth are getting dryer. These wet places are experiencing more flash floods than they used to, and dry places are experiencing longer droughts than normal.
In my personal experience in Buffalo, there used to be a nice steady stream of snowfall throughout the winter. Now, we are only getting a few snow falls during the winter, and they are dumping multiple feet of snow on us at a time. We got 7 feet at once last year!
Dry areas on Earth are experiencing more wildfires than they used to. Forests aren’t getting the same amount of water that they used to, so they are extra dry. They are tinderboxes ready to burst into flame with a single spark. I smelled the Canadian wildfires almost all summer in 2023.
How Climate Change is Affecting Certain Region’s Weather
Let’s take a look at how climate change and global warming is affecting certain regions on Earth.
Arctic
Unfortunately, the Arctic region's temperature is increasing at twice the global average rate. Scientists call this polar amplification.
Polar amplification leads to the Arctic ice melting, rising sea levels, flooding in coastal areas, and erosion of coastal land.
I already talked about how increasing Arctic temperatures are messing with jet streams causing intense cold snaps in normally warm, mid-latitude areas. But it’s more than that…
With less of the Earth’s surface area covered in ice, the albedo effect, when the sun’s heat is redirected back into space, is reduced, increasing the overall temperature on Earth. I mentioned this feedback loop a little earlier, and how this amplifies global warming.
Another bad thing that happens when the Arctic areas increase in temperature is permafrost thaw. Trapped methane and carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere as previously frozen organic matter begins to decompose. By now, I’m sure you can guess that more unnecessary greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is bad.
But hey, at least without all this pesky ice in the way we’ve got some new shipping routes for all of the cheap plastic goodies, right?
Tropical Regions
Tropical regions are already naturally warm. With an increase in global temperature due to climate change, tropical regions are experiencing more intense and longer periods of heat.
While I already mentioned the increase in intense rainfall, now I am going to focus on the intensity of the storms these areas are seeing.
If you have been paying attention to the Southeast United States and the Caribbean region, you may have noticed that in the past decade or so the hurricanes that have been hitting the area are vastly more powerful than they have been in previous decades.
With the ocean’s temperature rising, the surface of the ocean is much warmer than it used to be. This is the perfect breeding ground for the energy needed to quickly form a tropical storm. Tropical storms then gain enough energy to be a full blown hurricane in a matter of days reaching higher wind speeds and dropping large amounts of precipitation.
On top of that, the storms themselves are moving slower when they make landfall due to the changes in atmospheric circulation. With that comes more exposure to rain and high winds creating more flooding and wind damage than storms from previous decades.
And all this sounds pretty bad, but there is more that certain tropical regions need to worry about.
As sea levels rise around the world (they aren’t rising as fast as you may think, but they are rising), tropical islands and coasts surrender their land to the ocean. When major storms pass over these islands the storm surges and flooding is extremely dangerous.
And we’ve all seen pictures of the devastating destruction of these intense storms. If it’s money you’re worried about, curbing global warming would also lower the cost of the damage of these storms. More importantly, save many innocent human lives.
Temperate Zones
Like the other regions I mentioned, along with the rest of the world, temperate zones are experiencing increased average temperature, extreme temperature events, and messed up precipitation patterns.
What I mainly want to talk about with temperate zones is how the seasons are shifting and the effect on agriculture.
For one, due to warmer temperatures the growing season itself is longer. I guess this could be considered a benefit to farmers because they might be able to increase crop yields. They might also be able to plant different crops that are traditionally grown in hotter climates, shifting agricultural zones northward or to higher altitudes.
Farmers also don’t have to worry as much about frost freezing and killing crops towards the end of the season.
All of this probably sounds pretty great.
However, because of the hotter temperatures and longer heatwaves, crops stress and can die during critical stages of growth, lowering the yield.
The unpredictable precipitation patterns can be more destructive to the crops. Heavy rainfall and flooding can wash away crops and topsoil, leading to soil erosion that decreases soil fertility, again, lowering the yield.
And remember how I said the precipitation is more intense, but less frequent? Farmers have to deal with the long periods of drought between the rainfall. If they don’t want their crops to die of dehydration, they have to consistently water them, and that can strain water resources.
As the planet warms, there is less snowfall, and the snow that is there melts earlier in the season. This can create problems with natural water availability in the spring and early summer further leading to water resource issues.
Farmers have to adapt their irrigation systems to combat drought, or maybe we can
genetically modify some of our crops in order to make them drought resistant?
So, even though farmers might be able to get a few more crops due to a longer season, the cons definitely outweigh the benefits, and overall might get less crop yield because of all of the unpredictable weather conditions.
What Does Climate Change Mean for the Future of Weather?
It's time to get out the crystal ball and predict the future. Remember, no one knows what will happen for sure, and there are many different scenarios that could happen. These are just predictions based on the science that we have right now. There is no guarantee that these will come true, and I hope they do not.
We are already getting a taste of what is to come in the future.
Climate models are predicting that if we keep up our current emissions, the global average temperature will rise between 2.7°F to 8.1°F (1.5°C and 4.5°C) by 2100. That seems far away, but that is the same amount of time since WWII (average temperatures since then have already increased about 2°F (~1°C)).
Currently, we are experiencing more heat waves due to global warming. Remember that chart from earlier? Look at the difference in heat waves over just the last 60 years.
If the climate models are correct, we can expect heat waves will be more frequent due to a longer season, individual heat waves will last longer, and their intensities will increase. Droughts will last longer, rivers will dry up, and water scarcity could become a common thing.
Some areas on Earth will experience more and more deadly wet-bulb temperatures. At a certain wet bulb temperature, 95°F (35°C), sweat cannot be absorbed into the atmosphere, making it impossible to naturally cool off your body. Over 5 hours of exposure in this environment is deadly to humans.
The ocean temperatures will continue to rise providing the energy needed for storms to get even more dangerous. We could possibly see less category 1 hurricanes and more category 3, 4, and 5 hurricanes.
As the ice sheets continue to melt, sea levels will rise damaging coastal regions and they will be at risk of more sudden, devastating floods and storm surges.
Meanwhile, regions closer to the poles could potentially see heavier snowfalls and wicked cold snaps that could freeze local wildlife to death, and even humans if they are unprepared.
Without significant reductions in our greenhouse gas emissions, these predictions can easily come true, and we can expect hotter days and more dangerous storms in our collective futures.
Can Humanity Adapt to the New Weather Changes?
Let’s take a look at some of the ways that humanity can adapt to climate change and global warming.
One of the main reasons that global warming is increasing so dramatically is our energy needs. Most of our energy comes from burning fossil fuels, and these release lots of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Obviously this is bad because carbon dioxide is a major reason why we are experiencing an increase in global temperature. Shifting our energy systems to clean energy like solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and nuclear will help reduce global warming significantly.
Using perhaps our greatest tool, technology, we are seeing more and more cities developing infrastructure that can withstand these extreme weather events. This “green infrastructure” includes flood defenses, heat-resistant building materials, more efficient cooling systems, and green roofs to mitigate urban heat islands. Unfortunately, poorer nations might lack the resources and technology to adapt quickly enough.
Another problem we are going to face is water scarcity. To adapt to this we need better water management systems including water storage, desalination technology, and water conservation technologies. We need to be able to adapt to both extended droughts and major floods.
Health is something else we have to think about. With all these intense heat waves, heat strokes, heat exhaustion, and dehydration are going to be more common year after year. Even diseases spread by mosquitoes in already warm climates are something that we have to keep in our minds.
Lastly, many people will experience a lifestyle change as people adapt to climate change. Things like reducing energy consumption, eating seasonal foods, plant-based diets, reducing car use, conserving water, wearing sustainable clothing, and flying less are all things to be considered as the planet warms.
One of the best things about humans is that we are very adaptable. However, we can only adapt so much. Some climate change effects are uncertain. The main thing we need to do is take steps towards reducing global warming. Everything else is just a bandage on an ever growing wound.
Summary
Weather is what’s happening right now, while climate is what’s happening over time.
Climate change is the long term shift in weather and temperature, and is primarily caused by the greenhouse effect.
Climate change impacts daily weather patterns by increasing global temperature leading to temperature extremes, heat waves, precipitation changes, and more intense storms.
Weather extremes affect the whole world like the melting of the ice in the Arctic, the wilder storms in the tropical regions, and messing with agriculture in temperate zones.
If global warming keeps up we can expect to keep seeing our temperatures rise, our storms getting worse, and our heat waves lasting longer.
If humanity wants to survive these weather extremes they must adapt by lowering their carbon emissions, developing green infrastructure, solving water scarcity problems, and making lifestyle changes.
Now What?
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