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‘Heartbreaking’: 2021 climate-related disasters killed 688

Final 12 months will go down within the document books because the fourth warmest in historical past, whereas producing the second highest variety of local weather disasters, killing 688 individuals, NOAA stated at the moment.

Total, the nation skilled 20 separate billion-dollar climate and local weather disasters in 2021, ensuing within the highest variety of fatalities in a decade, NOAA’s Nationwide Facilities for Environmental Data stated in a report.

By comparability, 262 individuals died in weather-related disasters in 2020, which additionally produced 22 separate billion-dollar disasters, probably the most ever.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), the chair of the Home Area, Science and Expertise Committee, referred to as the numbers from the annual recap “heartbreaking.”

“The implications of local weather change affect every American — particularly deprived communities — throughout the nation,” she stated. “We should act on local weather now to construct a greater and extra protected future for all.”

December, which delivered a string of bizarre and lethal tornadoes in Kentucky and elsewhere, ranked because the warmest on document, with a contiguous U.S. temperature of 39.3 levels Fahrenheit, or 6.7 levels above common. That broke a document set in December 2015.

Ten states — Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas — additionally had their warmest Decembers on document.

For the 12 months, the typical contiguous U.S. temperature was 54.5 F, which was 2.5 levels above the Twentieth-century common. The six warmest years on document have all occurred since 2012, NOAA stated.

Amongst states, Maine and New Hampshire had their second warmest 12 months on document.

Precipitation throughout the contiguous U.S. measured 30.48 inches, roughly half an inch above common. Massachusetts reported its ninth wettest 12 months on document, whereas Montana had its ninth driest 12 months in historical past.