Good morning. If you thought this summer felt a little bit off, you’re not alone. Climate change really is making things worse.
Bummer time
Everywhere I went this summer, foul weather seemed to stalk me. At home in New York City, temperatures soared above 100 degrees during the Fourth of July weekend. In Chicago, where I traveled for a conference, wildfire smoke from Canada blanketed the city. When I retreated to my cabin in the Hudson Valley, torrential rains flooded the house. Again.
It wasn’t just me. All over the United States this summer, Americans contended with extreme weather — and other extreme nuisances — that turned our usual midyear respite into something more like an interminable series of annoyances.
Blame climate change. Global warming is pushing up temperatures and making storms more intense. Persistent heat, amplified by this year’s super El Niño, is upending traditions. And it’s affecting us in smaller ways, too. In every corner of the country, people have been finding that once-cherished routines are becoming sources of discomfort, anxiety and dread.
Just how bad has it gotten?
Heat. July was the warmest month on record in the contiguous United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In Philadelphia, the city’s marquee parade to celebrate Independence Day was canceled as temperatures hit 103 degrees Fahrenheit. Fireworks displays were canceled from Colorado to Delaware because of excessive heat and the risk of fires. And at Liberty Lake Day Camp in Bordentown, N.J., counselors modified outdoor sports on days when the heat approached triple digits. Instead of basketball games, campers just practiced free throws. Instead of a full pickleball match, they dinked in the kitchen line. With lots of water breaks.
Pests. Warm weather is expanding the range of disease-carrying pests. Milder winters mean that fewer ticks and mosquitoes freeze and die, and tick species are expanding north into new territories. (This summer has been particularly bad.) But they are not the only pests that are spreading with the warmer weather. Jellyfish have swarmed beaches as ocean temperatures rise. And tiny biting pests known as chiggers are also becoming more prevalent across the northern U.S.
Downpours. With climate change creating stronger, more powerful rainstorms, communities around the country have been dealing with sudden downpours and flash floods. Waves of extreme weather swept across America this summer, unleashing torrents of water from Colorado to Massachusetts. In the past week alone, a deadly flash flood hit the Grand Canyon, and Tropical Storm Edouard drenched parts of southeast Texas.
(You can find even more examples in my full story.)
Sad to say, this is the new normal. With global temperatures continuing to climb as human activity warms the planet, scientists say that more intense heat and extreme weather — and everything that comes along with them — are all but guaranteed.
A few weeks ago, a day camp outside New York City held its annual end-of-season dinner for senior staff members. This year, the theme was “Wild Weather.” Counselors and staff reflected on their work moving outdoor activities inside, adapting to the smoke and helping campers beat the heat. “They were trained so well because we had something every week,” said Lauren Wexler, who oversees the camp. “It was seamless because we did it so, so many times.”
And if you’re in New York City, join us at Climate Forward Live on Wednesday, Sept. 23. Journalists from across the newsroom will interview government leaders, business executives and activists. You can apply to attend here.
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BOOK OF THE WEEK
“Big Little Truths,” by Liane Moriarty: Sequels can be dicey affairs — see: “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” and “Revenge Wears Prada” — but Moriarty doesn’t disappoint with this No. 1 best-selling follow-up to her No. 1 best-selling novel “Big Little Lies,” which was adapted into an HBO series starring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern. Here, Moriarty brings her gaggle of mom friends back to their native Sydney, Australia (although it’s hard not to picture Monterey, Calif., where the show took place). The women are now either approaching middle age or squarely in it; their sweet kids are surly teens; and their relationships are that many more years threadbare. Solidarity and revenge are the ties that bind this rollicking page-turner — and no, reading the earlier book isn’t a prerequisite. But it does help to have a basic familiarity with the events that brought the players together.
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was nicknaming.
Can you put eight historical events — including the storming of the Bastille, the combustion of the Hindenburg and the publication of “Jane Eyre” — in chronological order? Take this week’s Flashback quiz.
