Univision Explains How Global Warming Intensifies Extreme Weather, “Causes Tragedies”

Popular Spanish-Language Network Connects U.S. Heatwave To Climate Change

From the September 9 edition of Univision's Noticiero Univision: Edición Nocturna:

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ENRIQUE ACEVEDO (ANCHOR): The intense heat that plagues much of the country forced the authorities to take extraordinary precautions. In some areas, for example, students have had to cut the school day short as parents are urged to keep their children out of the sun and well hydrated. Juan Carlos Aguiar has the report.

JUAN CARLOS AGUIAR (REPORTER): An intense heatwave has taken over a good part of the United States recently. However, it is in central and southern California and the northeast, especially in Baltimore, where it's been felt stronger as temperatures reached up to 107 degrees.

EDUARDO RODRÍGUEZ (METEOROLOGIST): Today is the worst and will be changing in the northeast beginning tomorrow, and in California towards the weekend.

AGUIAR: Remedies, the same as always: stay in the shade, hidden from the powerful sun; lots of cold water; ice cream; even fanning the face to battle what seems a hellish heat. Others prefer to go further in their solutions.

MAN: Yes, we do have to take more care of the planet, we must plant many trees, so it doesn't get so hot, because truly, this is terrible.

AGUIAR: And he seems to be absolutely right. Global warming has made it so that every day, transitioning from one type of weather to another, is more complex.

RODRÍGUEZ: More sudden changes -- we could go from hot summers and on the other hand, extreme winters. It is a kind of imbalance that the atmosphere will have to adjust. 

AGUIAR: A reality that, added to carelessness, causes tragedies. In Corpus Christi, Texas, a baby of only 4 months died from the high temperatures apparently after his parents left him in the car with his 16 month-old sister, who survived. 

Although forecasts indicate that this heatwave would end and milder temperatures would arrive, the authorities remain alert and have activated contingency mechanisms. In fact, some cities and small towns have even suspended classes in schools to prevent health or security problems. Ilia, back to you.

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See The Media's Disconnect On Climate Change And Extreme Weather Illustrated On The Front Page