Five years, 331 days, 11 hours, 13 minutes, and 52 seconds. This is the amount of time left to save the Earth as of 12:46 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023.
For more than 20 years Metronome, a large public art installation in Manhattan, New York, has displayed a 62-foot-wide 15-digit electronic clock that told the time by counting the hours, minutes, and seconds to and from midnight. It now, however, counts down the years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds that humans have left to reverse the effects of climate change. As the clock continues to inch closer to its deadline, the effects of climate change have made themselves known.
Over the summer heatwaves ravished Europe, North America, and Asia. Wildfires raged across Canada, Spain, and Turkey, while torrential downpours and flash floods plagued Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Georgia (amongst others). Throughout this all, temperatures climbed extraordinary heights, with the global average temperature of the month of July reaching an unprecedented 16.95 degrees Celsius (62.51 degrees Fahrenheit), establishing July 2023 as the hottest month recorded on Earth.
RECORD-BREAKING HEAT
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association found that from mid-June to mid-July, nearly 5,000 heat and rainfall records were broken or tied in the U.S. and more than 10,000 records were set globally. Additionally, the North Atlantic Ocean’s sea surface temperatures are at an all-time record high, and Antarctic sea ice cover is at an all-time low, despite it currently being winter there.
“The recent heat wave and other recent climate disasters come as no surprise to me. Scientists have been predicting this for decades, and now the effects of human-induced climate change are on full display,” head of science and communication at University of Colorado’s North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, Uly Horodyskyj Peña said. “It is alarming to see it happen in real-time.”
According to Peña, a record “heat dome” has “been gripping the US this summer”. A heat dome is considered to be a vast area of heat that gets trapped under a high pressure “dome” due to high-pressure atmospheric conditions, and has contributed to the record-breaking heat waves sweeping the globe this summer.
While these striking weather conditions were anticipated, they are not naturally occurring; climate change has altered the natural weather and climate patterns of the Earth.
“There are natural patterns in the climate that follow the orbital cycles of the Earth. However, where we are currently in the cycle, we should be cooling for the next 8,000 years or so,” Peña said. “That is not going to happen on account of the amount of greenhouse gasses, like carbon dioxide and methane, that we are putting into the atmosphere.”
Atmospheric Scientist and Program Coordinator for The Ohio State University Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Geddy Davis stated that the Earth is currently experiencing a phenomenon known as an “El Niño year.” Davis describes an El Niño year as a phenomenon where naturally warmed ocean temperatures in the Pacific influence temperatures and weather patterns across the globe.
“Add that natural effect to an ocean that is already warming due to absorbing excess heat from the burning of fossil fuels, and you have amplified climate effects,” Peña said. “I anticipate more intense heat waves, wildfires, and flooding through 2024. You can think of it this way: climate change will lead to an El Niño on steroids.”
HEALTH COMPLICATIONS
This change in natural weather patterns brings with it adverse health effects for youth and adults alike. Extreme heat and poor air quality increase health complications due to things such as increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease, renal failure, and preterm birth.
“Potential health repercussions of climate changes include poorer air quality leading to respiratory illness, more cases of heat-related illness, changes in vector-borne diseases through changes in mosquitos, fleas, ticks, or other pests or species,” Davis said. “Changes in mental health are also important, with anxiety and concern for disasters or drastic global change impacting many.”
Air pollution, specifically, is an aspect of climate change that has dangerous impacts on humans’ health. Preeti Jaggi, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, climate activist, and former Upper Arlington resident analyzes these health impacts.
“[Air pollution] is basically a mixture of particles that congeal and then you inhale them, they go into your lungs, and I believe they get through your alveoli into your bloodstream,” she said. “And then ozone is a secondary pollutant, it mixes with nitric oxides with volatile organic compounds, heat and sunlight, and then it forms and you inhale it and it’s a lung irritant.”
Effects of air pollution on human health can manifest as mild irritants, such as coughing or itchy eyes, or lead to more drastic impediments such as cancer, heart disease, and premature death.
“In one of the first New England Journal studies that I saw, they were looking at mortality in different areas of the country,” said Jaggi. “And they saw that more particulate matter pollution was associated with a shorter lifespan.”
Health complications are also spurred by intense weather-related disasters such as heat waves, floods, and wildfires; all of which were on the rise this summer. A study published in Nature Medicine estimates that more than 61,000 were killed by heat waves in Europe alone during the summer of 2022.
“Heat waves can cause heat exhaustion and heat stroke– care needs to be taken to keep cool and hydrated,” Uly said. “Wildfire smoke can aggravate the lungs of those who are already compromised. Flooding can lead to loss of lives and possible spread of water-borne diseases.”
As the year progresses into a predicted continuation of heat waves and weather complications, it is important to stay hydrated, well-rested, and conscious of variable weather conditions.
MOVING FORWARD
As the threat of climate change and subsequent health challenges increases, researchers debate whether or not the effects of human activities on Earth’s climate are reversible. NASA concluded that by 2050 sea level along U.S. coastlines could rise between 25 to 30 centimeters (10 to 12 inches) above today’s levels, and an additional global warming of about 1.5 degrees Celsius, rendering about 20% of the planet “barely liveable”.
“It is important to again recognize some positives with so many notable disasters and events occurring this summer. While these are bad, recognition of climate change and its outcomes is continuing to grow,” Davis said, despite these rising temperatures. “It is important to know others care and resources are available.”
Upper Arlington intends to achieve zero-waste, zero-pollution, and zero emissions by 2050 by “implementing sustainable, environmentally appropriate practices while following the regional sustainability agenda.”
Some ways that the city of Upper Arlington has attempted to achieve this goal is by utilizing 100% renewable wind for city operations; using LED and other efficient lighting for all traffic signals, pedestrian walk signals, and street lights; and offering a residential food waste collection program.
“Big climate action needs to take place at the government and corporate levels, but we can motivate and mobilize that through our votes and voices,” Uly said.
Voting is something that has been emphasized by many who hope to mitigate climate change.
“Educate your parents,” Jaggi advised high schoolers. “There’s good data to say when kids get involved, their parents’ minds change…and you can also encourage your parents to vote.”
While scientists debate whether or not climate change is truly reversible, mitigation is agreed upon as an effective and necessary strategy for fighting global warming. Decreasing carbon emissions, preventing food waste, and recycling every-day items are just a few examples of mitigation strategies.
“We are not doomed and our fate is not set in stone,” Uly said, however. “So our goal is to educate people on the choices they make and show them how their voices matter”
