Floods, devastating fires, hurricanes and a potentially dangerous heat wave for a third of the population: the United States suffered the severe impact of a series of climate change -related disasters on Tuesday as the tag approached -day.
Nearly 120 million Americans have been affected to one degree or another by the heat wave alert that has hit some parts of the Midwest and Southeast of the country.
A high pressure dome is expected to emit more than normal to record high temperatures throughout the area today and tomorrow. [mercredi]warns of National Weather.
This heat, combined with high humidity, is likely to generate temperatures in excess of 37 ° C in many places.he warned.
In parts of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, mercury should reach 43 ° C.
It is this zone of high atmospheric pressure that triggers extraordinary phenomena around it, explained inAFP Alex Lamers, US national weather expert.
In many cases, if you have a strong enough heat wave, you will see around it thunderstorms and tornadoes, flash floods, heavy rain.he said.
On the north side of this heat dome, high temperatures hit a mass of cold air and created intense lightning on Monday, leaving several hundred thousand people without electricity in the Midwest.
This cold facade is likely to cause other destructive weather, such as hail or strong winds.
Yellowstone park evacuated and closed
Further west, photos released by the national parks agency showed flood damage in Yellowstone Park.
All entrances to this vast park of nearly 9000 km2straddling in the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho (northwest), remained closed until further notice due to extremely dangerous conditions caused by river floods and pouring rain.
Anyone in the park was told to evacuate.
The floods measured in the Yellowstone River are beyond record levelssays the national parks agency on its website.
The floods caused landslides or mudslides that cut off many parts of the road and some bridges may also be affectedhe says.
Waves of heat, drought and fire
Heatwave alerts have also been issued in some regions of California and Arizona, where temperatures and chronic drought further increase the risk of fire.
Two fires, each of which have already covered more than 120,000 acres, continued to burn in the state of New Mexico on Tuesday.
For weeks, firefighters have struggled to contain the blaze black fire at Hermits Peak fed by exotic dry plants.
New Mexico and much of the southwestern United States are in the grip of a historic drought, and dozens of fires broke out in the region before summer even began.
Firefighters note that the frequency, size and intensity of forest and brush fires have continued to rise in recent years.
Six very difficult months
The year 2022 once again promises to be awful from this point on. Given the current state of vegetation and fires, I fear we have four, five or even six very difficult months ahead of us.Orange County California Fire Chief Brian Fennessy said recently.
Fires are common in the western United States, but have become more intense due to global warming caused by human activities, including fossil fuels.
According to Alex Lamers, while it is difficult to make a direct correlation between global warming and an isolated meteorological phenomenon, climate change is undeniably an aggravating factor.
In every weather phenomenon, there is an element of bad luck […] But they all have climate as a backdrop and in other words, climate change is piled on the dice and increases the likelihood of having extreme events.he explains.
France Media Agency
Source: Radio-Canada
