Summary of NASA's Findings on Global Warming

Global warming is much more serious than previously thought.

Inglewood, CA (PRWEB) May 18, 2007 -- According to a recent study by NASA, global warming is much more serious than previously thought. NASA estimates that the average temperature of the eastern United States will rise 10 degrees Fahrenheit by 2080. This is considerably higher than the two to 3.5 degree temperature increase by 2100 predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climactic Change (IPCC).

NASA's higher estimate is based on a computer simulation using three decades of data of temperature and precipitation in the region. The model takes into account soil, atmospheric, and ocean conditions and assumes a 2% annual increase in the production of greenhouse gases. The difference in NASA's model is due to how it accounts for variation in rainfall. According to the new model, the cooler ocean temperature in the Pacific will result in high pressure systems over the eastern US, resulting in lower precipitation, which in turn will result in higher temperatures. During dry seasons, the average summer temperatures will rise considerably, so that cities such as Chicago, Atlanta, and Washington DC may experience summers with average daily high temperatures between 100 and 110 degrees.

The consequences of this study are alarming. Already, older people and people with health problems have difficulty coping with hot weather. The five-day record-setting heat wave in Chicago in the summer of 1995 resulted in at least 700 excess deaths, most of them heat-related. A similar but not quite as extreme heat wave in Chicago in 1999 resulted in at least 80 deaths. Heat-related illnesses include heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and heat cramps. If temperatures rise as predicted by NASA's study, Chicago may experience summers with average high temperatures at or near the 106-degree record-setting temperature of the 1995 heat wave. Imagine the consequences of such extreme conditions!

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