You don’t have to be a genius to realize the world is going crazy. This is very obvious when you look at what’s happening in politics, current events, and even in markets. But it is most evident in the weather, which has gone completely haywire.
Weather records that go back far enough are bound to show even higher high temperatures and lower lows, more intense droughts, and worse deluges. That’s just built into the nature of record-keeping.
But this year in particular, all norms have been shattered. In some areas, the weather has become destructive, punishing, and even life-threatening - and these conditions are afflicting many countries and have already lasted for many weeks.
How much longer until normalcy returns? Unfortunately, no one knows. Nor can anyone say with certainty that the weather won’t become even wackier.
Be Grateful
Residents of New York City should count their blessings. True, no one has to remind us we are in the middle of summer. Still, we should be very grateful that we’re not living in Florida, Texas, Southern California, Arizona, Nevada or other areas where conditions are absolutely brutal and record-setting.
Take a look at just some of the weather weirdness of the last few weeks:
*As this article is being written, Phoenix has baked in 110-degrees for 30 consecutive days; it’s so hot there that the tar on roofs is melting.
*Miami has already experienced at least 43 days of real-feel temperatures in triple digits.
*Ocean waters offshore southern Florida are now over 100 degrees – seven degrees higher than what they should be. Ocean water temperatures have also reached record highs in the Mediterranean.
*Much of southern Europe is trying to cope with scorching temperatures.
*Starting in April 2023, a record-breaking heat wave in Asia has affected numerous countries including India, Laos, China, and Thailand.
Record Breaking
According to The Washington Post, “The summer of 2023 has featured the most intense heat in modern records over the planet...This past June was Earth’s hottest on record.”
Berkeley Earth, a non-profit research organization that focuses on climate data analysis, reported that June 2023 broke the previous record (set last year) by a “huge margin.” Meanwhile, July may be another record-breaker.
Why is this happening? Ask people and you’ll get various answers. Global warming and climate change will likely be the most frequent responses, but certainly they are not the only ones.
Others say that even extreme temperatures are part of normal weather patterns and that climate cannot be controlled by people even if we try to. 2022 Nobel Physics Laureate Dr. John Clauser rejects the “climate emergency narrative” as “a dangerous corruption of science that threatens the world’s economy and the well-being of billions of people... In my opinion there is no climate crisis.” While many prominent scientists disagree, others are on the same page as he is.
Still others believe climate is influenced by sunspots – dark, planet-sized regions that appear on the surface of the sun. They believe that temperatures on Earth rise during the solar cycles when sunspots are numerous, and drop when they decline.
According to space.com, “The sun produced over 160 sunspots in June, the highest number in over two decades. (At least one reading since then recorded over 200 sunspots.) Another opinion is that weather can be controlled and is being weaponized.
Hot Enough To Melt Lead
Lots of attention is focused on the strange events on both the sun and on land, but there are strange phenomena on ocean floors as well. According to Michael Snyder, who authors several popular websites, “A sprawling field of hydrothermal vents on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean are releasing material hot enough to melt lead.”
The magma seeping out of those vents is 644 degrees Fahrenheit, and enough of it can affect even a body of water as massive as the Atlantic.
Extreme weather is taking a toll on business, and one possible weather-related development is that Farmers Insurance has stopped selling its home, auto, and umbrella policies in Florida. Florida gets its share of hurricanes, and there is speculation that Farmers is worried that more than the average number could form this year, and more specifically about the damage that could result. Unfortunately, there is a basis for their concern.
“Hot, Tub-like Water”
On July 20, ABC News reported that “According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ‘More than 40% of all global ocean temperatures are currently experiencing a heat wave.’”
On Wednesday, July 26, ocean temperatures around southern Florida topped 100 degrees. Although they are always high, this is exceptionally high for this time of year.
Unusually high ocean temperatures matter far beyond our comfort. Scientists believe they create perfect conditions for hurricanes to develop and grow in intensity. According to NOAA, the unusually warm water can also have “significant impacts on marine life as well as coastal communities and economies.”
A $100 Billion Loss?
The exceptional heat is doing a lot more than just making people miserable. It’s also costing both businesses and consumers a bundle, putting pressure on profits, the economy, and even hurting food production.
Total weather-related losses cannot be calculated until cooler temperatures set in, and even then, they will take time to tabulate. A CNN report, however, cited studies that found extreme heat could cost the US economy as much as $100 billion a year – and that’s just from lost productivity. The extreme conditions this year in the south and southwest could drive total losses even higher.
“The recent heat waves and scorching summer temperatures demonstrate the economic cost of heat stress,” Chris Lafakis, Moody’s Analytics’ Director of Economic Research told CNN. “Heat waves can cause mortality and produce disruptions in business continuity. Heat waves can also stress regional power grids, driving up the cost and availability of space cooling.”
They are also causing problems for farmers, and ultimately for consumers, by hurting crop growth, development, and harvesting. The combination of severe drought in some key farming areas, combined with the weather extremes, is raising worries about the size of harvests in those regions.
It’s interesting to note that during much of the 1930s, temperatures were exceptionally high and many farming regions suffered from intense drought – so intense that fertile topsoil blew away, giving rise to the term “Dust Bowl.”
As is true of all challenges, “This too shall pass.”
Sources: abcnews.go.com; cbsnews.com; cied.ucar.edu; cnn.com; space.com; usatodsy.com; washingtonpost.com; wikipedia.org
Gerald Harris is a financial and feature writer. Gerald can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.