Experts are analyzing the causes of the catastrophic weather phenomena on the planet in recent months
O National newspaper was to hear the opinions of experts on the possible causes and effects of the extreme weather events of the last few months around the world.
While one part of the world faced unprecedented heatwaves, another part suffered from flooding and flooding. This was the case in Vietnam, Greece and Libya.
The winter was also extreme here in Brazil. Drought in the northern region, aboveaverage temperatures in much of the southeast, cyclone and heavy rains in the south.
Explanations for all of these climate events are displayed on a map showing where on the ocean surface temperatures are above normal. The red spot over the Pacific is a result of El Niño. On the other hand, we see that, according to experts, the waters of the North Atlantic are also warmer, a consequence of global warming.
Climatologist José Antonio Marengo, research coordinator at the National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts, says that the combination of these two phenomena caused all these natural disasters.
“The El Niño phenomenon on the one hand and the observed global warming trend that has led to extremes. Not only heat waves in the northern hemisphere, but also hurricanes, for example, usually in the Gulf of Mexico, in the northern tropics in the Atlantic there are fewer during El Niño years. But this year the hurricane situation has reached aboveaverage levels. We are already experiencing now what should only happen in the future and of course meteorological extremes will occur as they affect areas at risk and exposed to natural disasters,” he explains.
Disasters that have cost the lives of thousands of people worldwide and also have financial consequences. In the United States, the country’s climate agency estimates that losses caused by climate events this year will exceed $23 billion, or R$112 billion.
The director of the Energy and Environment Institute of the USP, Tércio Ambrizzi, says that reversing this scenario will require an effort from the whole of society:
“If we know that the cause of this increase in temperature is the increase in greenhouse gases for example CO2 and methane then what should we do? We must try to reduce this increase in gases, to mitigate it and to act more sustainably on our part and on the part of our governments”.
And they can’t wait any longer.
“In fact, this climate change, these impacts are not for the future, but for today. In fact, if we do nothing today, future generations will suffer even more,” he warns.