Ranking Members Waxman and Rush Call for Hearing on Role of Global Climate Change in March Heat Wave
Today Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman and Energy and Power Subcommittee Ranking Member Bobby L. Rush sent a letter to Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton and Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield urging them to hold a hearing on the link between global climate change and the unprecedented March heat wave across the contiguous United States. Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that this was the warmest March on record with temperatures breaking more than 15,000 records.
The full text of the letter is below and also available online here.
April 12, 2012
The Honorable Fred Upton
Chairman
Committee on Energy and Commerce
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Ed Whitfield
Chairman
Subcommittee on Energy and Power
U.S. House of Representatives
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Chairman Upton and Chairman Whitfield:
We are writing to urge you to hold a hearing on the unprecedented heat wave the United States experienced in March and the role global climate change played in this extreme weather event.
On March 23, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its annual statement on the global climate, concluding that the global temperature increase rate has been “remarkable” during the last four decades.[1] The recent heat wave has been remarkable as well, both in its duration as well as its intensity.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), more than 15,000 warm temperature records were set last month as the contiguous United States experienced the warmest March on record.[2] The average monthly temperature was 8.6° above normal, a departure exceeded only once since record-keeping began more than a century ago.[3] The unusually warm March helped make the first three months of 2012 the warmest on record for the contiguous United States.[4]
In Chicago, temperatures broke or matched records for daily highs nine days in a row in March and reached 80° eight times.[5] One meteorologist called this weather “unbelievable and historic and unprecedented.”[6] In International Falls, Minnesota, the low temperature of 60° on March 19 matched the previous record high for that date.[7] Mike Halpert, deputy director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, said it was “just mind-boggling” that daily low temperatures could reach previous record highs.[8] In fact, NOAA recorded 21 instances in March in which the nighttime temperatures were as warm as or warmer than the existing record daytime temperature for that day.[9]
While this weather may feel pleasant, it spells trouble for our climate. Congress must examine what this March heat wave and other recent weather extremes tell us about our changing climate. We urge you to schedule a hearing as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
| Henry Waxman Ranking Member |
Bobby L. Rush Ranking Member Subcommittee on Energy and Power |
[1] World Meteorological Organization, WMO annual statement confirms 2011 as 11th warmest on record (Mar. 23, 2012).
[2] National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Climatic Data Center, State of the Climate: March 2012 (online at www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/) (accessed Apr. 9, 2012).
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] National Weather Service Chicago, A Historic Stretch of Daily Temperatures Records this March (Mar. 24, 2012) (public information statement); One for the record books: Warmest March ever, Chicago Tribune (Mar. 30, 2012).
[6] One for the record books: Warmest March ever, Chicago Tribune (Mar. 30, 2012).
[7] National Weather Service Forecast Office, Duluth, MN, Monthly March Temperature Records (online at www.crh.noaa.gov/dlh/?n=march2012) (accessed Apr. 9, 2012).
[8]“Mind-boggling” temperatures across U.S. says NOAA, ClimateSignals (Mar. 22, 2012) (online at http://climatesignals.org/2012/03/mind-boggling-temperatures-across-u-s-...).
[9] National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Climatic Data Center, State of the Climate: March 2012 (online at www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/) (accessed Apr. 9, 2012).
Letter to Chairmen Upton and Whitfield from Reps. Waxman and Rush (April 12, 2012).