4 Chapter 1 OUR CLIMATE IS CHANGING Extreme storms get our attention Howling winds rip off roofs and knock down buildings Heavy rainfall floods entire neighborhoods Blizzards bring so much snow that schools close for days These weather events are especially large and dangerous And they are happening more often because of climate change Hurricanes are happening more frequently than in the past
5 Hurricane Irma in 2017 caused lots of damage Many homes and buildings were destroyed by strong winds and flooding Weather is what happens in the atmosphere around us every day Climate is the average weather in a place over many years The weather where you live might be cool and rainy today even though you live in a climate that is warm and dry Recent weather events worry many scientists Strong storms are happening more often Some are causing record damage In 2017 sixteen US weather events cost more than 1 billion each
6 Cooking Up Storms Earth's air and oceans are getting hotter This temperature change is happening faster than in the past Seventeen of the last eighteen years have been the warmest on record Ocean temperatures have gone up too about 1 5°F 0 8°C since 1901 The gasoline used to power cars is a fossil fuel Using fossil fuels contributes to the temperature changes scientists are seeing
7 More extreme snowstorms are connected to warmer ocean temperatures Evaporating ocean water leads to more moisture for storms all over the world These changes might not seem significant yet they are indeed As the ocean gets warmer more water evaporates This results in more clouds The clouds bring more rain and storms Even if you live far from the coast the ocean affects your weather That's because the ocean temperature plays a big part in where and when storms occur
