The world is warming and fossil fuels have exacerbated the process. If you didn't know, Alaska has experienced record warmth this year, 2019. Not only that, here's a look at warming sea surface temperatures and WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU: >>>1) On October 8, 2019, the International Arctic Research Center or IARC at the University of Alaska noted "Over the last 12 months, the average Alaska statewide temperature is 32.7°F. This is the highest value for the 1925-present time period using NOAA/NCEI statewide values."
WHAT IT MEANS - Drier conditions, Higher wildfire danger - and Alaska has had one of the worst wildfire seasons ever in 2019.
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| Wildfire near Talkeenta, Alaska July 3, 2019 Cr: Getty Images |
ALASKA'S WILDFIRE SEASONS ARE GETTING WORSE- TIME magazine: Aug 21, 2019 - About 2.5 Million Acres in Alaska Have Burned. The State's Wildfire Seasons Are Getting Worse, Experts Say. A helicopter passes by as smoke rises from a wildfire on July 3, 2019 south of Talkeetna, Alaska near the George Parks Highway. Wildfires are a normal part of life in Alaskan forests.
2) "Alaska’s exceptional heat wave delivers state’s hottest days on record"
By Ian Livingston, Washington Post
July 9
A heat wave for the record books has roasted our 49th state, sending temperatures into uncharted territory. Over the weekend [July 6 and 7, 2019], boosted by historic heat in the southern part of the state, Alaska’s average temperature surged to its highest level ever recorded on back-to-back days. “It is likely that Saturday, July 6, 2019, was the warmest day on record statewide (at least in the last 100 years)," tweeted Alaska climatologist Brian Brettschneider. But, he continued, “this distinction only lasted 1 day as Sunday was even warmer!”
As of July 8, 2019: Anchorage has logged eight days of 80 degrees or higher this year, doubling the old record of four from 2015.
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Sea Surface Temperatures Continue to Warm
Global sea surface temperatures in September were above the 20th Century
[Source: ERSST v.5].
WHAT THAT MEANS? -
1) Fish and other sea life will be stressed and die off or migrate further north.
2) Corals will die off with warmer temperatures, too.
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| warmer temperatures can kill fish |
4) Tropical Cyclones have more fuel to strengthen in warmer sea surface temperatures (from 80F and higher)
5) Deadly Algal Blooms - Scientists predict that climate change will have many effects on freshwater and marine environments. These effects, along with nutrient pollution, might cause harmful algal blooms to occur more often, in more waterbodies and to be more intense. Algal blooms endanger human health, the environment and economies across the United States. Source; U.S. EPA
