It's the Heat and the Humidity

Climate change will bring more humidity and heat-related deaths

Posted at 12:31 PM on 10 Oct 2007

Climate change is increasing global humidity, according to a new study in Nature. If the globe heats as projected, air stickiness could increase globally by up to 24 percent by 2100. Says study coauthor Katharine Willett, "Although it might not be a lethal kind of thing, it's going to increase human discomfort." For a lethal kind of thing, we turn to a study in the American Journal of Public Health, which predicts that the number of heat-related deaths in and around New York City will nearly double by 2050. And just to top things off, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that global warming will bring above-average temperatures to the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states this winter. In other words: get used to it.

sources:  Associated Press, Reuters, Reuters