Healthy Indoors Magazine
Issue link: https://hi.healthyindoors.com/i/1495794
50 | March 2023 MOMS Clean Air Force Continued from previous page New York State Cancer Consortium Environmental Carcinogen Group. She sits on the board of Clean + Healthy New York. ries have appeared in dozens of pub- lications. She is a leadership member of the Childhood Cancer Prevention Initiative, as well as a member of the call home is famous for? I want to help, but there's not a whole lot one individual can do to fix climate change. Still, I do my part, which to me involves urging my elected representatives to act on climate. If you also want to help, I hope you'll speak up in a similar fashion. A sustainable and resilient future comes down to strong climate policy. Alexandra Zissu is the author of six books about the connections be- tween environment and health: Earth Squad, Get on Top, The Conscious Kitchen, Planet Home, The Com- plete Organic Pregnancy, and The Butcher's Guide to Well-Raised Meat. A longtime journalist, she has worked for the Times Union, New York Mag- azine, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, the New York Observer, and Women's Wear Daily, and her sto- Extreme Weather Glossary In a changing climate, many of the words used to describe intensified weather are familiar: hurri- cane, wildfire, and drought. But there are also new and weird meteorological terms and phenomena. Here are a few: ARkStorm There's no such thing as an ARkStorm—yet. It's part of a U.S. Geological Survey research project, a made-up mega- storm scenario that could do unheard-of damage, like his- torical storms but with magnitudes and frequency intensi- fied by climate change. The intentionally biblical name is an acronym blending "atmospheric river," k (which stands for 1,000, because ARkStorm was projected as a 1-in-1,000- year event), and "storm." Atmospheric River These air currents are long, concentrated regions in the at- mosphere that transport moist air from the tropics. Accord- ing to NOAA, rivers in the sky 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 life and property. Bomb Cyclone Bombogenesis (aka bomb cyclone) is when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass, such as air over warm ocean waters. The National Ocean Service says these mid-alti- tude cyclones intensify quickly and can result in extreme rain or snow. Firenado Fire tornadoes are rare, occurring when wildfire heat creates its own wind system. Also called pyrogenetic tornado, fire whirl, and fire devil (experts debate the nuances of these terms), these tornado-like bursts rise from a fire, polluting the air with smoke and debris. Some can be more than 500 feet in diameter. Megadrought Climate change is currently impacting drought all over the world. Still, historical megadroughts, aka prolonged drought lasting for decades, have been documented, including some that took place thousands of years ago. Polar Vortex The National Weather Service says this large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of Earth's poles is not new. Still, climate change has impacted polar vortex behavior and can cause expansion to south- ern latitudes. "Vortex" refers to the counterclockwise airflow that keeps colder air near the poles. It's weaker in summer and stronger in winter and is associated with outbreaks of arctic air in the U.S.