Heat Deaths Jump in Southwest United States, Puzzling Officials

WASHINGTON — Heat-related deaths have increased sharply since 2014 in Nevada and Arizona, raising concerns that the hottest parts of the country are struggling to protect their most vulnerable residents from global warming. 

A morning walk at the South Mountain Preserve in
Phoenix last month. Afternoon highs in Phoenix last
summer averaged 106 degrees Fahrenheit, almost
3 degrees hotter than the average for the second half
 of the 20th century.

In Arizona, the annual number of deaths attributed to heat exposure more than tripled, from 76 deaths in 2014 to 235 in 2017, according to figures obtained from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heat-related deaths in Nevada rose almost fivefold during the same period, from 29 to 139. 

Read the story from The New York Times - “Heat Deaths Jump in Southwest United States, Puzzling Officials.

Not Your Expected Climate Impact: Arizona Flooded by a Tropical Storm

As Tropical Storm Rosa rolls through Arizona, dousing desert towns with heavy rains and filling reservoirs nearly depleted by a lengthy drought, the storm’s arrival is also a message from the sky about the impact of climate change: it can produce weird weather that in ancient times might have been attributed to angry gods.

Satellite images show then-Hurricane Rosa churning toward
 Mexico's Baja California and scientists say climate change
is a big reason storms are taking unusual paths.

Now, however, the unusual sight of flooded streets in Arizona can be explained by science.

“There’s a climate change component to it and we can say that with confidence,” said Kevin Trenberth, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Global warming has raised ocean temperatures and warmed the air above it, supercharging storms with moisture that they unleash in bigger rainfalls. Researchers now have enough data to connect the dots between increasing greenhouse gas emissions, greater moisture in the air and outsized rainstorms, Trenberth said.

Read the Climate Liability News story by Ucilia Wang - “Not Your Expected Climate Impact: Arizona Flooded by a Tropical Storm.”

Phoenix initiative helps residents stay safe in extreme heat

Blazing hot days are common in Arizona and they can be deadly. On average, extreme heat causes more than a hundred deaths in the state each year.

To provide relief in the city of Phoenix, community organizations offer residents air-conditioned spaces to cool off. Some also provide water, and donated items such as sunscreen.

Hammett: “Some examples here are Salvation Army, churches … our libraries, our senior centers.”

Michael Hammett oversees the Heat Relief Network. He says the network has existed for years but many people do not know about it.

Read the Yale Climate Connections story - “Phoenix initiative helps residents stay safe in extreme heat.”

Morocco builds world's largest concentrated solar plant

M

orocco imports 97 percent of its energy, and yet it has one of the highest rates of solar insolation of any country—about 3,000 hours of sunshine per year, according to the Solar GCC Alliance.

To put that in perspective, the Guinness Book of World Records puts Yuma, Arizona as the sunniest place on Earth with an average of 4,055 hours of sunshine per year (the theoretical maximum is 4,456), whereas the sunniest place in Germany, which still has a robust solar industry, gets a mere 1,800 sunshine hours a year. So it’s no surprise that Morocco is tapping into its abundant sunshine for energy.

Read the EcoWatch story - “Morocco to Build World’s Largest Concentrated Solar Power Plant”.