The Earth is a store of temperature, i.e. thermal energy that moves between hemispheres according to seasons. It appears to have done something similar between North America and Australia in response to the polar vortex shifting south. The ongoing Australian heat wave is producing climate effects as frightening as the deep freeze in North America. However, these consequences are furiously hot, as opposed to bitingly cold.
Is the Australian Heat Wave a Taste of Climate Armageddon?
Armageddon is a Biblical expression for the final battle between good and evil. We have reported mass extinctions of bats, flying foxes, and wild horses from extreme heat on these pages.
Is this a taste of climate change scientists warn will happen if we let global warming spin out of control? Will the greenhouse effect subdue us completely?
We have received reports of 99% of baby green sea turtles being born female during the current Australian heat wave. The Great Coral Reef is already dying in huge swathes. Prof Andy Pitman is director of ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes at the University of New South Wales. He says the increased temperature is a “no brainer” warning of climate change.
Prof Andy Pitman’s Analogy of a Ball Thrown in the Air
“It was a meteorological anomaly,” he explains. “But the probability works a bit like if you stand at sea level and throw a ball in the air. And then gradually make your way up a mountain and throw the ball in the air again. The chances of the ball going higher increase dramatically. That’s what we’re doing with temperature.”
However it is not only bats, flying foxes, and wild horses that are dying from extreme heat. The death rate of humans has also increased during the Australian heat wave. “It’s not being able to cool down at night and in the days that follow, that causes problems,” the Prof explains.
“I was camping in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney on Saturday January 12, 2019. It was about 30 degrees at midnight, and I could feel my heart racing. Now, that extra stress on my cardiovascular system didn’t kill me. But it might have if I was 20 years older.” The greenhouse effect ball is up in the air, but will we catch it in time?
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Australian Heatwave Kills Wild Horses
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