Meteorologists and other scientists have long cautioned about the growing strength of weather occurrences such as storms, flooding, and fires.
As specified in a Phys.org report, "more powerful, destructive and fatal storms" will be the "new normal" as the impact of climate change takes root, the top emergency management official of the United States said over the weekend, after enormous tornadoes devastated six states.
The said crisis frighteningly hit home overnight from Friday until Saturday when more than two dozen twisters raked through large swaths of the American heartland, resulting in the death of over 90 people. Also, as a result, dozens had gone missing, and communities got ruined.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency head, Deanne Criswell, this will be the new normal.
She said this during CNN's "State of the Union," as she made a round of national talk shows Sunday morning before heading to Kentucky to examine the damage and help coordinate the federal initiatives.
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More Intense Storm Foreseen
The FEMA chief also said the impacts of climate change are the crises of today's generation. She also warned about the challenge that the US is facing in dealing with such severe weather occurrences.
On ABC News's This Week, the official also said more intense storms are foreseen, severe weather conditions, be it a tornado, wildfire, or hurricane. The focus shoe's going to have, she added, is how to reduce the effects of such occurrences.
The tornado that decreased several towns to rubble was an enormous twister. It grumbled through the ground for more than 320 kilometers, one of the longest on record.
US President Joe Biden said over the weekend the storm system was possibly one of the most gigantic tornado outbreaks in the country's history.
A Climate Change Effect
While Biden emphasized that the effect of climate change on this particular storm remained unclear, it's known that everything is more powerful when climate change is warming.
Scientists have stopped short of decisive determinations that more violent storms are the outcomes of climate change, although they agree that evidence is constructing.
One study published recently by the scientific association AGU specified that its analysis suggests that rising global temperature will impact the occurrence of conditions in favor of severe weather.
In a similar report, The Straits Times said, UCLA climate scientists Daniel Swain said in a Twitter post that in response to the research, saying that while the impact of climate change on severe weather such as tornadoes has not been established well, there is a growing body of research, which includes this so-called "late-breaking paper," suggesting that warming possibly does increase such risks in several regions worldwide.
An article posted on South Morning China Post specified that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes a tornado as a "narrow, violently rotating column of air," extending from a thunderstorm to the ground.
Tornadoes in the US in December are not usual, although they are not unheard of. They are difficult to forecast, as well. Reports have put the total count of tornadoes across the region at roughly 30.
Report about the recent tornado is shown on NPR's YouTube video below:
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