Limiting Methane Leaks Critical to Gas, Climate Benefits
Knowing how much methane is leaking from the natural gas system is essential to determining the potential climate benefits of natural gas use. Climate Central’s extensive review of the publicly available studies finds that a pervasive lack of measurements makes it nearly impossible to know with confidence what the average methane leak rate is for … Read More
Study Projects Steep Increase in NYC Heat-Related Deaths
With global average temperatures increasing in response to manmade emissions of greenhouse gases, the world has already been seeing an uptick in the frequency and severity of deadly extreme heat events, and a decrease in cold weather extremes. A new study looks at how these trends are likely to play out in one iconic city in particular: New York. I… Read More
Clouds ‘Cool Earth Less Than Once Thought’
Extra cloud cover caused by emissions of industrial pollutants is known to reduce the effects of global warming, but its impact in reducing temperatures has been over-estimated in the climate models, new research has found. This is particularly significant for China and India, because it has been believed that these two giant countries would be pa… Read More
The U.S.: A Nation Divided By Drought
What was once a coast-to-coast drought now divides the U.S. into two distinct pieces, pitting the water haves, in the Midwest, versus the have-nots, in the West. One of those regions is in for a long, hot, dry, and potentially smoky summer. (Hint: It's not the Midwest.)… Read More
As Oceans Warm, Fish Are Finding New ZIP Codes
The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, employs a novel index that creates a fish thermometer of sorts, teasing out evidence of population shifts from fishery catch records during the past four decades. The study is the first to detect climate change-related shifts in the range of fish species on a global scale. In doing so, it provid… Read More
Amid Rapid Arctic Warming, U.S. Releases New Strategy
With ministers from the eight Arctic states meeting this week in Kiruna, Sweden, for the 2013 ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council, the Obama administration has laid out a broad new U.S. Arctic policy that sets strategic goals for how the U.S. will cope with a rapidly changing Arctic region.… Read More
Tinderbox-Dry Western U.S. at High Risk of Major Wildfires
The anticipated escalation in U.S. wildfire activity comes after the slowest start to wildfires in at least 10 years, according to Jeremy Sullens, a forecaster at NIFC. As of May 3, the country had seen 13,150 wildfires, which have burned about 153,000 acres. Due to a combination of drought and record heat, 2012 saw one of the most destructive wild… Read More
China ‘Moving to Lead on Climate Change,’ Says Report
Both China and the U.S., the world’s two principal emitters of greenhouse gases, have been making significant recent progress on tackling climate change, a report by an influential Australian advisory group says. Its report, The Critical Decade: Global Action Building on Climate Change, has particular praise for China, saying its efforts “demonstra… Read More
