Climate change dashboard tracks extreme weather variables

A new US extreme weather and climate change dashboard, which follows the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) framework, has been released to track 38 variables across eight types of weather extremes. The dashboard tracks heat waves, cold extremes, tornadoes, flooding, drought, winter storms, wildfires, and hurricanes.

Initial findings from the dashboard indicate no detected long-term change in five of the eight categories. While heat waves and wildfires show an increase, critics note that these specific data points may be influenced by non-climate factors. For instance, the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect and variations in the quality of temperature measuring stations can impact heat wave data. Additionally, wildfire trends are based on National Interagency Fire Center data from 1983 onwards, as earlier data was deemed to be of questionable provenance.