Scientists predict more extreme weather as the climate changes

Scientists predict more extreme weather as GHG builds

June 24 -- The United States and North America likely will see more weather extremes including floods, droughts, intense hurricanes and unusually warm weather in the years ahead, government scientists recently warned.

The U.S. Climate Change Science Program, which consists of scientists from 13 federal agencies, issued a report June 19 warning that as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases build in the atmosphere, North America will see greater incidents of extreme weather.

They made public their predictions as President Bush prepared to announce plans for making about $2 billion in federal aid available to victims of devastating floods in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.

Occurrences of extreme weather already are on the increase, said Tom Karl, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration´s National Climatic Data Center and one of the report´s authors.

"We are now witnessing and will increasingly experience more extreme weather and climate events," Karl said.

Contact Waste News senior reporter Bruce Geiselman at (330) 865-6172 or bgeiselman@crain.com