Healthy Indoors Magazine - USA Edition

Healthy Indoors | 49 caught my attention because it sounds formidable. Also known as a bomb cy- clone, it's when a cold air mass col- lides with a warm air mass, typically over warm ocean waters. I somehow thought it was mostly used to describe a resulting massive rainstorm, not snow, but bombo- genesis was being repeated over and over by weather forecasters hyping up viewers. They'd couple it with snowmageddon and artic blast. No wonder the store shelves were bare. I soon succumbed to snow-anx- iety-induced shopping, but instead of milk, I bought a roof rake!? I had nev- er even known such a thing existed, but we felt it was needed to remove By Alexandra Zissu snow pressure from our 100-year-old slate roof. But the snow wasn't all charming. While I tried to focus on its enjoyable aspects, I knew in my heart that the increased colloquial use of bomb cy- clone and other extreme weather words meant only one thing: climate change. While many of the meteorological terms used to describe intensified storms are familiar, like hurricane, wildfire, and drought, these new weird terms and phenomena really highlight just how mainstream the climate crisis has become. The winter bomb cyclone seemed to become a familiar term; polar vortex was also bandied about not infrequently. Ugh. Ever heard of an atmospheric river? I hadn't until California was recently ravaged with downpours and re- lentless storms that took human life. Rivers in the sky transporting moist air from the tropics can be beneficial to regional water supply but can also release heavy wind, rain, and snow. In areas experiencing drought, they can cause flash floods, mudslides, and destruction of property—and lives. I wish I could unlearn the term, but extreme weather is here to stay, triggered by human-caused climate change. Extreme weather is climate change in action. Greenhouse gases from the TELL EPA: FINALIZE STRONG METHANE RULES TO PROTECT CHILDREN'S HEALTH combustion of fossil fuels are making much of our planet hotter and wetter. Temperatures have been increas- ing steadily since the 1980s, and we are now experiencing more severe heat waves, fiercer wildfires, wilder hurricanes, heavier floods, and drier droughts. Warmer air can hold more moisture than colder air, so a warmer atmosphere means stronger storms. Higher temperatures also make wild- fire seasons longer and more intense. Drought is intensified, too; higher tem- peratures boost evaporation. Warmer winters in the Northeast, where I live, are part of this change. Without the cold temperatures we are accustomed to, there's less snow. What's happening right now in my neck of the woods is being referred to as a record-breaking snow drought. Appar- ently, this season will bring the lowest snow cover in over a decade. I'm sad there's no snow to build snow people with my kids, sure, but what I'm really concerned about is what the local im- pacts of no or reduced snow this winter will mean come spring and beyond. We already know the lack of snow is hurting local businesses that rely on winter recreation tourism—from ski mountains to hotels to restaurants. What will reduced snow mean for the many farms and orchards the region I

• Cover