High temperatures across the US have the potential to increase risks for drought, wildfires, and hurricanes. The United States could be in for another scorcher this summer, per a new study from the National Weather Service (NWS). And that could mean more extreme weather events - as well as heightened health concerns. The NWS outlook, released this month, found that many parts of the US - including New England and the Southwest - are likely to have higher than average temperatures from June through August. In recent years, hotter summer temperatures have been driven by climate change and, in some cases, the arrival of a climate pattern known as La Niña, which contributes to drier conditions in certain regions in the US. According to the Weather Channel, there’s a possibility this summer could even wind up being one of the hottest on record, adding to existing milestones. A hotter summer could have serious environmental consequences, including a higher risk of drought, hurricanes, and wildfires in some areas. Additionally, it could pose more health threats to people, with heat-related fatalities - including those tied to cardiovascular disease - increasing in the US in the last decade. Broadly, warmer summers have prompted people to take more precautions when it comes to the activities they engage in, become more dependent on resources like air conditioning, and remain on guard for extreme weather events affecting their water supplies and air quality. This summer is expected to be no different, which is why the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the CDC recently rolled out tools aimed at forecasting when extreme heat waves will strike this summer, with the goal of alerting people about these events so they can better prepare for them. Climate change is a major factor in the overall warming that the Earth is experiencing - including hotter summers, experts say. “The big obvious player is greenhouse gases... |