Many climate scientists have observed that heat domes are sitting over areas longer and becoming more frequent as the Earth's average temperature rises.
This weather phenomenon not only makes outdoor activities miserable, if not impossible, but it can also be deadly. According to the National Weather Service, heat is the No. 1 cause of weather-related fatalities in the U.S., killing more people than floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes combined in most years.
A record-shattering 2,300 people died in the country last summer because of excessive heat, per the Associated Press, and this number will likely keep rising if we continue burning dirty fuels that are the primary driver of our overheating planet.
Bill Nye the Science Guy explained to CNN's Erin Burnett in an interview posted on the news outlet's YouTube channel that extreme weather, including heat domes, is unfortunately here to stay for the foreseeable future.
What are heat domes?
Heat domes are caused by an area of high pressure in the atmosphere trapping hot air and pushing it down, forming a "dome" of extreme heat. Since the air can't escape, temperatures rise for days or potentially weeks, creating a dangerous situation, until a cold front breaks up the heat dome.
Nye explained how they work using a map of New England, a glass coaster, and a ribbon.
"The dome is solid, or rather, it's high-pressure air, and the jet stream … has gone north and enabled this giant dome of hot air to stay there," he explained to CNN, showing the glass coaster that represented a heat dome unable to move because of the ribbon, symbolizing the jet stream, blocking it from above.
Why should you care about heat domes?
Because of record levels of heat-trapping pollution in the atmosphere, heat domes are parking over areas for far longer than they would in a more stable climate. Worldwide, heat records are being broken — even in the winter months — because of planetary warming. This puts everyone at risk, especially children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised.
In addition, prolonged heat waves threaten wildlife, ecosystems, and entire continents.
When asked what the increasingly frequent weather disasters mean in the bigger picture, Nye said succinctly: "What it means is we need to curtail our use of fossil fuels and putting carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere, and we need to do it as soon as we can."
"There has not been a 9/11 or a Pearl Harbor with respect to climate change because … it's happening in slow motion. Sooner or later … all of these events will be connected to climate change by computer modeling," he continued.
"Is it all moving a lot faster than you ever would have thought?" Burnett asked Nye, to which he responded: "With respect, no. There are … climate scientists who have been talking about this for a long time and how it will accelerate."
What can be done about heat domes?
Luckily, we are not doomed to suffer through excruciating heat and other weather disasters. Nye suggested three main solutions for curbing the use of dirty fuels. First, he stated the most obvious: burning less fuel and replacing electricity produced by oil and gas with renewable sources.
"This includes not shutting down any nuclear power plants that are working right now," he said.
Next, he mentioned taking advantage of the latest sustainable technologies, like electric vehicles. They don't produce any pollution and are becoming more affordable, especially with tax incentives and rebates from the Inflation Reduction Act.
Finally, Nye advocated investing in "extraordinary new forms of electricity" — namely, fusion. While this nearly inexhaustible energy source is likely years away from powering the world, investing in research is just another step toward a cleaner, carbon-free future.
In the meantime, we can make sustainable choices in our everyday lives, such as installing solar panels, exploring plant-based foods, and even just walking more instead of driving. No eco-friendly action is too small when it comes to saving the planet.
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