In years ahead, people in the US can expect a rise in power cuts lasting over eight hours, suggests a new report. The reason? Climate change. Or, more specifically, converging extreme weather events caused by climate change.
Dangerous weather events, such as cyclones, are hard enough to deal with on their own, but to add to the challenge, mass power outages frequently accompany them.
According to research published in the journal PLOS, the combined force of severe weather at once, such as wildfires occurring alongside heatwaves, is already causing an increase in lengthy power outages.
From 2000 to 2023, weather caused 80 per cent of all US power outages, and this figure is projected to climb further due to the increasing severity and frequency of extreme weather fueled by climate change.
Compounding weather events can rack up major economic costs, create health risks and cut off heating, air conditioning and important medical equipment.
While the weather events are unlikely to be stopped, the team behind the study believes that the US can be better prepared to deal with these power outages, tracking patterns to aid distribution of aid and resource allocation.
“Power outages frequently co-occur with severe weather events like heavy precipitation, tropical cyclones, or multiple severe weather events simultaneously,” Vivian Do, PhD student and first author of the study said.
“Understanding patterns of where and when power outages and severe weather events co-occur is crucial for informing strategies to minimise societal consequences, especially as the electrical grid ages and climate change drives more severe weather events.”
The study analysed weather events including rain, snow, heat, cold, cyclones and wildfires, as well as large-scale power outages lasting eight hours or more in over 1600 US counties between 2018 and 2020.
Nearly 75 per cent of these counties experienced major power outages alongside dangerous weather events during this time.
The scientists also noted the increased rate at which outages and wildfires co-occurred along the West Coast between 2018 and 2020.
They're now working towards simulations of dangerous weather combinations in different regions with the aim of building an effective response plan across the entirety of the US.
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