[T]ens of millions of people in the United States have been stuck in the grip of Mother Nature’s icy clutch for weeks, as inclement weather continues to pound the East Coast.
Up north, Boston has received the worst of the weather, measuring over 96″ of snow, making it the second snowiest winter in the city’s history.
New York, the nation’s biggest city, is estimated to lose over $1 billion thanks to this year’s severe weather.
Last year, the damage and losses in New York, due to a polar vortex, reached almost $50 billion.
The snowstorms are not sparing United States Southern citizens either. States like South Carolina and Georgia are also under ice storm warnings.
All told; The Weather Channel said over 26 million Americans were under some form of winter storm warning.
The unpredictable weather is here to stay, and it is particularly threatening to New York’s entire infrastructure, according to research released yesterday.
 |
The New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) 2015, co-chaired by a NASA researcher, produced an alarming report on the impact of the sketchy weather, and how it will affect New York in the future.
In addition to traversing interstellar space, NASA keeps an eye on earth, using satellites and ground-based observatories.
Using data supplied by NASA, the panel concluded that New York City will see notable increases in temperature, and precipitation and sea levels.
“Climate change research isn’t just something for the future,” said Cynthia Rosenzweig of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and co-chair of the study.
“It’s affecting how key policy decisions are being made now. NASA is proud to work with New York City and other intergovernmental entities to provide world-class science,” Rosenzweig said.
Also, the rising temperatures are only going to accelerate over the coming decades, putting millions of lives at risk.
By 2080, it is estimated that New York City’s temperature will have risen 8.8 degrees; precipitation will be up 11% while the sea level will rise 50 inches.
The New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) 2015 believes the report will help key policymakers.
Regardless of who, it is evident politics must be put aside to make crucial decisions about New York’s tunnels, bridges, and other core infrastructures.
Earlier this month, the U.S. said it is hoping to cut the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions by 28% over the next ten years.
 |
 |
 |
