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Climate is accumulating 4 Hiroshima atomic bombs worth of heat per second

60 points · 84 comments · blondie9x

  1. TazeTSchnitzel · · focus · HN ↗
    I guess that demonstrates the concept of “a drop in the ocean”, but turning a massacre of civilians into a unit of energy feels crass at best.
    1. ygjb · · focus · HN ↗
      To be completely blunt, the humanitarian crisis being caused by runaway fossil fuel use is tantamount to massacre of civilians.

      The death toll from Hiroshima was between 90-160 thousand people. The amount of excess deaths due to heat waves in 2023 was around 178,000. There are projections that the El Nino related heat waves could cause up to half a million, and longer term projections grow to 300,000 a year just from heat in the next few years. Just from heat.

      Add in crop failure, ecosystem collapses, and other unexpected disasters, and it's easy to see why.

      It might be crass, but it's mostly poor people and poor countries that are going to be affected.

      1. captainbland · · focus · HN ↗
        Yeah but opponents of green measures want us to treat climate change related deaths like car deaths, just background noise which can somehow be boiled down to some tragic responsibility failure which is worth the price.
        1. ygjb · · focus · HN ↗
          That's the point of crass comparisons.

          The comment I responded to was tone policing for crassness instead of actually contributing to the discussion.

          Would it have been better to point out there has been a Russo-Ukraine wars worth of deaths from heat waves each year since 2022?

          Or a Rwandan Civil Wars worth of deaths projected in the next year?

          Or a Holocaust worth of deaths over the next decade?

          What does it take to get people to listen and take it seriously?

          Not for nothing but I am growing lemons and coffee beans in Vancouver, BC, and I only need to bring them in for about 2 months a year. What that actually means is that people are already evaluating how we will relocate crops (luxury and essential) to other climates.

          What about when major crops like wheat, corn, rice, and beans fail around the world?

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