Six to See: Slideshow of This Week’s Top Climate News
Tracking wildfires, measuring hurricanes and how this wacky weather is effecting the U.S. … Read More
Warmer Climate Threatens Africa’s Vital Cassava Crop
A plant which is a staple food crop for millions of people across Africa is at risk from disease as regional temperatures rise, scientists say. The plant, cassava, is a significant source of food and income, and is an important industrial crop, and there is concern that serious food shortages may result and poverty worsen. Experts say the spread of… Read More
In Parched Southwest, Anxious Wait for Summer Rains
However, if the past two summer monsoon seasons are any guide to what’s ahead, meaningful drought relief may be wishful thinking. “Another dry monsoon could be devastating,” said Victor Murphy, a climate services program manager with the National Weather Service.… Read More
Jet Stream Enhances Drought in West, Midwest Relief
A week of wild and unusual weather brought a combination of record cold, snow flurries, heavy rains and 90-degree heat to different parts of the U.S. As a result of this weather pattern, which was characterized by a topsy turvy jet stream that caused storm systems to inch across the country, drought shrank in some places and grew in others, but the… Read More
Greenland’s Ice Loss May Slow, But Coasts Still At Risk
The flow of Greenland’s glaciers toward the sea may have increased significantly in the past decade, but a new report in Nature finds that rate of increase is unlikely to continue. “The loss of ice has doubled in the past 10 years, but it’s not going to double again,” said lead author Faezeh Nick, a glaciologist at the University Centre in Svalbard… Read More
Hawaii at Growing Risk of Hurricanes, Studies Show
The new study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, found that environmental conditions will become more favorable for tropical cyclones in and around the Hawaiian islands by 2075-2099. That’s due, in part, to a northwestward shift in the tropical cyclone track as well as increased ocean temperatures in the central tropical Pacific, whic… Read More
Scientists Develop New Way of Classifying Hurricanes
For the past 40 years, the Saffir-Simpson Scale has been used to neatly classify all hurricanes into five categories. The scale, created by Herbert Saffir and Robert Simpson in the early 70s, is simple. It measures a storm’s maximum sustained wind speed — no more, no less.… Read More
Adapt Faster to Changing Climate, Europe Warned
Cities around Europe may have to erect flood barriers similar to the Thames Barrier that protects London from sea surges, as climate change takes hold and leads to the danger of much more destructive storms, floods, heavy rainfall and higher sea levels, Europe's environmental watchdog has warned.… Read More
