Newton Bigelow

Heavy Rain, by Pridatko Oleksandr, via Wikimedia Commons

Much as I like these big thunderstorms we’ve been getting lately, they are a dramatic reminder that climate change is really happening. At least in my part of the world, that means things are changing for the worse. Warmer and wetter weather is expected to increase over the coming years, making it easier for harmful insects and waterborne diseases to spread.

You might think that a heavily agricultural area would be glad of more rain and a longer growing season, but the rain in particular can cause serious problems. Since a lot of that heavy rainfall is happing in the spring, it’s much harder for farmers to get their equipment out into the fields. So even though it’s getting warm earlier, a lot of the planting is actually behind schedule. Late planting often means lower yields and less profits.

My part of the world may have a climate like the deep south by the end of the century. Flooding, severe storms, and heat waves all look to be part of our future. We could even see insect-borne diseases like malaria becoming common.

We’re resilient people, we’ll probably adjust. But things are not going to be as pleasant around here as we’re used to.