Looking for shelter from extreme weather? Try a voting booth. | Editorial

The torrential rain that ripped through the Philadelphia region Sunday shows yet again how extreme weather is becoming all too routine.

King of Prussia reported 5.46 inches of rain in just 24 hours, while areas of Berks County reported nearly 7 inches of rain, and parts of New York were deluged with 8 inches of rain.

Portions of Kelly and MLK Drives were closed as the Schuylkill overflowed, while the northbound lanes of I-476 were flooded near Conshohocken. Meanwhile, homes were flooded, and trapped motorists had to be rescued in Upper Merion, Radnor Township, and Quakertown.

The intensity of the rain was yet another data point underscoring the worsening effects of climate change. The alarms keep sounding across the country — and across the globe — but not everyone is taking heed.

» READ MORE: There’s a bleak message written in Philly’s haze: climate change is at our doorstep | Editorial

Earth hit its highest temperature ever recorded last week, and the heat is not letting up. Nearly 50 million Americans are expected to battle triple-digit temperatures this week as heat waves blanket Arizona, Nevada, Southern California, New Mexico, Texas, and Florida.

Texas has been baked for weeks in record triple-digit temperatures, resulting in at least 11 deaths and stressing the state’s power grid yet again. Meanwhile, Arizona is bracing for some of its worst heat ever.

The extreme heat is not just an American problem. China is facing one of its hottest summers on record while blistering heat waves in India, Africa, and Europe earlier this spring resulted in scores of deaths and a drop in labor productivity.

Thirty-five years ago, NASA climate scientist James Hansen told a Senate panel he was 99% sure that “global warming is affecting our planet now.”

In the years since, scientists have issued increasingly dire warnings.

In March, a panel made up of hundreds of scientists issued the final installment of a report urging world leaders to act now before it is too late to avert the irrevocable damage caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions.

“This report is a clarion call to massively fast-track climate efforts by every country and every sector and on every time frame. Our world needs climate action on all fronts: everything, everywhere, all at once,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.

This is a man-made problem decades in the making. There are no simple or quick fixes, but there are solutions if we act now. But instead of bold and unified efforts to fight climate change, the steps have been largely tepid and scattershot.

America should be leading the world in the endeavor — especially since it is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. But for years, Republicans and the fossil fuel industry denied the science of climate change, and continue to thwart attempts to address the threat to human health.

» READ MORE: With climate change, we must resist the quick fix on oil supplies | Editorial

To his credit, President Joe Biden pushed through several measures to address the problem, including the $1 trillion infrastructure bill and rejoining the Paris climate agreement that former President Donald Trump withdrew America from in a reckless move. In the absence of united efforts, many blue states have rolled out ambitious climate strategies, while red states largely do nothing.

Two-thirds of Americans think the federal government is not doing enough to combat climate change. The majority of Americans support climate mitigation policies, including some Republican voters.

However, many GOP leaders continue to spread misinformation about climate change with help from Fox News. Trump called climate change a hoax, joked that rising sea levels will result in more beachfront property, and continues to spew lies.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is battling Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, dismissed climate change as “left-wing stuff” and said he “rejected the politicization of weather.” If only.

In the real world, the rain falls on the just and the unjust, and until voters hold elected leaders accountable and demand action, climate change will continue to wreak havoc here and abroad.