COLUMBUS – Ohioans suffered through another day of record heat again Wednesday as schools cancelled classes or shortened their school days due to the unseasonable warmth, which environmental activists point to as an indication that the effects of climate change are being felt.
“We’ve been having 90-degree weather in September and October this year. That is not normal for our region,” said Ryan Mooney-Bullock, executive director of Cincinnati-based Green Umbrella, an organization working to increase environmental sustainability.
Yesterday’s high temperature of 94 degrees at John Glenn Columbus International Airport set a record for the hottest October day, eclipsing the mark set the day before, according to the National Weather Service.
Updated again at 600 PM: the high temperature today at the John Glenn Columbus International Airport reached 94 degrees. This breaks the old record for October 2nd of 88 degrees, set in 1919. This also ties the all-time October record high of 94 degrees, set yesterday.
— NWS Wilmington OH (@NWSILN) October 2, 2019
Seven out of 10 Ohio adults believe global warming is affecting the United States and 59 percent believe it is affecting their local community, according to the 2019 Ohio Health Issues Poll released by Interact for Health.
Mooney-Bullock says this year’s volatile weather has illustrated the problem to Americans.
“Instead of having a hundred-year storm every 100 years, we’re getting many in one season. We had a bit of a drought this summer, but this spring and early summer was some of the wettest on record,” she said.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans or independents to believe that climate change has an impact on their nation or their community, according to the poll.
The Environmental Protection Agency has warned that high temperatures in the future are expected to result in reduced corn and soybean production in rural areas and health problems in cities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the health effects of climate change can include increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease, injuries and premature deaths.