Spotlight on Climate Change: Climate Change and Extreme Weather
To Lily and Julia
Table of Contents Chapter 1 A CHANGING CLIMATE 4 Chapter 2 HEAT DROUGHT AND FLAMES 8 Chapter 3 WIND AND WATER 19 Chapter 4 LIVING WITH AN ANGRY PLANET 25 You Can Help 29 Glossary 30 Learn More 31 Index 32
Chapter 1 A CHANGING CLIMATE Wildfires burning through the wilderness Hurricane winds and waves surging over cities Heat waves scorching the ground It seems as if every year more and more extreme weather events are happening This is because the world’s climate is changing 4
BIG WAVES HIT TEXAS DURING HURRICANE HARVEY IN 2017 The word climate refers to the kind of weather a place usually has over a long period of time Earth’s climate has stayed about the same for the last eight thousand years Warmer and cooler times have come and gone but for the most part Earth’s climate has been stable This has allowed human civilization to grow That stability is coming to an end 5
