The world inches toward catastrophic climate events: ‘Bigger shocks are on the way’
The risks have been known, and building, for over 150 years
By PETER PRENGAMAN
Updated 9:55 AM EDT, August 24, 2026
NEW YORK (AP) — "In the opening scene of American writer #KimStanleyRobinson ’s 'The Ministry for the Future,' a #HeatWave combined with a breakdown of the electrical grid in India kills 20 million people. The devastation causes the world’s nations to unite to combat #ClimateChange .
"Scientists have long warned that the world will experience more intense #ExtremeWeather events like #heatwaves, #storms, #floods and #droughts. But what once seemed like the realm of fiction is now discussed as a possibility, even an inevitability.
"Warning about an 'extreme of extremes' or the 'Other Big One,' a play off the California reference of a big future earthquake, can be fraught. After all, nobody can say for sure when a weather catastrophe may happen. But in the last few years, the planetary ingredients needed for a massive disturbance have been building. And alarm is growing.
'The risk is that people just think you are exaggerating,' said #DanielSwain, a climate scientist with the California Institute for Water Resources. 'It’s the ‘Boy Who Cried Wolf’ problem. Sometimes wolves are real. If it’s outside the door, wouldn’t you want to know?' "
https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-disaster-big-one-threat-5b062254250a759483c94376d32ae478
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/ahELv
#Oiligarchy #BigOilAndGas #BigOilKnew #Polycrisis #HungerGames #Wildfires #ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange
