Climate change has long been the focus of everyone's hot discussion, after all, climate change is related to everyone's survival. Whether in 2021 or 2022, how the climate changes in the past and how it changes in the future will have a fatal impact on humanity and other life. In 2022, we do see a resurgence of extreme climates.
For example, Australia has experienced extreme heat, and in January 2022, western Australia experienced extremely rare temperatures of more than 50 degrees (normal temperatures around 40 degrees are higher), so it has caused many people to worry about the climate.
No, in 2022, we have another news about extreme climate phenomena, that is, the United States has been hit by a huge drought, once again pushing the climate issue to a new high. And, the bigger disaster may not be coming, what is the reason? We look at it step by step.
Once in 1200! The western United States suffered a severe drought
According to research published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the western United States suffered an exceptionally severe drought, and this severe drought in 2021 was about as dry as 2002, one of the driest years on record in the region. And according to the U.S. drought monitoring report, as of February 10, 95% of the western United States was in a state of drought.
At the same time, based on the soil moisture record dating back to 1200 years, the simulation calculated that the probability of drought lasting until 2022 is 94%, which means that the drought in 2022 is likely to continue.
Of course, since Feb. 10, 95 percent of the western U.S. has been in a state of drought, meaning it's really happening. And according to the researchers, in the past 20 years, the western and southern United States droughts have been the most severe in the region for at least 1200 years, that is, once in 1200 years, so they are quite rare.
As we mentioned above, the drought in 2022 is likely to continue. The study also highlights once again that this round of "mega-drought" shows no signs of mitigating for the time being, and World Geographic magazine expects it to continue until 2030.
Therefore, the drought problem facing the United States has once again warned mankind, and perhaps more regions may face such a situation in the future, and when drought ravages the world, it will be a little late to find a way to change the arid climate. I believe the United States also hopes that this climate will end soon.
Why is there such a huge drought in the United States?
Judging from the analysis of tree rings, this is not the first time that the United States has experienced drought problems, from southern Montana to the western Rocky Mountains in northern Mexico, between 800 and 1600, there have been many so-called major droughts – lasting at least 19 years.
Therefore, this round of drought, according to this situation, is also a normal situation. This may also be related to factors such as the geographical conditions of the United States.
But the study also points to a key factor, which is that 42% of the drought in this "extraordinary drought" is attributed to human-caused climate change, that is, human climate change exists. In fact, in the end, there are still some factors of global warming.
Agence France-Presse has also pointed out accordingly to this climate problem, that is, when the global average temperature rises, 2 degrees above the level of industrialization, 800 million to 3 billion people are expected to suffer from chronic water shortages due to drought.
At the same time, including deadly heat waves, floods, superstorms, etc., may have an impact on humans. So, fundamentally, whatever causes the mega-drought in the United States, at least 42 percent of droughts are due to human-caused climate change.
Therefore, the impact of humans on the climate is there. Moreover, the Earth's surface has warmed by an average of about 1.1 degrees Celsius, and it is almost certain that within 20 years, the global average temperature will exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius ceiling required by the Paris Agreement.
At that time, we will only see more climate knock-on effects. However, with climate change, a bigger catastrophe may not yet come, so what terrible thing is happening? These things are also the things that human beings are most worried about, and you can see what they are.
A bigger catastrophe in the climate is not yet coming?
As we all know, in the context of global warming, there are many knock-on effects, and the most frightening and most worrying possibility is the virus that has been sealed in the interior of the earth. Global warming, which causes the planet to warm, can cause this problem.
For example, researchers have found that two nematodes can be revived after the permafrost of Siberia has been melted, up to 42,000 years ago. In the summer of 2016, an anthrax broke out in Siberia, infecting more than 20 people, killing a child and killing more than 2,300 reindeer.
After investigation, it was found that the bacillus anthracis that caused the disease originated from reindeer suffering from anthrax who died in 1941, and these reindeer carcasses were frozen in the frozen soil, and as the climate warmed, they were thawed and released, posing a threat to humans and other organisms.
So, this is the catastrophe of mankind, and this is what everyone calls a greater catastrophe that may not be coming, because humanity has not yet changed the climate. At the same time, in 2022, Bill Gates issued a warning that there may be a virus more deadly than the new crown in the future, and rich countries should increase investment in research and development, which is also a concern for the future.
This may include some of the virus problems caused by the climate, but at the end of the day, it all comes to the virus problem.
So, humans really should find a way to change the climate, we can't go on like this. Even if the United States suffered a severe drought this time, although it is not a 100% climate factor, but through research and analysis, the climate accounts for almost half. Therefore, human beings need to be vigilant.