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- Currently in Philadelphia — October 27, 2023: A summer weekend in October
Currently in Philadelphia — October 27, 2023: A summer weekend in October
Plus, a scary new prognosis for ice in Antarctica.
Abe Musselman & Eric Holthaus
October 26, 2023
The weather, currently.
Summer weekend in October
I’m officially back in shorts. The temperature is still climbing, and I’m wondering if I’ll be able to pull off a day at the beach this weekend. Today and tomorrow, we’ll have sun with a high of about 80˚F and significantly higher humidity than we’ve seen the rest of the week. But the forecast says this warm weather is just a blip, so whatever you’re planning to do, I’d go ahead and do it. We’re expecting some rain Sunday night into Monday, and with the precipitation will come a precipitous drop in temperatures — back into the 50s by Tuesday.
— Abe Musselman
What you need to know, currently.
Ocean warming will triple for the rest of this century near the vulnerable West Antarctica ice sheet, according to a new study out this week. Even more worrying, over the next ~20 years, there is no statistical difference between the course global emissions take and the melt rates of key ice shelves which hold back enormous Antarctic glaciers.
We’ve spent the last few years modelling the future of the Amundsen Sea in West Antarctica, and I regret to inform you that it’s not good news.
— Dr Kaitlin Naughten (@kaitlinnaughten)
3:12 PM • Oct 23, 2023
Here’s more, from The Guardian:
Accelerated ice melt in west Antarctica is inevitable for the rest of the century no matter how much carbon emissions are cut, research indicates. The implications for sea level rise are “dire”, scientists say, and mean some coastal cities may have to be abandoned.
The ice sheet of west Antarctica would push up the oceans by 5 metres if lost completely. Previous studies have suggested it is doomed to collapse over the course of centuries, but the new study shows that even drastic emissions cuts in the coming decades will not slow the melting.
It’s times like these that I always refer back to the original scientists that conduct these important studies. In this case, I’ll give the final word to Kaitlin Naughten, the scientist for the British Antarctic Survey that led the study’s research: “I would hate for people to read this story and think “we should give up on climate action, we’re all doomed anyway”. We must remember that West Antarctica is just one cause of sea level rise, and sea level rise is just one impact of climate change.”
Basically: It is never, ever too late.
Naughten’s parallel essay on her team’s findings is worth a read for everyone — and a worthy call to courage in a time of bad climate news.
What you can do, currently.
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One of my favorite organizations, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, serves as a hub of mutual aid efforts focused on climate action in emergencies — like hurricane season. Find mutual aid network near you and join, or donate to support existing networks:
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