The June 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave caused unprecedented mortality for intertidal shellfish, with an estimated 1 billion mussels, clams and oysters dying in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. (Adobe Stock)
The June 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave caused unprecedented mortality for intertidal shellfish, with an estimated 1 billion mussels, clams and oysters dying in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. (Adobe Stock)” />
The June 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave caused unprecedented mortality for intertidal shellfish, with an estimated 1 billion mussels, clams and oysters dying in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. (Adobe Stock)
A new study suggested state and local officials in Washington and its Pacific Northwest neighbors could do more to plan and coordinate their responses to major heat waves driven by climate change.
The report from the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center convened dozens of researchers and practitioners to analyze responses to the record-breaking 2021 heat wave, which hit the Northwest hard.
Eva Colberg, research scientist for the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center at the University of Washington and the study’s lead author, said the extreme heat caught many off guard.
“This was completely unprecedented,” Colberg pointed out. “It broke records across the Northwest. We see a lot of folks talking about the impacts to people, but we also wanted to look and see what were the ecological impacts to all the plants and animals.”
Colberg noted the June 2021 event brought temperatures of 110 degrees or more and caused $9 billion in damages. The National Weather Service estimated the heat wave caused more than 200 deaths in Washington and Oregon. Colberg hopes the study will help agencies better prepare for the next climate-driven heat event.
Colberg explained the study found many towns and cities lacked sufficient facilities to protect people in a region where air conditioning is uncommon. She highlighted the major environmental damage, including killing about 1 billion shellfish and causing extreme damage to conifer forests in the region. She argued it is more proof officials need to take every opportunity to do more planning.
“It’s an example of multiple organizations and agencies working together to share their information, work, and efforts and data to overcome some of those individual organization-specific limitations,” Colberg stressed.
The heat also caused roads and sidewalks to buckle, melted power lines, and forced the suspension of light rail and commuter train services. It also caused the strongest melting episode for Washington’s glaciers in 100 years, with Mount Rainier’s snowcap shrinking by an estimated 30%.