The law of unintended consequences: Thirty years ago I started talking publicly about climate change. Not because of a documentary or even scientific research, but as a meteorologist I noticed the weather increasingly “playing out of tune.” Since then, symptoms have become more obvious. Drier dries and wetter wets. More extreme flooding. Hurricanes intensifying before landfall, because oceans are warming, too. What I missed was THE SMOKE.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reports that in 2023 the average American experienced 150 days of wildfire smoke, a sevenfold increase from 2006-2020.
The EPA’s Clean Air Act was working: Air pollution was trending down. And then a longer growing season, fuel buildup and, yes, a warmer, drier climate over Canada and the western U.S. supersized wildfires upwind. Will this help to change minds? Not holding my breath. Wait. Yes I am.
Thunderstorms ignite late Tuesday into Thursday. Expect low 90s Monday and Tuesday, and long-range models show a streak of 90s by late July. A real summer. Wow.
