Cracked roads. Melted power lines. Thousands of people finding refuge from the heat overnight by sleeping in their cars, underground car parks or hastily-cleared warehouses. These are just some of the stunning effects of an heat domeHot air trapped and forced down by atmospheric pressure. Unable to rise and cool, the air gets hotter and hotter. that has settled over the northwestern coast of North America. More than 160 temperature records have been broken in Canada in the last four days. Parts of Canada have been hotter than Dubai: the town of Lytton inn British ColumbiaA province on the west coast of Canada. More than half of it is covered by forests. reached a brutal 47.5C. In the northwestern USA, temperatures have been equally sweltering: Seattle, in the state of Washington, reached 42C, while PortlandA city in Oregon, on the west coast of the United States, which has been at the centre of recent violent clashes between right-wing and left-wing groups. in Oregon hit highs of 46C. It is doubly shocking for a part of the world used to cool, rainy weather brought in from the Pacific Ocean. As a result of this, most houses in the region do not have air conditioning and buildings are designed to conserve heat - not to lose it. A heat domeHot air trapped and forced down by atmospheric pressure. Unable to rise and cool, the air gets hotter and hotter. takes place when warm air from a high-pressure system is trapped by hills and mountains. This means that temperatures do not drop overnight, so the next day is even hotter. The warm air ends up extending high into the atmosphere, preventing cooler air from coming in from the sea. On this scale, they are extremely dangerous. The last major heatwaveA period of abnormally hot weather. in Canada, in 2018, killed nearly 70 people. Over the weekend, emergency services in Seattle alone responded to 40 medical emergencies connected with the weather. The heat dome is expected to dissipate later in the week. But questions about who is responsible for it will remain. Some think it should be possible to sue the companies and governments that make the biggest contributions to greenhouse gas emissions for the harm done to people's lives and property. Although heatwaves are not directly attributable to climate breakdown, the heating of the atmosphere by greenhouse gases makes them dramatically more likely. At one time, this would have given big polluters plausible deniabilityThe ability to deny involvement in unethical or illegal activities because there is no solid proof either way.. While the climate crisis might generally be caused by the carbon emissions that they produce, it is impossible to determine which specific events have been caused by their emissions. So, the big polluters would argue, they are not morally responsible. But advances in climate science are now making it possible to link the two. Attribution science can be used to calculate what effect the climate crisis had on the likelihood of a natural disaster like a heat dome, drought or hurricane - and to quantify the contribution that a particular company or government made to it. This can be used as the basis for lawsuits against them. In a groundbreaking ruling last month, a Dutch court ordered the international oil giant ShellLast week, the oil giant also reported bumper profits of £14bn on the same day that the energy regulator announced UK householders would see a 54% rise in their domestic energy bills in April. to cut its carbon emissions by 45%. And more recently still, a court in Belgium found that the Belgian government's failure to address the climate crisis amounted to an infringement on human rights. Should big polluters pay to fix the climate crisis? Yes, say some. Just 20 companies are directly responsible for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. That means they are also morally responsible for the damage that the climate crisis is wreaking on people's lives. All other efforts to put pressure on them to reduce their emissions have been fruitless: our best chance is to hit them where it hurts: their bank accounts. Not a chance, say others. Assigning moral responsibility is a more complicated business than that. Everyone living in the developed world is complicit in the climate emergency. If you frequently take flights or drive a car, you are responsible for a big portion of global greenhouse gas emissions. If we are serious about suing people for causing the climate crisis, we must all be ready to pay up. KeywordsHeat dome - Hot air trapped and forced down by atmospheric pressure. Unable to rise and cool, the air gets hotter and hotter.
‘Heat dome’ scorches western USA and Canada
Cracked roads. Melted power lines. Thousands of people finding refuge from the heat overnight by sleeping in their cars, underground car parks or hastily-cleared warehouses. These are just some of the stunning effects of an heat domeHot air trapped and forced down by atmospheric pressure. Unable to rise and cool, the air gets hotter and hotter. that has settled over the northwestern coast of North America. More than 160 temperature records have been broken in Canada in the last four days. Parts of Canada have been hotter than Dubai: the town of Lytton inn British ColumbiaA province on the west coast of Canada. More than half of it is covered by forests. reached a brutal 47.5C. In the northwestern USA, temperatures have been equally sweltering: Seattle, in the state of Washington, reached 42C, while PortlandA city in Oregon, on the west coast of the United States, which has been at the centre of recent violent clashes between right-wing and left-wing groups. in Oregon hit highs of 46C. It is doubly shocking for a part of the world used to cool, rainy weather brought in from the Pacific Ocean. As a result of this, most houses in the region do not have air conditioning and buildings are designed to conserve heat - not to lose it. A heat domeHot air trapped and forced down by atmospheric pressure. Unable to rise and cool, the air gets hotter and hotter. takes place when warm air from a high-pressure system is trapped by hills and mountains. This means that temperatures do not drop overnight, so the next day is even hotter. The warm air ends up extending high into the atmosphere, preventing cooler air from coming in from the sea. On this scale, they are extremely dangerous. The last major heatwaveA period of abnormally hot weather. in Canada, in 2018, killed nearly 70 people. Over the weekend, emergency services in Seattle alone responded to 40 medical emergencies connected with the weather. The heat dome is expected to dissipate later in the week. But questions about who is responsible for it will remain. Some think it should be possible to sue the companies and governments that make the biggest contributions to greenhouse gas emissions for the harm done to people's lives and property. Although heatwaves are not directly attributable to climate breakdown, the heating of the atmosphere by greenhouse gases makes them dramatically more likely. At one time, this would have given big polluters plausible deniabilityThe ability to deny involvement in unethical or illegal activities because there is no solid proof either way.. While the climate crisis might generally be caused by the carbon emissions that they produce, it is impossible to determine which specific events have been caused by their emissions. So, the big polluters would argue, they are not morally responsible. But advances in climate science are now making it possible to link the two. Attribution science can be used to calculate what effect the climate crisis had on the likelihood of a natural disaster like a heat dome, drought or hurricane - and to quantify the contribution that a particular company or government made to it. This can be used as the basis for lawsuits against them. In a groundbreaking ruling last month, a Dutch court ordered the international oil giant ShellLast week, the oil giant also reported bumper profits of £14bn on the same day that the energy regulator announced UK householders would see a 54% rise in their domestic energy bills in April. to cut its carbon emissions by 45%. And more recently still, a court in Belgium found that the Belgian government's failure to address the climate crisis amounted to an infringement on human rights. Should big polluters pay to fix the climate crisis? Yes, say some. Just 20 companies are directly responsible for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. That means they are also morally responsible for the damage that the climate crisis is wreaking on people's lives. All other efforts to put pressure on them to reduce their emissions have been fruitless: our best chance is to hit them where it hurts: their bank accounts. Not a chance, say others. Assigning moral responsibility is a more complicated business than that. Everyone living in the developed world is complicit in the climate emergency. If you frequently take flights or drive a car, you are responsible for a big portion of global greenhouse gas emissions. If we are serious about suing people for causing the climate crisis, we must all be ready to pay up.
Keywords
Heat dome - Hot air trapped and forced down by atmospheric pressure. Unable to rise and cool, the air gets hotter and hotter.
British Columbia - A province on the west coast of Canada. More than half of it is covered by forests.
Portland - A city in Oregon, on the west coast of the United States, which has been at the centre of recent violent clashes between right-wing and left-wing groups.
Heatwave - A period of abnormally hot weather.
Plausible deniability - The ability to deny involvement in unethical or illegal activities because there is no solid proof either way.
Shell - Last week, the oil giant also reported bumper profits of £14bn on the same day that the energy regulator announced UK householders would see a 54% rise in their domestic energy bills in April.
‘Heat dome’ scorches western USA and Canada
Glossary
Heat dome - Hot air trapped and forced down by atmospheric pressure. Unable to rise and cool, the air gets hotter and hotter.
British Columbia - A province on the west coast of Canada. More than half of it is covered by forests.
Portland - A city in Oregon, on the west coast of the United States, which has been at the centre of recent violent clashes between right-wing and left-wing groups.
Heatwave - A period of abnormally hot weather.
Plausible deniability - The ability to deny involvement in unethical or illegal activities because there is no solid proof either way.
Shell - Last week, the oil giant also reported bumper profits of £14bn on the same day that the energy regulator announced UK householders would see a 54% rise in their domestic energy bills in April.