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
Japan’s Fukushima Faces Long Road to Repair
The cleanup after the catastrophic nuclear accident two years ago at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan is not going well. Radioactive cooling water is leaking into the ground from at least three vast storage tanks, and the vulnerability of the plant to further accidents was revealed when a rat chewed through an electric cable, cutting off vital … Read More
Hurricane Sandy’s Immense Energy Shook the U.S.
Sandy, the superstorm that all but submerged New York, was powerful enough to set U.S. earthquake detectors quivering long before it hit the American coastline. It stirred up Atlantic Ocean waves that slammed into each other, started to shake the sea floor and then shook the Midwestern states so vigorously that the storm’s progress could be tracked… Read More
Six to See: Slideshow of This Week’s Top Climate News
Hurricane Sandy's lessons and legacy, plus weather fueling risk of wildfires, but there's a lack of twisters. … Read More
The Last Time CO2 Was This High, Humans Didn’t Exist
The news that CO2 is near 400 ppm for the first time highlights a question that scientists have been investigating using a variety of methods: when was the last time that CO2 levels were this high, and what was the climate like back then?… Read More
