We’ve long given names to hurricanes to keep up with them, and The Weather Channel started naming winter storms in 2012. But more people die due to heatwaves than to either hurricanes or blizzards. In that vein, meteorologist Guy Walton started naming heatwaves. Heatwaves have been named before, but not in the US. Last year, Walton gave heatwaves the names of dragons, such as Smaug, which killed 60,000 people in Europe. This year, he is giving heatwaves the names of oil and gas companies, to highlight their role in climate change.
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Walton names a heatwaves at category three or higher, which are heatwaves that are expected to kill people. In 2023, he’s already used Heatwave Amoco, Heatwave BP, and Heatwave Chevron. The extreme temperatures currently around Portland, Oregon, where readings are more than 20 degrees higher than normal, got the name Heatwave Citgo. Walton has a list of twenty companies to use in alphabetical order. He explained his criteria at his blog, Guy on Climate. It is unlikely that any global association or governing body will adopt any naming convention for heatwaves, as the definition of a heatwave varies by country and by reporting organization. -via Kottke
Source: neatorama