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The U.S.: A Nation Divided By Drought

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

Smaller Glaciers Boost Sea Level as Much as the Giants

Smaller Glaciers Boost Sea Level as Much as the Giants

As the planet warms under the influence of rising greenhouse gases, and melting ice drives sea level higher, scientists have focused mostly on changes in the vast ice sheets that cover Greenland and Antarctica. If either one melts substantially or slides into the ocean, the results would be catastrophic. But there’s another ice reserve to worry … Read More

Amid Rapid Arctic Warming, U.S. Releases New Strategy

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

Six to See: Slideshow of This Week’s Top Climate News

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

In Parched Southwest, Anxious Wait for Summer Rains

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

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

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

Six to See: Slideshow of This Week’s Top Climate News

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