Texas was so badly hit by a snowstorm that it suffered blackouts and plunged people into dire conditions. Despite constant warnings from scientists in previous years, the fallout showed how ill-prepared the state was for possible winter storms. That is partly due to the poorly-protected electricity infrastructure and the ignorance of weather forecasts. Experts believed this is a warning sign of an unprecedented climate change and the preparations of the past won’t be enough. The extreme coldness may be linked with polar vortex. It happens when freezing air leaked down to lower latitudes from jet stream that weakened by rising temperatures.
The electric grid in the US, however, has struggled to adjust itself to catch up with changing weather conditions and was paralyzed many times before by climate-linked disasters. Such disasters also led to huge economic losses and is likely to pose deadly threats to many communities as the global warming will only get worse. Experts urged people to take actions to improve the grid system and adapt to a new climate in a holistic way.
