“Summer from Hell”

Sure has been hot lately, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. We’ve been breaking records left and right.

The newspaper is calling this the “summer from hell.” It’s brutally hot. In fact, it’s deadly, with 16 heat-related deaths over the last two months.

[State climatologist Barry] Keim said these weather conditions, combined with global climate change, are giving Louisianans a taste of what’s coming.

“I think this is maybe a harbinger of the future,” Keim said. “I would expect next year to be hot as well. Will it be this bad? My guess is probably not. The worst-case scenario, again next year? It’s pretty slim.”

Summer from hell leaving broken records across Louisiana; no sign of cooler temps soon

A nice thought. We certainly hope next summer isn’t this bad. Nevertheless, we know we will see many “summers from hell” in the coming years. Scientists say we are locked into a hotter climate for the foreseeable future.

Some of the traditions in our coalition believe in a literal hell. Others don’t. It’s usually conceived as a realm in the afterlife where evil is punished. This “summer from hell” is unfortunately right here on Earth, and we’re all suffering while a few profit. The kicker is, this is a “hell” of our own making. We know the planet is warming because humans are polluting the atmosphere with so much carbon and methane. We know we have to stop, yet we continue.

That’s the real “hell” of it. The excessive heat makes it clear that the time for action is now. We may still avoid the worst-case scenarios. It’s a matter of political will.

Update: For an in-depth analysis of the causes of the current global heatwave, we recommend this 12-minute video.