AND WILL BE DRY AND NOT WENDY. WE WARM-UP WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY BRINGS US THE NEXT BEST CHANCE OF RAIN. IF IT WAS NOT ENOUGH FOR 2020, WE HAVE TIED WITH 2016 AS THE WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD. THAT IS GLOBALLY, NOT NECESSARILY FOR NORTH CAROLINA BUT THIS IS INTERESTING THAT I WILL THROW AT YOU, WINTER IS WARMING UP FASTER THAN ANY OF OUR OTHER SEASONS. BETWEEN 1970 AND 2017, WE HAVE WARMED UP TO AND A HALF DEGREES. THERE ARE A LOT OF IMPACTS OF TOURISM THROUGH OUR SKI RESORT, AGRICULTURE AND A LOT OF THINGS ARE AFFECTED BY OUR WARMER TEMPERATURES OVER THE WINTER. DURING 2020, WE SAW DISASTERS THAT CAN BE LINKED TO CLIMATE CHANGE. I WANT TO BRING IN THE NASA SCIENTIST RACHEL TELLING. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. WE WILL TALK MORE ABOUT WHAT WE ARE SEEING FROM 2020. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. >> WE SAW A RECORD HURRICANE SEASON. WE HAD RECORD FIRE SOUTHWEST ATTRIBUTED TO CLIMATE CHANGE. RIGHT? >> RIGHT. IT WAS A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR. LIKE YOU SAID IN THE INTRO, 2020 WAS THE HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD TIED WITH 2016 AND LONG- TERM GLOBAL TEMPERATURES ARE INCREASING. THE LAST SEVEN YEARS HAVE BEEN THE SEVEN HOTTEST YEARS ON RECORD. LAST YEAR, WE SAW THESE WILDFIRES ON THE WEST COAST. WE SAW A RECORD NUMBER OF NAMED STORMS ON THE EAST COAST AND UNUSUAL WEATHER ACROSS THE U.S. AS WELL. WHILE WE CANNOT SAY JUST ONE HOT YEAR IS WHAT DROVE ALL OF THESE EVENTS, WE CAN SAY THAT THE CLIMATE AND WARMING CLIMATE, THE LIKELIHOOD OF THOSE EVENTS WILL INCREASE AND WE ARE LIKELY TO SEE MORE EVENTS AS THE CLIMATE WARMS. >> WE HAD A PANDEMIC DURING 2020. THERE WAS RESEARCH THAT SHOWED WE REDUCED THE AMOUNT OF POLLUTION IN THE ATMOSPHERE BECAUSE WE HAD FEWER PEOPLE GOING TO WORK BUT WE ENDED UP GLOBALLY WITH THE OBVIOUS TEMPERATURE. WHAT DOES THAT TELL US? >> DURING THE PANDEMIC, 2020, WE SAW AROUND A 10% DECREASE IN THE GLOBAL CARBON EMISSIONS. THAT IS NOT ENOUGH TO COVER THE LONG-TERM TRENDS. THE LONG-TERM TRENDS REALLY MATTER. THE PAST 140 YEARS, GLOBAL TEMPERATURE HAS BEEN INCREASING RAPIDLY AND THAT IS SOMETHING WE WENT TO SEE INTO THE FUTURE AS WELL. >> AND OUR RESEARCH, WE ARE HEARING FOR MORE PEOPLE THAT THEY ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS AND WHAT TO DO SOMETHING. THAT'S DISCOURAGING TO THINK, WE DROPPED OUR POLLUTION. WHAT WILL THAT TAKE TO SEE MORE OF A LONG-TERM SOLUTION. CAN WE REALLY STOP THIS? CAN WE SLOW THIS DOWN? >> I BELIEVE THERE IS HOPE LONG- TERM BECAUSE WE KNOW WHAT WE NEED TO DO. WE NEED TO CARVE AND START TO LIMIT OUR GLOBAL CARBON EMISSIONS AND THAT IS SOMETHING I CAN DO BUT I AM LUCKY THAT AS A SCIENTIST AT NASA, I CAN DO THIS RESEARCH AND COLLECT THE BEST DATA POSSIBLE AND GIVE EVIDENCE TO THE POLICYMAKERS WHO ARE THERE TO MAKE THE BEST DECISIONS FOR ALL OF US. >> RACHEL TELLING, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US. I THINK 2020 SHOWED US WHAT CAN HAPPEN WITH DISASTERS WE HAVE