<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1654695788631,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000172-336d-d668-a372-3bef83ff0002","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1654695788631,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000172-336d-d668-a372-3bef83ff0002","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_54695771", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1027997"} }); ","_id":"00000181-438d-d421-ada5-4fddf68a0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video Embed
The combined threats of drought conditions, extreme heat, and wildfires led a group of scientists to slap a new label on this summer: “danger season.”
The name was coined by the Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmental research and advocacy group, in a blog post published earlier this week.
The group noted that summer is the season when the U.S. experiences most of its extreme weather, including heat waves, wildfires, hurricanes, and tropical storms. Existing droughts are exacerbated by hot conditions. And, as the group noted, these threats also “compound one another and cause cascading chains of hazards,” such as the increased risk of wildfires in drought-stricken parts of the country.
BIDEN’S SOLAR ENERGY EMERGENCY EXPLAINED
And while hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, and heatwaves are not a new occurrence, the group said, climate change has increased the frequency and severity of these extreme weather events in recent decades.
These extreme weather events also risk affecting critical infrastructure as well, adding yet another layer to the potential devastation.
U.S. grid operators warned last month that roughly two-thirds of the U.S. is currently at risk for power outages this summer, due both to limited reserve capacity and the rise in severe weather conditions, such as extreme heat and drought.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Addressing the “danger season” will require “distilling what we know from countless studies and turning that knowledge into more robust and equitable means of preparing for climate extremes,” the Union for Concerned Scientists said.
