Though experts had cautioned that Texas’ electric-grid cannot withstand unusual weather events caused by a warming planet,the state was ill-prepared and didn’t take precautions seriously. It is not surprised that extreme storm swept in Texas in mid-February,leaving electricity-generating capacity offline, slower fuel and water supply ,and carbon monoxide poisoning created by Texans ‘ generators.
A series of planning failures can be connected with this catastrophe, including the lack of infrastructure hardening protections and ignoring warnings of the impending storm. Such event exemplified that human beings have neglected that the climate changes are fiercer now than in 20th century, and the necessity to do prompt preparations against climate curveballs.
A growing body of research links climate change with polar vortex. The warming in the Arctic let jet stearm incapable of confining cold air in northern hemisphere ,so freezing air tend to drift down to lower latitudes, driving unusual weather events.
Despite operators’ efforts, most electric grids fail to match supply with demand because of the climate events.In 2020, weather events have cost U.S. over a billion, which broke previous record . As global warming intensifies, the climate-linked disasters will set more threat to certain communities and be difficult to handle . Therefore, experts should act now to invest fully in measures from hardening infrastructure to localized energy productions, and develop holistic plan to improve electric grid.
