Scorching Summers

With the school semester coming to an end, students everywhere look forward to Summer. Students at Rutgers University countdown the days until they can kick back, layout, and enjoy the warm weather. Some may be unaware of just hot our Summers are becoming. Scientists studying climate change have observed that the high summertime temperatures are occurring much more frequently over the past few years. Research shows that the increasing frequency of summertime-average temperatures is consistent with the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. While some may believe these occurrences are due to the effects of natural climate variability, scientists believe that this trend directly relates to pollution of the air. Future climate models predict that rare summertime high temperatures will occur in over 50% of summers by the middle of this century. The South, Southwest, and Northeast are expected to experience the greatest increase in frequency of unusually hot summers. This prediction is based on the assumption of future emissions of carbon dioxide that have been being emitted heavily in these regions over the years. Carbon dioxide is one of the main causes of human-caused climate change. With this said, I ask the students ready to hit the beach one question. Can you take the heat?