Every year on April 22nd, the US celebrates Earth Day, in which we raise awareness for the ever present climate crisis our world is facing as a result of humans mistreating our planet. Since its beginning in 1970, Earth Day has evolved from a plea for climate friendly legislation to a plea for climate friendly action. We have reached a point where caring about the climate one day a year is no longer enough. Every day needs to be some form of Earth Day.
Think of Portland for example, according to the Oregonian, in the 2010s, Portland had 169 days with temperatures over 90. The most ever before in a singular decade. And that was around ten years ago. Remember the 78 degree day we had on April 2nd, the day came one degree away from Portland reaching its highest record temperature ever on the 2nd of April. But let’s not just just talk about the record highs. Portland’s precipitation levels have been much higher than average this April as of the 8th.
This past January, we saw three recorded days with the warmest we saw was temperatures in the 20s. The last time Portland saw a day like that, let alone three? December of 2022. And before that, January of 2017. Our city is not only running hot but colder as well. Portland, a city with a once very mild climate is veering more and more toward the extremes of very hot or very cold.
As reported by the Oregon State Government in the “Seasonal Climate Forecast: April-June 2024” guide, April temperatures are supposed to hover around normal temps for that time in the mid 50s or a bit below with a few days of exception, May temperatures will be decently above average, and June temperatures will be slightly above average for that time.
As we move forward into 2024 and beyond, Everyone needs to be conscious and concerned about how we treat our planet and other people that are around us. But now is the time to make a change. Before it is too late. We need to come together to fight climate change and leave a better planet and home for all the living things that will come after us.
Citations:
https://www.weather.gov/pqr/cliplot
https://www.epa.gov/history/epa-history-earth-day
https://projects.oregonlive.com/weather/temps/
https://www.oregon.gov/oda/programs/naturalresources/documents/weather/dlongrange.pdf
