Following Houston’s Hottest Month on Record, New Report Says Global Warming to Bring More Extreme Weather

HOUSTON —On the heels of a summer that saw many parts of the country hit by record heat, severe storms and damaging floods, a new Environment Texas report documents how global warming could lead to extreme weather events such as these becoming more common in the future. The report also highlighted how recent extreme weather events that have impacted Texas, such as the extreme heat that marked this August as Houston’s hottest month on record.

“Houston’s hot summer is just one example of how extreme weather already causes big problems for our public safety,” said Joyce Yao, Clean Energy Associate with Environment Texas. “Given that unchecked global warming will likely fuel even more heat waves and other types of extreme weather events, we need to cut global warming pollution now.”

The new report, entitled Global Warming and Extreme Weather: The Science, the Forecast, and the Impacts on America, details the latest science linking global warming to future changes in hurricanes, coastal storms, extreme precipitation, wildfires and heat waves. The report also puts future projections into the context of what we see today, summarizing some of the most damaging recent weather events nationally, including 2008’s Hurricane Ike that caused $27 billion in damages and February 2010’s “Snowmageddon” that brought Washington, D.C. to a standstill.

The report was released as Congress considers several bills to let polluters off the hook by blocking global warming pollution standards for some of the largest pollution sources.  At the same time, the Obama administration is poised to advance new fuel economy and global warming pollution standards for cars and trucks—standards that would achieve substantial reductions in global warming pollution while also cutting oil use and saving consumers money at the gas pump. Environment Texas urged the Obama administration to enact standards for cars and trucks that will ensure the average new car can travel 60 miles on a gallon of gas by 2025.     

“Using American ingenuity to make our cars and trucks go farther on a gallon of gas is one of the easiest ways to cut global warming pollution and decrease the threat of severe weather, all while saving Texans money at the pump and slashing our oil use,” said Yao. “We applauded the Obama administration for the clean car standards they issued earlier this year, and we hope the President seizes the opportunity to enact standards so that an average new car can travel 60 miles on a gallon of gas by 2025.” 

“Just as the Houston region has finally started to tip the scales in our decades-long battle for improved air quality, global climate change has the potential to undue much of what we have accomplished,” said Shae Cotter, Communications Director of Air Alliance Houston. “For the future health of local residents and the sustainability of our great coastal community, it is doubly imperative that Houstonians support efforts to reduce our contributions to worldwide levels of greenhouse gases.”

“Hotter, drier summers will lead to more severe problems with ozone pollution,” said Dr. Harold Farber, Pediatric Pulmonologist of the Texas Children’s Hospital. “Children who spend more time outside in high ozone areas have more asthma problems.”

“Electric Autos produce no exhaust. Even a well-tuned gasoline vehicle contributes twice its weight in CO2 gas yearly. That’s enough to fill Reliant Stadium several times over,” said Dale Brooks, former president of the Houston Electric Autos Association.

The report also includes a case study on Hurricane Ike, which resulted in $27 billion worth of damages, cut electricity and water supplies for up to three weeks and killed over 100 people.  

Yao noted that no single event can be entirely attributed to global warming. However, a warming climate is increasing the odds of more extreme weather.  Each weather event arises from a combination of short-term weather patterns and long-term climatic trends, and global warming tends to “loads the dice” in favor of certain types of extreme weather events, such as heat waves.

“Today’s report shows how this past month’s average of 87.8 degrees, which beat highs set in 1980 and 1962, was just a taste of what’s to come for Texas unless we tackle global warming,” said Yao.

Key findings from the Environment Texas report include:

• Scientists project that global warming may bring fewer—but more intense—hurricanes worldwide, and that the number of intense Category 4 and 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic may nearly double over the course of the next century.

• The number of heavy precipitation events in Houston increased 49 percent between 1948 and 2006, making flooding the most common weather-related disaster in the United States. Recent years have seen a string of incredibly destructive floods and snowstorms, including the 2008 Midwest flood that caused $8 to $10 billion in damage and 2010’s “Snowmaggedon” that cost the East Coast more than $2 billion. In the future, global warming is projected to bring more frequent heavy downpours and snowfalls, since warmer air can hold more water vapor.