Hottest June Ever

CURWOOD: From the Jennifer and Ted Stanley Studios in Boston and PRI, this is Living on Earth. Im Steve Curwood. Typhoons, tornados, massive wildfires, searing droughtthese days weather extremes seem more frequent and intense, and scientists who study global warming have predicted their upswing. And as Living on Earths Emmett Fitzgerald reports, this year is yet another for the record books. FITZGERALD: June 2014 was the hottest June since records began in 1880. Thats according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where Jake Crouch is a climate scientist. The Funny River fire burned nearly 200,000 acres of forest. (Photo: National Wildfire Coordinating Group) CROUCH: May of 2014, the previous month, was also record warm, so weve now had two consecutive record warm months back to back. So its not necessarily surprising that weve continued to be in this very warm pattern across the globe. FITZGERALD: The high temperatures have been felt on every continent, but not everywhere. In North America, the east coast has actually had a relatively cool start to 2014, but the west is sweltering. CROUCH: The west coast has been record warm. California has had their warmest year to date so far that has led to increasing problems of drought, wildfire problems, water resource issues. A firefighter on the ground in Oregon watches for flare-ups and other hazards. High temperatures in the West have created prime conditions for wildfires. (Photo: Staff Sgt. Jason van Mourik, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs) FITZGERALD: Crouch says its no coincidence that Washington State and Northwest Canada are experiencing some of the largest wildfires in history. CROUCH: You know, those warm temperatures that have been experienced in that part of the country and in that part of the globe, has led to conditions which are favorable for these large wildfires. FITZGERALD: He says that southern California is hoping for the weather pattern known as El Nio, which tends to bring storms and increased rainfall. El Nino may bring rain to relieve the West Coast of drought, but experts say theres no guarantee. (Photo: NASA Earth Observatory) CROUCH: The Climate Prediction Center has the chances of El Nio occurring at 80 percent. FITZGERALD: But Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado says that the intensity of this years El Nio remains uncertain. TRENBERTH: At one point this looked very much like the 1997/1998 El Nio event, which is the biggest on record. Now it has certainly backed off from that. The forecast is certainly still that we will have an El Nio event, but maybe it will be a little more modest. The NOAA Expects this years drought to worsen before it improves. (Photo: Adam Allgood, National Ocean and Atmospheric Association) FITZGERALD: Any rain would bring relief to the parched western landscape, but Trenberth says El Nio could bring problems as well. Kevin Ternberth is a Distinguished Senior Scientist in the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. (Photo: Courtesy of University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) TRENBERTH: The risk if we do have those conditions is that we might have too much of a good thing. You know, we go from drought to flooding and coastal erosion, and high sea levels along the coast and houses toppling into the oceans, and things like that. Jake Crouch is a climate scientist with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. (Photo: Climate.gov) FITZGERALD: Either way, the rains are still a ways off. TRENBERTH: October through December is normally when the El Nio really takes off, and thats when it has its biggest effects: around December through February of, and this will be 2015. FITZGERALD: Trenberth thinks the odds are that El Nio will prevent the California drought from dragging on into 2015. In addition to storms, El Nio can come with warmer temperatures across the globe, meaning that 2014 is likely to break a few more records before its done. TRENBERTH: Its quite possible that 2014 will end up being the warmest year on record. FITZGERALD: At least, until 2015. For Living on Earth Im Emmett FitzGerald.