Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Researchers and activists sometimes describe global warming, or climate change, as "settled science." The evidence that greenhouse gases emitted by human activities have and continue to warm the planet and alter Earth's climate is overwhelming, but science never is settled. Advertisement And each year, scientists learn more about the climatic disruptions caused by atmospheric greenhouse gas. In 2021, scientists gained new insights into the impacts of climate change on extreme weather, including wildfires, hurricanes and deadly winter storms -- as they all got worse. RELATED Climate-driven weather disasters inflicted billions in damage in 2021, study says Texas blackouts The year began with one of deadliest winter storms in history. While initial estimates suggested the freezing temperatures and lengthy, widespread power outages triggered by February's polar vortex, a low-pressure expanse of cold air, killed 151 people, subsequent investigations showed the catastrophe claimed 700 lives. RELATED Heat waves may bring new health crises to the homeless, researchers say The stratospheric polar vortex typically holds a tight circle, keeping frigid Arctic air trapped around the top of the globe. Advertisement But as the Arctic has warmed rapidly, the temperature difference between the middle and far northern latitudes has diminished, destabilizing the polar vortex and allowing frigid Arctic to occasionally spill as far south as Texas. Research published in 2021 showed the phenomenon is fueled by global warming. RELATED Siberian town topped 100 degrees, a new Arctic record As the Arctic continues to warm, researchers predict, extreme winter weather in North America will strike more frequently in the short term, even as winters get warmer on average. That's bad news for places like Texas, where critics -- despite assurances from the state's policy makers -- say energy systems remain both insufficiently weatherized and regulated. Texas' energy system is highly privatized and independent, meaning it's isolated from regional grids. "Markets are good at allocating resources during normal operations, but not for extreme events in which public safety is at risk," Carey King, a research scientist at the University of Texas and assistant director at the Energy Institute, told UPI in an email. King said better regulations must be developed to ensure gas generators funnel increased revenues into grid stabilization efforts and infrastructure upgrades. He said he also would like to see rules designed to prevent price gouging during emergencies. "[Policy makers] can learn the limits of markets to incentivize behavior that suits the public good in terms of safety and financial ramifications, particularly in times of emergencies," he said. "Effective oversight is needed." Advertisement California wildfires No state produces more green energy than California, but all that sustainable power wasn't enough to avoid summertime in 2021. Over the summer, the state's three largest investor-owned utilities once again were forced to cut the lights for thousands of homes as the threat of wildfire spread. While climate change could bring increased precipitation to parts of California, rising temperatures and prolonged droughts yield bigger and more intense fires across the West. According to research published early this year, wildfires are crippling the carbon storage abilities of Earth's forests. Even when woodlands in California avoid fire, one recent study found, the state's most-drought-resistant tree species, the blue oak, is left vulnerable by prolonged dry periods. The near-five-year drought that dehydrated much of California between 2012 and 2016 led to significant tree cover declines and die-offs among stands of blue oak, Quercus douglasii, the hardy trees found among the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. "Fire seasons in areas with an active fire regime are getting longer, snowpack is dwindling, springs are coming earlier, summers later, winter temperatures are warming and total annual precipitation is not keeping pace with warming," Paul Hessburg, a forest ecologist with the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station, told UPI. Advertisement "The effect is that during fire seasons, fuels become available to burn earlier, and they stay available to burn longer most years," Hessburg said. But according to Hessburg, the West isn't suffering for lack of trees. In fact, more combustible fuel exists now than 200 years ago, when lightning-triggered fires regularly thinned forests and indigenous populations routinely burned forestland to grow crops and attract game. Today, authorities suppress almost all wildfires. When fires do escape containment at the height of wildfire season, when conditions are especially hot and dry, they have a plethora of fuel to burn. Climate patterns are worsening the effects of West's fire deficit, leaving the region's carbon storage increasingly vulnerable. "Research shows that in all countries with an active fire season that a warming and drying climate is driving fire sizes, that is annual burned area," Hessburg said. "Some countries are experiencing active fire regimes for the first time in recent memory, too." Tornadoes The barrage of tornadoes that scarred parts of the South and Midwest in early December was perhaps the year's most shocking weather story. The outbreak, which featured at least 35 confirmed twisters, killed 93 people across five states. Kentucky suffered the most fatalities, with 78 dead. Advertisement While the links between climate change and extreme weather have become clearer in recent years, the impacts of the global warming on tornadoes are not well understood. Tornadoes form when rapidly rising warm air hits cooler, denser air above, yielding wind shear and promoting the formation of supercells and spinning funnels. Some scientists estimate that a great supply of warm air -- fueled by global warming -- will provide more fuel for tornado-producing storm systems. But other researchers suggest the same phenomenon driving an increase in extreme winter weather -- the Northern Hemisphere's diminished temperature gradient -- will limit the strength of high-altitude winds that help shape and energize funnel cells in tornadoes. Preparing for extremes "We know that the climate is getting warmer and drier, and until we get a handle on greenhouse gas emissions, that's going to remain the case," Hessburg said. "There isn't going to be a new normal -- these trends are going to continue through at least the end of the century." The Earth's natural systems are exceedingly complex, making it difficult to identify the precise ways in which climate change impacts weather, but numerous studies have revealed a strong link between global warming and extreme weather. Advertisement Research suggests that the sooner carbon emissions are reduced, the better the chance humans can avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. In the meantime, officials, experts and advocates have said governments must start to prepare more strategically for consequences of global warming. "To avoid what happened in Texas, there needs to be a recognition that more severe and unusual weather will be the norm in the future," Maine state Rep. Seth Berry told UPI earlier this year. Berry is part of a growing group of policy makers pushing for greater public control of utilizes, as well as decentralized energy solutions. "We need to anticipate bizarre and extreme weather and be ready for it. Building more fortified infrastructure is important," he said. "That can look like taller and stouter poles. It can be insulated tree wire, which is stronger and doesn't short out when a tree is leaning on the wire." Latest Headlines Science News // 14 hours ago Food prep robot 'Alfred' joins kitchen staff at Travis Air Force Base Dec. 28 (UPI) -- California's Travis Air Force Base's dining facility has become the first in the Department of Defense to acquire an automated food preparation robot called "Alfred." Science News // 15 hours ago CT scan 'digitally unwraps' Amenhotep I mummy for first time Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Scientists used a computed tomography scan to "digitally unwrap" the 3,500-year-old mummy of Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep I, revealing new details about his death, burial and early restoration efforts. Science News // 1 day ago James Webb telescope to begin sun shield deployment Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The large, powerful James Webb Space Telescope flew past the moon's orbit Monday, and is to begin unfolding its tennis court-sized sun shield Tuesday, astronomers in charge of the project said. Science News // 1 day ago Science shows safest plane seating to limit COVID-19 spread Taking to the skies for a long-awaited holiday? Choose your seat on the plane wisely and don't overlook familiar steps like keeping your mask on to reduce your odds for getting COVID-19 or another contagious disease. Science News // 1 day ago Heat waves may bring new health crises to the homeless, researchers say Add heat waves to the many health threats facing homeless people. Last year, the United States had 580,000 homeless people -- 28% of them in California, where seven in 10 live outdoors. Science News // 3 days ago James Webb Space Telescope launches on million-mile journey Dec. 25 (UPI) -- NASA and the European Space Agency successfully launched the largest, most powerful telescope ever, the James Webb Space Telescope, from South America on Christmas morning. Science News // 5 days ago NASA plans to launch $10B James Webb Telescope on Christmas Day Dec. 24 (UPI) -- NASA and the European Space Agency plan to launch the most powerful telescope ever, the James Webb Space Telescope, from South America on Christmas morning. Science News // 6 days ago NASA, private space industry may reach new heights in 2022 Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Space exploration may shatter records in 2022 with the launch of the most powerful rocket ever in a flight beyond the moon, a space telescope that peers into the dawn of the universe and groundbreaking science on Mars. Science News // 6 days ago Ancient shipwreck treasures displayed in Jerusalem include Roman silver coins Dec. 22 (UPI) -- The Israel Antiquities Authority said Wednesday that ancient Roman treasure discovered on two shipwrecks off the coast of Caesarea includes a trove of silver coins. Science News // 1 week ago 'Baby Yingliang' dinosaur fossil shows remarkable similarities to modern birds Dec. 21 (UPI) -- A 66 million-year-old complete baby dinosaur fossil called "Baby Yingliang" discovered in China shows "remarkable similarities" to modern birds, scientists said in a study published Tuesday.

Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Researchers and activists sometimes describe global warming, or climate change, as "settled science."

The evidence that greenhouse gases emitted by human activities have and continue to warm the planet and alter Earth's climate is overwhelming, but science never is settled. Advertisement

And each year, scientists learn more about the climatic disruptions caused by atmospheric greenhouse gas.

In 2021, scientists gained new insights into the impacts of climate change on extreme weather, including wildfires, hurricanes and deadly winter storms -- as they all got worse. RELATED Climate-driven weather disasters inflicted billions in damage in 2021, study says

The year began with one of deadliest winter storms in history.

While initial estimates suggested the freezing temperatures and lengthy, widespread power outages triggered by February's polar vortex, a low-pressure expanse of cold air, killed 151 people, subsequent investigations showed the catastrophe claimed 700 lives. RELATED Heat waves may bring new health crises to the homeless, researchers say

The stratospheric polar vortex typically holds a tight circle, keeping frigid Arctic air trapped around the top of the globe. Advertisement

But as the Arctic has warmed rapidly, the temperature difference between the middle and far northern latitudes has diminished, destabilizing the polar vortex and allowing frigid Arctic to occasionally spill as far south as Texas.

Research published in 2021 showed the phenomenon is fueled by global warming. RELATED Siberian town topped 100 degrees, a new Arctic record

As the Arctic continues to warm, researchers predict, extreme winter weather in North America will strike more frequently in the short term, even as winters get warmer on average.

That's bad news for places like Texas, where critics -- despite assurances from the state's policy makers -- say energy systems remain both insufficiently weatherized and regulated. Texas' energy system is highly privatized and independent, meaning it's isolated from regional grids.

"Markets are good at allocating resources during normal operations, but not for extreme events in which public safety is at risk," Carey King, a research scientist at the University of Texas and assistant director at the Energy Institute, told UPI in an email.

King said better regulations must be developed to ensure gas generators funnel increased revenues into grid stabilization efforts and infrastructure upgrades. He said he also would like to see rules designed to prevent price gouging during emergencies.

"[Policy makers] can learn the limits of markets to incentivize behavior that suits the public good in terms of safety and financial ramifications, particularly in times of emergencies," he said. "Effective oversight is needed." Advertisement

No state produces more green energy than California, but all that sustainable power wasn't enough to avoid summertime in 2021.

Over the summer, the state's three largest investor-owned utilities once again were forced to cut the lights for thousands of homes as the threat of wildfire spread.

While climate change could bring increased precipitation to parts of California, rising temperatures and prolonged droughts yield bigger and more intense fires across the West. According to research published early this year, wildfires are crippling the carbon storage abilities of Earth's forests.

Even when woodlands in California avoid fire, one recent study found, the state's most-drought-resistant tree species, the blue oak, is left vulnerable by prolonged dry periods.

The near-five-year drought that dehydrated much of California between 2012 and 2016 led to significant tree cover declines and die-offs among stands of blue oak, Quercus douglasii, the hardy trees found among the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas.

"Fire seasons in areas with an active fire regime are getting longer, snowpack is dwindling, springs are coming earlier, summers later, winter temperatures are warming and total annual precipitation is not keeping pace with warming," Paul Hessburg, a forest ecologist with the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station, told UPI. Advertisement

"The effect is that during fire seasons, fuels become available to burn earlier, and they stay available to burn longer most years," Hessburg said.

But according to Hessburg, the West isn't suffering for lack of trees. In fact, more combustible fuel exists now than 200 years ago, when lightning-triggered fires regularly thinned forests and indigenous populations routinely burned forestland to grow crops and attract game.

Today, authorities suppress almost all wildfires. When fires do escape containment at the height of wildfire season, when conditions are especially hot and dry, they have a plethora of fuel to burn.

Climate patterns are worsening the effects of West's fire deficit, leaving the region's carbon storage increasingly vulnerable.

"Research shows that in all countries with an active fire season that a warming and drying climate is driving fire sizes, that is annual burned area," Hessburg said. "Some countries are experiencing active fire regimes for the first time in recent memory, too."

The barrage of tornadoes that scarred parts of the South and Midwest in early December was perhaps the year's most shocking weather story.

The outbreak, which featured at least 35 confirmed twisters, killed 93 people across five states. Kentucky suffered the most fatalities, with 78 dead. Advertisement

While the links between climate change and extreme weather have become clearer in recent years, the impacts of the global warming on tornadoes are not well understood.

Tornadoes form when rapidly rising warm air hits cooler, denser air above, yielding wind shear and promoting the formation of supercells and spinning funnels.

Some scientists estimate that a great supply of warm air -- fueled by global warming -- will provide more fuel for tornado-producing storm systems.

But other researchers suggest the same phenomenon driving an increase in extreme winter weather -- the Northern Hemisphere's diminished temperature gradient -- will limit the strength of high-altitude winds that help shape and energize funnel cells in tornadoes.

"We know that the climate is getting warmer and drier, and until we get a handle on greenhouse gas emissions, that's going to remain the case," Hessburg said. "There isn't going to be a new normal -- these trends are going to continue through at least the end of the century."

The Earth's natural systems are exceedingly complex, making it difficult to identify the precise ways in which climate change impacts weather, but numerous studies have revealed a strong link between global warming and extreme weather. Advertisement

Research suggests that the sooner carbon emissions are reduced, the better the chance humans can avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

In the meantime, officials, experts and advocates have said governments must start to prepare more strategically for consequences of global warming.

"To avoid what happened in Texas, there needs to be a recognition that more severe and unusual weather will be the norm in the future," Maine state Rep. Seth Berry told UPI earlier this year.

Berry is part of a growing group of policy makers pushing for greater public control of utilizes, as well as decentralized energy solutions.

"We need to anticipate bizarre and extreme weather and be ready for it. Building more fortified infrastructure is important," he said. "That can look like taller and stouter poles. It can be insulated tree wire, which is stronger and doesn't short out when a tree is leaning on the wire."