Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis and Oak Ridge Also Experience Temperature Rises
posted July 24, 2007
The average temperature in Nashville was 2.7°F above average in 2006, and other cities across the state experienced temperature increases last year, according to a new report released Tuesday by United States Public Interest Research Group.
U.S. PIRG said this warmer-than-normal weather "is indicative of what Tennessee can expect with continued global warming."
“Throw out the record books because global warming is raising temperatures in Tennessee and across the country,” said U.S. PIRG spokesperson Angela Kilbert. “The long-term forecast is for more of the same unless we quickly and significantly reduce global warming pollution from power plants and passenger vehicles.”
According to the National Climatic Data Center, the 2006 summer and 2006 overall were the second warmest on record for the lower 48 states. 2007 is on track to be the second warmest year on record globally.
To examine recent temperature patterns in the United States, U.S. PIRG compared temperature data for the years 2000-2006 from 255 weather stations located in all 50 states and Washington, DC with temperatures averaged over the 30 years spanning 1971-2000, or what scientists call the “normal” temperature.
Key findings for Tennessee include:
• In 2006, the average temperature was 2.7°F above normal in Nashville and 2.2°F in Chattanooga. Nationally, the average 2006 temperature was at least 0.5°F above normal at 87% of the locations studied.
• In 2006, Knoxville experienced average maximum temperatures — the highest temperatures recorded on a given day —of 2.5°F above normal. During the summer, average maximum temperatures were 3.2°F above normal in Knoxville and 2.1°F in Bristol-Johnson City.
• Over the course of 2006, Memphis experienced 88 days where the temperature hit at least 90°F, 22 days more than the historical average. Heat waves have serious implications for human health, causing heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and even death.
• Oak Ridge experienced average minimum temperatures — the lowest temperatures recorded on a given day, usually at night — of 2.3°F above normal in 2006 and 2.3°F above normal during the 2006 summer. Warmer nighttime temperatures exacerbate the public health effects of heat waves, since people need cooler nighttime temperatures to recover from excessive heat exposure during the day.
These warming temperatures threaten to increase health risks during the hot summer months, the group said.
Dr. Corey Slovis, professor and chairman of emergency medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said, “As ambient temperatures rise, more patients will be seen for heat-related illness, and more patients will likely suffer complaints ranging from the easily treated heat cramps to potentially fatal heat stroke. The oldest and youngest are at the highest risk for dehydration, leading to heat exhaustion and heat stroke.”
In April 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that North America could experience significant water stress, forest fires, and “an increased number, intensity, and duration of heat waves” as temperatures continue to rise.
These findings show the impacts of global warming already at work in Tennessee, the group said.
“Anyone living in Knoxville who isn’t concerned about the fact that the average June maximum temperature last year was 3.2 degrees above the 1971-2000 figure, or that we had 21 more days above 90 degrees than the historical average, hasn’t thought through the issue,” said Professor Daniel Simberloff, department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee.
“Scientists are sounding alarm bells about the impacts of continued global warming,” stated Ms. Kilbert. “The good news is that those same scientists say we can avoid the worst effects of global warming by taking bold action now to reduce global warming pollution.”
John McFadden, executive director of the Tennessee Environmental Council, said, “Many people ask if it’s cyclic. I respond yes it is, but the real question is, are we impacting the cycle? The science sure says we are – and we have a couple of choices, one of which is to increase the ecosystem's ability to collect carbon by planting more trees and maintaining the ones we’ve got. As well, we all need to look at our carbon footprint to reduce emissions. It’ll be great for our children’s children.”
The group said to avoid the worst consequences of global warming, "the United States must halt increases in global warming emissions now, cut emissions by at least 15-20% by 2020, and slash emissions by at least 80% by 2050."
“The better news is that we have the technology at our fingertips to cut global warming pollution and forge a cleaner, more secure energy future,” Ms. Kilbert said.
She said the United States could substantially reduce its global warming pollution "by using existing technologies to make power plants, businesses, homes, and cars more efficient and generate more electricity from clean, renewable sources, such as wind and solar power."
Ms. Kilbert said Congress is poised to consider global warming legislation this fall. She said the Safe Climate Act in the U.S. House and the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act in the U.S. Senate "are the only bills that would reduce pollution to levels that scientists say are needed to prevent the worst effects of global warming.
“The heat is on Congress to take decisive action to curb global warming. U.S. PIRG commends Rep. Cohen for co-sponsoring the Safe Climate Act, the only bill that does what scientists say we need to do, and calls on Reps. Lincoln Davis, Jim Cooper, Bart Gordon and John Tanner to do the same.”
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