February Keeps the Planet’s Warm Streak Alive: NOAA
Warm conditions in February 2013 helped keep sustain the planet’s remarkable hot streak, marking the 336th consecutive month that global temperatures rose above the 20th century average, according to data released Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The average global temperature reached 54.93 degrees Fahrenheit last … Read More
Volcanic Eruptions May be Masking ‘Lost’ Warming
Climate scientists think they may have found at least part of the answer to a conundrum which has been puzzling them recently — why the atmosphere has not warmed as much as expected over the last decade or so. A team led by the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU-Boulder) thinks the reason may be emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2), a known … Read More
Climate to Warm Beyond Levels Seen for 11,300 Years
A new reconstruction of the Earth's climate history all the way back to 11,300 years ago found that the planet has never been warmer than it is today, and that temperatures are likely to climb into unprecedented territory by 2100, due to increasing amounts of planet warming greenhouse gases in the air. The study, published Thursday in the journal … Read More
Concern Over Climate Change Grows, Poll Finds
The percentage of Americans who are concerned about climate change and motivated to do something about it increased to 16 percent between 2010 and 2012, according to a new poll. That is a jump of six percentage point over two years, which occurred as the percentage of Americans who are skeptical of climate change or doubt that it was have… Read More
Warmer Arctic with Less Ice Increases Storm Surge
Rising temperatures are shrinking Arctic sea ice, and in Canada’s Northwest Territories, that means more and stronger storm surges, according to a new study. An analysis of lakebed sediments from one section of the outer Mackenzie Delta shows surges have become more intense and frequent over the past 150 years as the region has warmed and ice has… Read More
Spring May Arrive Five Weeks Earlier by 2100, Study Finds
The biological onset of spring could arrive up to five weeks earlier by 2100 in the northern U.S. than it does today, and more than a week earlier in the South, a change that could significantly alter ecosystems from Florida to Maine, according to a paper published in Geophysical Research Letters. “This is a big deal,” said lead author … Read More
New Study: ‘World Can End Poverty and Limit Warming’
Eradicating poverty by making modern energy supplies available to everyone is not only compatible with measures to slow climate change, a new study says. It is a necessary condition for it. But the authors say the plan to provide sustainable energy worldwide will not by itself be enough to keep the global average temperature rise below the widely… Read More
Dusty Springs in Asia, Africa Can Increase Snow in Calif.
A dusty spring in Asia and Africa can increase snowfall thousands of miles away in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, according to a new study. The process begins when winds stir up tiny particles of dust, pollution, bacteria and heavy metals from the Taklimakan and Gobi deserts in Asia and the Sahara in northern Africa. In a matter of days, … Read More
