Climate Change Has Influenced Timing of Europe’s Floods
From the heavy rains that sent the Seine into the streets of Paris last year to a parade of storms that left southern England waterlogged during the winter of 2013-2014, there have been startling examples in recent years of the heavy toll that flooding can levy in both human and economic terms. Such events also lead to questions about the role clim… Read More
July Was Record Hot for Parts of Alaska and the West
The northernmost city in the United States just had its hottest July on record, as other spots in Alaska had their hottest month overall. Heat records also fell in a few western cities, as well as the fearsomely hot Death Valley, where July was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth. Those hotspots stood out in what was the 10th hottest July on … Read More
Disaster and Neglect in Louisiana
A year after the worst rainstorm in a rainy state’s history killed 13 and damaged nearly 100,000 homes, the federal government has provided less than half of what Louisiana says it needs to recover. Adding to the rebuilding woes, FEMA rejected a $16 million request to fund counseling services beyond Aug. 25, even as the state’s residents report … Read More
This is British Columbia’s Second-Worst Wildfire Season. It’s Far From Over
Poor air quality, blood-red sunsets and mountains swallowed by smoke are just a handful of the impacts of wildfires roaring in British Columbia. The fires kicked up in early July but have spread in recent days as hot, dry and windy weather has fanned the flames and sent smoke streaming across the border into Washington and Oregon. Wildfires have … Read More
Global Warming Is Fueling Arizona’s Monstrous Monsoons
Summer in Arizona and throughout the Southwest is monsoon season, which means a daily pattern of afternoon thunderstorms, flash floods, dramatic dust clouds and spectacular displays of lightning over the desert. As the climate changes, Arizona’s monsoon rainfall is becoming more intense even as daily average rainfall in parts of the state has … Read More
Cities Are Already Suffering From Summer Heat. Climate Change Will Make It Worse
Tina Johnson has a sense of place. She’s a fourth-generation New Yorker who lives in the same apartment in West Harlem’s Grant housing development that her grandparents lived in. She calls that apartment her anchor and the nine buildings that make up the development towering above 125th Street — home to roughly 4,400 residents spread across nine … Read More
Extreme Heat Will Hit India’s Most Vulnerable the Hardest
A flurry of studies in recent months have laid bare the significant threat posed by extreme heat in a warming world. Perhaps nowhere is this threat more apparent than in India and other parts of South Asia, where intense heat waves collide with a large, vulnerable population. If greenhouse gas emissions aren’t brought under control, global warming… Read More
Miami Just Had Its Hottest Month on Record
Summers in Miami are always hot and humid, but this summer has been one for the record books. July was the hottest month ever recorded for the city, with temperature archives going back to 1896, and capped off what has been the hottest year-to-date. Every day except July 31 saw a high temperature at or above 90°F (32°C), and nighttime low … Read More
