Scary Weather

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Scary Weather

The people of Atlanta can be forgiven for not worrying about global warming as they shivered in the dark last January, their city crippled by a monster ice storm that hit just before the Super Bowl. So can the 15 families in Hilo, Hawaii, whose houses were washed away by the 27 inches of rain that fell in 24 hours last November. And the FBI agents who searched for evidence blown out of their downtown Fort Worth office building, which was destroyed by a tornado last March. Not to mention the baffled residents of Barrow, Alaska, who flooded the local weather office with calls on June 19, as rumbling black clouds descended–a rare Arctic thunderstorm.

Death and pestilence. Cities in the Northern Hemisphere would very likely become hotter, prompting more deaths from heatstroke in cities such as Chicago and Shanghai. Deaths would also increase from natural disasters, and warmer weather would affect transmission of insect-borne diseases such as malaria and West Nile virus, which made a surprise arrival in the United States in 1999. "We don't know exactly how West Nile was introduced to the U.S., but we do know that drought, warm winter, and heat waves are the conditions that help amplify it," says Paul Epstein, a researcher at Harvard's School of Public Health (box, Page 50).

Wildfires. Rising temperatures and declining rainfall would dry out vegetation, making wildfires like last summer's–which burned nearly 7 million acres in the West and cost $1.65 billion–more common, especially in California, New Mexico, and Florida.

Rain and flooding. Rain would become more frequent and intense in the Northern Hemisphere. Snow would melt faster and earlier in the Rockies and the Himalayas, exacerbating spring flooding and leaving summers drier. "This is the opposite of what we want," says Gleick. "We want to be able to save that water for dry periods."

Rising sea levels. Sea level worldwide has risen 9 inches in the last century, and 46 million people live at risk of flooding due to storm surges. That figure would double if oceans rise 20 inches. The IPCC predicts that seas will rise anywhere from 3.5 inches to 34.6 inches by 2010, largely because of "thermal expansion" (warmer water takes up more space), but also because of melting glaciers and ice caps. A 3-foot rise, at the top range of the forecast, would swamp parts of major cities and islands, including the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific and the Florida Keys.

Water wars. Drought–and an accompanying lack of water–would be the most obvious consequence of warmer temperatures. By 2015, 3 billion people will be living in areas without enough water. The already water-starved Middle East could become the center of conflicts, even war, over water access. Turkey has already diverted water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers with dams and irrigation systems, leaving downstream countries like Iraq and Syria complaining about low river levels. By 2050, such downstream nations could be left without enough water for drinking and irrigation.

Refugees. The United States is the single largest generator of greenhouse gases, contributing one quarter of the global total. But it, and other higher-latitude countries, would be affected less by climate change than would more tropical nations. The developing world will be hit hardest–and least able to cope. "Bangladesh has no prayer," says Stephen Schneider, a climatologist at Stanford University, noting that flooding there, and in Southeast Asia and China, could dislocate millions of people. "The rich will get richer, and the poor will get poorer. That's not a stable situation for the world."

The Bayside Prophecies

Storms, Rotting Crops And Famine
Virgin Mary - "Storms shall ravage the shores; crops will rot in the ground - famine.” (7-25-78)

Upheavals Of Nature
    Virgin Mary - "O My children, My heart is torn that you will not turn about and get down to your knees. Throughout your world now there will be great trials set upon mankind: upheavals of nature, discord in governments, nations at war, fire raining from the sky! My children, you ask for peace, but you are traveling to your own destruction as you build up armaments to kill your brothers and maim!” (7-15-77)
    Virgin Mary – “Upheavals of nature shall be more prevalent. They will increase in intensity until mankind is brought to his knees.” (2-1-78)
    Jesus - "You will hear of wars and upheavals of nature, but it is only the beginning. There will come upon mankind a great War and the Chastisement, but I promise you that I shall return, for if I do not there will be no flesh left upon earth.” (6-12-76