This summer Southern Europe experienced an extreme heat wave from June to August with temperatures rising over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 8th generation olive grower, Irene Guidobaldi, walked through her olive tree orchards in June to find heat withered flowers instead of the first olive fruits blooming. Overtime, the weather has become more and more unpredictable greatly affecting agriculture, whether it be extreme rain causing overproduction of olive flies that eat away at the fruits, persistent heat drying out the land, or a sudden heat followed by rain “confusing” the trees. Concerns for the future of the olive tree are not strictly regarding the human consumption of olive oil, but the significance of these extreme temperatures affecting the trees. As author Semini Sengupta points out, after the flood in the bible, a dove brought Noah an olive tree to signify that the world hadn’t been completely destroyed. Olive trees are known to be strong plants able to survive, yet these temperatures are attacking one of the stronger trees, indicating the true severity of climate change.

 

According to the New York Times article “Europe Swelters Under a Heatwave: Lucifer,” Italy’s rainfall this year was less than 30 percent below normal levels. In Spain temperatures reached 113 degrees Fahrenheit. Serbian heat was so strong that train tracks were warped! The heat lead to health issues, forest fires, loss of agriculture due to drought, and even delays in public transportation. 11 southern European countries had red alerts warning the countries of the dangerous weather conditions. According to the scientists of the World Weather Attribution, there is a 1/10 chance that these European countries will experience these heat waves every summer from now on, and the probability will only increase with continual emission of greenhouse gasses. The scientists analyzed the temperatures of 2017 and fit them to a distribution chart showing the shift in temperatures since 1950. They also observed a three-day heat wave period and graphed the data with previous heat waves since 1950 in order to analyze the changes. 2017 temperatures were found to be the highest of the time series. While it may seem like one hot summer, a fluke in agriculture, or something we just need to “get through,” the WWA data connected climate change with greenhouse gasses, pointing out that these extreme weather conditions will remain extreme or even progress as society continues to use these energy sources.

 

 

 

“Euro-Mediterranean Heat – Summer 2017.” World Weather Attribution, 26 Sept. 2017, wwa.climatecentral.org/analyses/euro-mediterranean-heat-summer-2017/.

Sengupta, Somini. “How Climate Change Is Playing Havoc With Olive Oil (and Farmers).” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Oct. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/10/24/climate/olive-oil.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=sectionfront.

Times, The New York. “Europe Swelters Under a Heat Wave Called ‘Lucifer.’” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Aug. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/08/06/world/europe/europe-heat-wave.html.