President Joe Biden warned of the threat posed by extreme weather Tuesday at the District of Columbia’s Emergency Operations Center.
“Summer just started. Already tens of millions of Americans are under heat warnings from record-shattering temperatures,” he said.
In late June, the southern Plains states and the South saw temperatures approaching or passing 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit). The heat index reached 43 to 46 C (109-115 F).
“Ignoring climate change is deadly and dangerous and irresponsible,” Biden said. “These climate-fueled extreme weather events don’t just affect peoples’ lives. They also cost money, they hurt the economy and they have a significant negative psychological effect on people.”
Biden said the United States was hit with $90 billion in damage from weather events last year.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said she has declared 34 heat emergencies since the opening of an emergency center for the city last year.
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Biden pointed to policies of his administration targeting climate change, including the Justice40 Initiative, which directs environmental support to underserved communities; a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency that will examine the continued effects of climate change and health; and bipartisan infrastructure laws aimed at lowering energy costs.
He also made a point of criticizing former President Donald Trump, his competitor in the 2024 election, and other Republican politicians who back Trump on climate issues.
“They still deny climate change event exists … they must be living in a hole somewhere,” he said.
Biden’s remarks follow a spate of weather events extending beyond the heat waves in the United States.
Hurricane Beryl, a Category 5 hurricane, smashed records for its intensity so early in the season. The storm recently made landfall on the island of Carriacou in Grenada with winds up to 240 kph.
“The Atlantic, relative to the rest of the tropics, is as warm as I've seen,” said Kerry Emanuel, a hurricane expert at MIT.
While the Caribbean faces powerful hurricanes, other countries are seeing their own extreme weather.
Greece is battling wildfires on its islands of Chios and Kos.
More than 140 firefighters, including eight teams of firefighters specializing in wildfires, seven water-dropping planes, and three helicopters could be seen Monday attempting to extinguish the fire on Chios. More than 100 firefighters reported to Kos, which included reinforcements from Athens.
