50″ Of Rain In 24 Hours Is The New Normal On Kauai, Thanks To Climate Change
The island of Kauai got 50 inches of rain in 24 hours recently, Scientists say get ready for more “rain bombs” because of anthropogenic climate change.
precipitation
NASA Releases New Climate Forecasts Through 2100
The good news is that NASA has just released research on how temperature and rainfall patterns worldwide may change because of the concentrations of greenhouse gas growing in Earth’s atmosphere. The space scientists have based their conclusions on historical measurements and robust scenarios of increasing carbon dioxide produced from 21 climate models: specifically, General Circulation
Yet Another Study Links Changing Climate And Weather Extremes
Last week, the British journal Nature Climate Change published study findings linking anthropogenic warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels and atmospheric release of carbon dioxide with weather events. Climate change has caused about 75% of all hot-temperature extremes worldwide in the past 100 years. Climate change has also caused about 18% of heavy rainfall. The
Weather And Climate — Similarities & Differences
Weather and climate are similar but different. For the most part, they are very distinct phenomena. Below, we talk about the weather first, and then delve into the climate. Weather We measure what’s going on in our atmosphere over a short period of time—usually in a particular place on a particular day—by assessing the weather. Could be
More Fire, More Rain: Two New Reports Predict Worsening Weather Due To Greenhouse Gas Effects
Two separate reports issued in early April by different US agencies predicted significant increases in major wildfires and in major rain storms (“precipitation events”) within the next few decades due to the atmospheric effects of expected greenhouse gas emissions. A study by the US Department of Agriculture said that wildfires in the US will be at
Most Extreme Precipitation Events To Become More Intense In Warming World
A new study led by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has found that as the planet warms further as a result of increasing levels of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, the more moisture in the warmer atmosphere will make the already extreme precipitation events more intense. The study further showed that a 20%
Warmer And Wetter January For Contiguous US
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) has released their latest State of the Climate, “a collection of monthly summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale.” The title for the January 2013 summary reads “Contiugous US warmer and wetter than average for January”, noting that
NOAA State of the Climate for 2012 – Hottest and Extreme Year on Record
With the close of the year these days we can generally expect to see any number of climate institutions across the planet report on just what the year gone provided us. 2012 is no different and according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2012 was the warmest and second most extreme year on
Autumn and November Climate Highlights See Warmer America
The month of November and the overall September to November autumn season were warmer than average across the contiguous United States according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center. Not only were they warmer, but precipitation totals across the country were also above average during November, though the totals
Extremely Extreme Weather in 2010.. Perhaps Most Extreme on Record
Dr. Jeff Masters, a world-leading meteorologist, just finished a compilation of what he considered 2010’s top 20 extreme weather events. All in all, he considers 2010 to be the most extreme year for weather since records began and, unfortunately, with a good understanding of climate change, he hints at what we could be in for if we don’t turn things around quickly.
Most Extreme U.S. Spring Weather on Record, Dr. Jeff Masters Reports
I had a post on some of Dr. Jeff Masters’ recent comments on the ridiculous extreme weather we’ve been seeing this year just about one week ago, but he just published a new analysis on these issues that I thought was worth covering as well.
The key, general points are as follows…
Limited Nuclear War Could Halt Global Warming, Short Term, NASA Predicts
The scientists used a general circulation model known as ModelE (developed at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York). The model calculates ocean-atmosphere coupling effects in addition to allowing varying aerosol inputs.
The initial input for the simulation was 5 teragrams (megatons) of black carbon particles injected into Earth’s upper troposphere. This is the estimated result of the surface detonation of 100 Hiroshima-size bombs (each equivalent to 15K tons of TNT).
Large Dams Can Affect Local Climate
New research has shown that large dams have the ability to affect the local climate, to the point of drastically altering the local rainfall in some regions. This marks the first time that researchers have found a clear difference had on the surrounding environment by large reservoirs compared to natural lakes and wetlands. The study
Plants Will Move Downhill in Warmer Climate
The widely held assumption that plants will have to migrate higher or become extinct in a warming world has been challenged today by a new study published in the journal Science, by Jonathan Greenberg, an assistant project scientist at the University of California, Davis, Center for Spatial Technologies and Remote Sensing. Greenberg looked at data
Canadian Insurance Companies Seeing Effects of Climate Change
I heard some years ago that the insurance industry was one of the leading industries as far as acknowledging climate change. Why? Because they get screwed if they don’t recognize the risks of climate change and adjust their policies accordingly. Canadian insurance companies recently reported that they were, indeed, hit hard by claims in 2009,
Our Water Planet – How Much Do You Know?
This post is part of our participation in Blog Action Day 2010, which is on the topic of Water. As R. Buckminster Fuller reminded us, we are all traveling aboard “spaceship Earth”…all 6+ billion of us. What makes our spaceship so unique (as far as we know), and vital, is the presence of a great deal
Dry Times for Western North America, Climate Trends Forecast
Researchers Overpeck and Udall cite a litany of troubling trends to support their prediction: “soaring temperatures, declining late-season snow pack, northward-shifted winter storm tracks, increasing precipitation intensity (note: not total rainfall), the worst drought since measurements began, steep declines in Colorado River reservoir storage, widespread vegetation mortality, and sharp increases in the frequency of large wildfires.”
EPA’s "Climate Change Indicators in the US" report: What’s Happening with Snow and Ice?
Continuing our coverage of the EPA’s new Climate Change Indicators in the US report, below are key summary findings regarding snow and ice. Despite what you may have heard in false science circles, we definitely have less snow cover, snowpack and ice than in the past these days.
EPA's "Climate Change Indicators in the US" report: What's Up with Weather and Climate?
Continuing our coverage of the EPA’s new Climate Change Indicators in the US report, below are key summary findings regarding weather and climate. More heat waves, tropical cyclones, floods, precipitation, and also perhaps drought in some areas — watch out! The following text comes directly from the US EPA’s “Summary of Key Findings” [PDF]: [social_buttons]
