Various factors contribute to high temperatures on any given day and to night-time lows, but a research center in Princeton, New Jersey has come up with a formula for figuring out when carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is responsible for spikes in temperature.
“We use data going back to the 1950’s to try to understand the trends within a region, and then we also use data from 24 different climate models,” says
Andy Pershing, Director of Climate Central which developed a Climate Shift Index. He says this week’s overnight lows in Virginia will be warmer than usual due to high levels of greenhouse gases.
“We’re seeing very strong changes in the climate of nighttime temperatures in Virginia – basically throughout the state but especially in the western two-thirds of the state," Pershing says. "This week on some nights Virginia is going to experience conditions that are five times more likely due to climate change.”
In the long run, he predicts consumers will need more air conditioning if they have it, while people without it and wildlife here in Virginia may suffer the dangerous consequences of climate change.
For more information, go to
https://www.climatecentral.org/tools/climate-shift-index
