by Nathaniel Weinzapfel

Introduction:

First held in 1970 and recently reaching its 50th year anniversary, Earth Day is an annual holiday held to demonstrate support for environmental protection and celebrate life on our planet, with over a billion people participating in related events worldwide. This holiday has been extended to encompass all of April, in what has been aptly named Earth Month. In celebration of Earth Month there have been a series of news stories that began last week focusing on how Indiana is likely to be affected by climate change. Researchers have rigorously studied what Indiana’s future will entail, and these stories will cover the likely outcomes and provide some specific context. This is the fourth episode of the series, focusing on the future of severe weather in Indiana based around an interview with Dr. Cody Kirkpatrick, a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at Indiana University.

Extreme Weather News Reports Segment:

And we begin at six o'clock with an I-Team 8 investigation and a warning about Indiana's electric grid this winter. A new report suggests that a major winter storm could lead parts or all of the state without electricity. This is a big deal.

We're joining you from Kilroy’s tonight, right on Kirkwood Avenue here in Bloomington. And as you can see, there's still a lot of cleanup happening here from those floodwaters last night. Those with Kilroy's tell us they're hoping to open by Tuesday. 

It's tomorrow that our severe weather threat moves in. Check this out. Almost the entire state of Indiana is in that enhanced risk. That's a level three out of five. That means severe weather is going to be likely and this threat is going to be an overnight threat that makes it even more dangerous.

And the cold is stretching across the Midwest. The mayor of Indianapolis urged residents to stay indoors. “Even 10 minutes of exposure may very well be harmful.”

Extreme Weather:

Among the effects of climate change most publicized are extreme weather events. While it is still difficult to pinpoint how climate change might have impacted a singular historical event, scientists have found that overall, the planet is likely to experience an intensification of heat waves, droughts, storms, and winter weather. These more extreme variations in the weather of Indiana pose quite a danger to the state. Severe weather events can increase the amount of illnesses and deaths among vulnerable populations and lead to billions of dollars worth of damages to local communities state-wide. Essential services, such as emergency response vehicles, water supplies, and electricity could also be temporarily disrupted during these events. Overall, if climate change continues, this increase in severe weather events could harm Indiana and its Hoosier residents.

Heat Waves:

In the previous episode, heat waves were discussed in regard to its impact on Hoosier farmers. To reiterate the findings, heat waves are projected to become more common due to climate change. Overall, summers in Indiana will be hotter. It is predicted that the number of days above 90 degrees Fahrenheit could last for about two and a half months on average during the summer months. While for many people this just means they will stay inside more or head to the pool, these events can actually be quite deadly, as Dr. Kirkpatrick describes:

“Here in Indiana, I think a lot of people don't consider heat waves as severe weather or as a type of extreme weather. But on average, in the United States, heat causes the most fatalities, the most weather related fatalities every year. Greater number than tornadoes, than flooding, and hurricanes on average, every year. And with warmer temperatures that we know are occurring, and are going to continue to occur, you can, with those warmer temperatures,