Weather’s not the same as climate, but a warmer climate will make freakishly hot days more common so looking at the weather can give us a glimpse of what we have in store:
While temperatures were expected to moderate some from Tuesday’s peak — which saw a record set at 103 degrees for the day in New York City — utilities warned that the length and intensity of this heat wave was testing the limits of the power grid.
Con Edison said it was working to restore power to about 6,300 customers in New York City on Wednesday; in Washington nearly 2,000 customers were without power, while New Jersey’s Public Service Electric and Gas Company reported about 6,500 customers without electricity.
Transportation officials cut the speed of commuter trains on Tuesday in New York and suburban Washington when the tracks got too hot, and rail riders in New Jersey were advised to expect delays again Wednesday.
A couple of days of 103 degree heat in the northeast isn’t quite end of the world stuff, though it does kill some people. But there are real and obvious costs to this, some of which are quite similar to the costs that would be associated with acting to avert climate catastrophe. Serious carbon pricing would, for example, cause electricity bills to rise in the short-term. But it turns out that massive heat waves have the same effect, causing a surge in demand for air conditioning across the board. And that’s to say nothing of the sporadic blackouts and delayed commutes. Acting to avert disaster isn’t costless or pain free, but business as usual is hardly a stroll down easy street.
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