Anita Weier
July 24, 2007
The average temperature in Madison was 2.6 degrees
Fahrenheit above average in 2006, according to a report released today by
Wisconsin Environment.
The rise was part of a broader warming trend since
2000. Between 200 and 2006, the average
temperature was 1.6 degrees above the 30-year average from 1971 to 2000 in
Madison, the statewide environmental advocacy organization found.
The findings were part of a national study by Wisconsin
Environment that found that the summer and year of 2006 were the second warmest
year on record, second only to 1998, for the contiguous United States.
“The long-term forecast is for more of the same unless we
quickly and significantly reduce global warming,” warned Thomas Pitcher of
Wisconsin Environment.
The summer heat wave produced a high number of dangerously hot
days at or above 90 degrees across the country, resulting in the deaths of
almost 200 people, the report said. More
than 70 percent of the locations examined recorded more frequent days with peak
temperatures of at least 90. For
instance, Tupelo, Miss., experienced 40 more 90-degree or warmer days than
normal in 2006.
Wisconsin Environment compared temperature data for the
years 200-2006 from 255 weather stations in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.,
with temperatures from 1971-2000.
Nationally, the average temperature during the seven-year period was at
least .5 degrees above normal at 87 percent of the locations studied.
Locally, data from the Dane County Regional Airport showed
that:
The average minimum temperature was 2.8 degrees above normal
in 2006 and 1.4 degrees above normal for the 200-06 period. The average maximum temperature was 2 degrees
above normal in 2006 and 1.2 degrees above normal in the 2000-2006 period.
A United Nations panel has warned that North American cities
are expected to face an increased number of hotter, longer heat waves that will
threaten public health, particularly for infants and the elderly. More forest fires and stress on water supplies
also were predicted.
“Scientists are sounding alarm bells about the impacts of continued
global warming. The good news is that
those same scientists say we can avoid the worst effects of global warming by
taking bold action now to reduce global warming pollution,” Pitcher said.
The report recommends that the United States require steep
cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, obtain 20 percent of electricity from
renewable energy sources, reduce energy consumption in homes and businesses,
change land use policies to reduce the need for vehicle travel and require more
fuel-efficient vehicles and more biofuel use.
