WAFB Chief Meteorologist Jay Grymes warned attendees of an LSU intercultural dialogue on weather and climate that Louisiana is in the crosshairs of climate change, the Manship School News Service reports.
Of the lower 48 states, Grymes told the audience, Louisiana might be the most severely impacted in terms of climate change.
“(Even) if the threats of climate change are being overstated,” Grymes said, “and I’m not saying they are … Louisiana is sure to be impacted.”
Climate change, hurricanes and flooding were topics of an intercultural dialogue held Wednesday by LSU’s International Programs department.
Grymes opened the presentations with a discussion on the state’s wet climate and the potential effects of climate change. State Climatologist Barry Keim, also an LSU professor, spoke about the evolution of the historic August flood, presenting a slideshow of flooded areas around Baton Rouge.
“I got up on Friday (Aug. 12) and it literally rained every waking minute of that day,” Keim said. “It was never not raining. … We ended up with about 32 straight hours of rain.”
Fabrizio Donnarumma, a postdoctoral researcher in LSU’s Department of Chemistry, noted the differences between Europe and the U.S. in regard to natural disasters.
Donnarumma said he has witnessed several catastrophes in Europe where entire neighborhoods and villages were not rebuilt. He compared that to Denham Springs, where the trash and damage disappeared within months.
“People here have the power to rise up and start again,” Donnarumma said. “That’s actually a very nice message.”
