Or do you? It’s time to pay attention to climate change now—as if it wasn’t back in 1800, when our current problems started. We all need to acknowledge that stunning industrial achievements can carry with them enormous unforeseen risks and challenges. Americans should take particular note, because on the whole we are wa-a-a-y behind on this.
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
Deadly storms strike the coast, snow blankets the interior, drought cripples rural communities, and flooding inundates the poor. Scientists expect natural disasters such as these — and worse — to grow in magnitude and increase in regularity as global warming takes its toll on the planet, and in many situations there is not much we
A new report authored by leading scientists and experts explains that the effects of climate change are going to continue threatening the health of coastal communities throughout the United States. The report emphasises the need for increased coordination and planning to protect US coastal communities in the face of a continually changing climate. “[Hurricane] Sandy
Never let it be said that size matters. Small but physically intense storms at the poles could make a huge difference in climate predictions according to new research, but the problem is they are missing from most current climate models. The research from the University of East Anglia and the University of Massachusetts and published in
An Australian scientist told the Australian Academy of Science’s Earth System Outlook Conference in Canberra that Australia could be a world leader in developing marine reserves that are able to keep pace with climate change and absorb the impact of warming oceans, storms, and flood events. “The challenge we face is that a marine reserve or
There’s been considerable press on the aftermath and economic impact of hurricane Sandy (and no doubt more to come following the ‘nor’easter’ that just hit the east coast) including data on estimated reconstruction costs by various states. But here now is the newest summary (infographic) on “Frankenstorm” Sandy’s impact with comparison data to other devastating
A new study has been published which analyses a decade’s worth of tropical cyclones and found that, when a hurricane blows over ocean regions high in freshwater content, it can unexpectedly intensify.
The probability that a hurricane will ever encounter such conditions is relatively low, ranging from 10 to 23 percent, but the effect when it does happen is relatively large: Hurricanes can intensify by up to 50 percent.
The Atlantic hurricane season has already gotten off to a flyer, with six named storms already, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, may have a pretty hectic second half as well. As a result, the NOAA have updated their hurricane season outlook. The updated outlook still indicates a 50 percent chance of
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.
There was a sudden change from an El Niño phase to La Niña in July 2010 which led many forecasters to believe that there would be warm temperatures throughout the Southeast of America. However, the region has been experiencing an extremely cold winter, as a result of the interruption of the North Atlantic Oscillation. “There
Winter 2010-2011 is tied (so far) with two other years for having the most extreme winter on record in the U.S. It has had three Category 3 (major) or higher snow storms so far according to the Northeast Snowfall Impact (NESIS) scale (which ranks storms on a scale from 1 — “Notable” — to 5 —
Statistics provided by the Finnish Meteorological Institute have shed light on the extremes that made 2010 a year to remember in Finland. Cold periods at the start and end of the year meant that the year was slightly cooler than the average over the past decade, and the extreme weather events, cold winter, new temperature
It is a long standing belief that hurricanes and tropical ocean thunderstorms occur when sea surface temperatures rise above a certain level. However, what happens when the ocean temperature rises? Does that storm level keep rising, or does it stay the same and allow an increase in the frequency with which storms appear. A new
Visible satellite image of the October 26, 2010 superstorm taken at 5:32pm EDT. At the time, Bigfork, Minnesota was reporting the lowest pressure ever recorded in a U.S. non-coastal storm, 955 mb. Image credit: NASA/GSFC. You have to love the intro to this excellent piece over on Climate Progress, a quote from Minnesota meteorologist Paul
Global warming will have a varying effect on weather systems depending on which hemisphere they are in, according to new research from MIT’s Paul O’Gorman, who found that the warming of the planet will affect the availability of energy to fuel large-scale weather systems that occur at Earth’s middle latitudes. O’Gorman found that more intense
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.”
In an article that just screams northern-hemispheric superiority, MSNBC has touched only briefly upon new research from scientists at the Carnegie Institute. According to Cristina Archer and Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology, Earth’s jet streams are shifting; possibly as a result of global warming. However they are upfront with the
