Unusual Climate-Fueled Disasters

Not to be an alarmist or anything, but there have been some really strange climate-fueled disasters occurring over the last few years or so.  In fact, I just stumbled onto a list of 10 of the freakier ones.

7 Recent Climate-Fueled Disasters

You can read the full list of 10 events here.  As is standard procedure around here, below is my abbreviated version, which has 7 of the 10 from the article linked-to above.

1. Attack of the locusts: Extreme amounts of rainfall have been blamed for the hatching of billions of locust eggs in eastern Africa in January 2020, sapping an already low food supply in areas like Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya.
2. Frost trouble: A late-spring 2021 frost in France destroyed about 30% of the country’s grape vines, with damage estimated at over $2 billion. A World Weather Attribution (WWA) analysis claimed that climate change made the historic cold snap 70% more likely.
3. Deadly floods: Dozens of people died and tens of thousands were displaced after massive flooding occurred in Somalia and surrounding areas in Oct. 2019. A climate anomaly in the Indian Ocean is blamed for triggering the torrential downpours.
4. Canadian heat dome: In June 2021, a “heat dome” raised temperatures to 121 degrees F in BC-based Lytton. According to the WWA, this level of heat would not have been possible without human-induced climate change.
5. China floods: A July 2021 storm that produced 365 days of rain in just 3 days flooded subways and tunnels in China, killing over 300 residents.
6. Burning Mediterranean: In summer 2021, Greece suffered through its worst heat wave ever, fueling wildfires that destroyed a quarter-million acres. The area is considered a climate “hot spot.”
7. Hurricane Ida: The most recent example on this list, this storm caused over 100 fatalities and $100 billion in damage. Ida is one of the 6 costliest hurricanes to hit the U.S., and all 6 occurred within the last 5 years, according to NOAA.

So, what does this have to do with utility emergency preparedness?  Nothing we didn’t already know.  But the list is definitely indicative of these interesting times we find ourselves in.