Climate change is driving 2022 extreme heat and flooding
2 years, 5 months ago

Climate change is driving 2022 extreme heat and flooding

The Hindu  

Extreme weather events — from scorching heatwaves to unusually heavy downpours — have caused widespread upheaval across the globe this year, with thousands of people killed and millions more displaced. For heatwaves and extreme rainfall, "we find we have a much better understanding of how the intensity of these events is changing due to climate change," said study co-author Luke Harrington, a climate scientist at Victoria University of Wellington. For their review paper, scientists drew upon hundreds of "attribution" studies, or research that aims to calculate how climate change affected an extreme event using computer simulations and weather observations. "Pretty much all heatwaves across the world have been made more intense and more likely by climate change," said study co-author Ben Clarke, an environmental scientist at the University of Oxford. And while East African droughts have yet to be linked directly to climate change, scientists say the decline in the spring rainy season is tied to warmer waters in the Indian Ocean.

Climate Change Change Climate Heat Study Heatwaves  weather  extreme  study  driving  scientists  warmer  intense  climate  flooding  heatwaves  likely  change  world  heat  2022

History of this topic

Yearender 2024: A world altered by climate change | IN PICS
3 days, 18 hours ago

Yearender 2024: A world altered by climate change | IN PICS

India TV News  

Image Source : AP 1/10 Pools of water caused by heavy rainfall between sand dunes are visible in the desert town of Merzouga, Morocco. Image Source : AP 4/10 Throughout the year, there was way too much water in some places and not enough in others, increasingly common as climate change alters natural weather patterns. Image Source : AP 6/10 …

Climate change identified as main driver of worsening drought in the Western United States
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Climate change identified as main driver of worsening drought in the Western United States

LA Times  

Humanity’s heating of the planet, driven by the burning of fossil fuels and unchecked emissions of greenhouse gases, has become the main driver of worsening droughts in California and the American West, according to new research. “For the same precipitation deficit, drought now is much stronger than it used to be in the 20th century, and drought also lasts longer,” …

Hundreds are dead in Spain's floods. Scientists see a connection to climate change
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Hundreds are dead in Spain's floods. Scientists see a connection to climate change

NPR  

Hundreds are dead in Spain's floods. Scientists see a connection to climate change toggle caption David Ramos/Getty Images At least 205 people are dead, and dozens remain missing after flood waters and mud swept through towns and cities in Spain’s east. It’s one of the most deadly weather events in modern Spanish history, and climate scientists see a connection to …

Unusually Intense Flooding in Spain: Two Climate Change Theories Loom
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Unusually Intense Flooding in Spain: Two Climate Change Theories Loom

Associated Press  

Spain is experiencing another devastating flood due to a combination of climate change and the unusual weather patterns affecting the region. At least 95 people have been killed in the flooding, with an ocean-based flood causing a flash drought in the United States. Scientists are exploring the potential connections between climate change and the recent floods, with some suggesting that …

Deadly Floods in Africa: Scientists Warn of Climate Change Impact
2 months ago

Deadly Floods in Africa: Scientists Warn of Climate Change Impact

Al Jazeera  

Global warming is wreaking havoc on Africa, with deadly floods causing widespread devastation. The rains have become more intense and frequent, leading to catastrophic flooding in countries like Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan. These floods have resulted in the loss of life and displacement of millions, highlighting the urgent need to address climate change and transition to sustainable energy sources.

Hey, presidential candidates, climate change would like a word
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Hey, presidential candidates, climate change would like a word

LA Times  

It is Wednesday, Oct. 2. The Cedar fire killed 15 people and destroyed more than 2,500 structures in San Diego’s inland suburbs and rural communities; at the time, it was the largest California wildfire in 75 years. A fire season surpassing 1 million scorched acres of land that doesn’t feel like a big deal — that’s climate change. A hurricane …

Humans caused climate change. Amid the suffering, now they must solve it
5 months ago

Humans caused climate change. Amid the suffering, now they must solve it

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Climate change is driving extreme weather By all accounts, …

Climate change and rapid urbanization worsened the impact of East African rains, scientists say
6 months, 4 weeks ago

Climate change and rapid urbanization worsened the impact of East African rains, scientists say

Associated Press  

NAIROBI, Kenya — The impact of the calamitous rains that struck East Africa from March to May was intensified by a mix of climate change and rapid growth of urban areas, an international team of climate scientists said in a study published Friday. Kenya Red Cross workers and volunteers, carry a man’s body retrieved from mud, after floodwater washed away …

The untold story behind climate change: we've known about the crisis for a while
10 months ago

The untold story behind climate change: we've known about the crisis for a while

Hindustan Times  

There is no particular moment in history when the threat of a changing climate moved from academics to public consciousness. The report made claims that “turned out to be correct”, Naomi Oreskes, professor of history of science at Harvard University, said during a podcast, “Scientists warned about climate change in 1965. The report found resonance just a few years later, …

How climate change contributes to wildfires like Chile's
10 months, 2 weeks ago

How climate change contributes to wildfires like Chile's

The Hindu  

At least 123 people have been killed by wildfires in central Chile, leading its president to declare two days of national mourning. Scientists say climate change makes the heat waves and drought now hitting South America more likely — and both contribute to wildfires by drying out the plants that feed the blazes. Edward Mitchard, a forests expert at the …

How climate change contributes to wildfires like Chile’s
10 months, 2 weeks ago

How climate change contributes to wildfires like Chile’s

LA Times  

At least 131 people have been killed by wildfires in central Chile, leading its president to declare two days of national mourning. Scientists say climate change makes the heat waves and drought now hitting South America more likely — and both contribute to wildfires by drying out the plants that feed the blazes. Edward Mitchard, a forests expert at the …

How climate change contributes to wildfires like Chile’s
10 months, 2 weeks ago

How climate change contributes to wildfires like Chile’s

Associated Press  

At least 123 people have been killed by wildfires in central Chile, leading its president to declare two days of national mourning. Scientists say climate change makes the heat waves and drought now hitting South America more likely — and both contribute to wildfires by drying out the plants that feed the blazes. Edward Mitchard, a forests expert at the …

Expect more intense rainfall events as the world warms, scientists say
1 year ago

Expect more intense rainfall events as the world warms, scientists say

NPR  

Expect more intense rainfall events as the world warms, scientists say Intense rain has caused flooding in the northeast this week. FADEL: For more on what coming storms could look like, Lauren Sommer is here from NPR's climate desk. She says, if we stay on the current path of climate change, rainfall gets even more extreme in many parts of …

Want to read more books about climate change? Here’s a list to get started
1 year, 4 months ago

Want to read more books about climate change? Here’s a list to get started

LA Times  

Want to So we figured it was time for me to share a list of books I’ve found helpful, for newbies and experts alike. “The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable” by Amitav Ghosh : Don’t be deterred by this book’s academic appearance. Through meticulously reported examples, she explains why letting go of a “free market” economy is critical …

Explained | How climate change drives heatwaves and wildfires in Europe
1 year, 4 months ago

Explained | How climate change drives heatwaves and wildfires in Europe

The Hindu  

Europe is once again battling scorching temperatures this summer, with wildfires blazing across the continent from the Mediterranean to Spain. Every heatwave being experienced today has been hotter and more frequent due to climate change, said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London who co-leads the World Weather Attribution global research collaboration. Climate change drives wildfires Climate change …

How climate scientists feel about seeing their dire predictions come true
1 year, 4 months ago

How climate scientists feel about seeing their dire predictions come true

LA Times  

It is, in fact, extremely unusual to be on hurricane watch in Southern California. It’s been 35 years since an explicit reference to climate change first appeared on the front page of a U.S. newspaper, after James Hansen, then director of NASA’s Institute for Space Studies, testified before the Senate that “the greenhouse effect has been detected, and it is …

How Global Warming Makes Hurricanes, Floods and Droughts Worse
1 year, 4 months ago

How Global Warming Makes Hurricanes, Floods and Droughts Worse

Bloomberg  

Scientists have predicted for decades that the burning of fossil fuels would push average temperatures ever higher and conjure dangerous extremes. Many heat waves, cyclones, floods, droughts and wildfires — including ones making headlines in 2023 — are now routinely tied to climate change. And heat, along with dryness and wind, fuels forest fires, which is why scientists have become …

Scientists look beyond climate change and El Nino for other factors that heat up Earth
1 year, 4 months ago

Scientists look beyond climate change and El Nino for other factors that heat up Earth

Associated Press  

Scientists are wondering if global warming and El Nino have an accomplice in fueling this summer’s record-shattering heat. THE CLEANER AIR POSSIBILITY Florida State University climate scientist Michael Diamond says shipping is “probably the prime suspect.” Maritime shipping has for decades used dirty fuel that gives off particles that reflect sunlight in a process that actually cools the climate and …

They swim against the current of climate change
1 year, 4 months ago

They swim against the current of climate change

The Hindu  

A heap of tomatoes gleams in the light as do the tub of chillis beside it, while the shop’s proprietor, wearing a shirt that nearly matches the colour of the tomatoes, looks sagely on. “It is called autonomous adaptation to climate change,” points out Kalaiarasi Ka Sa, a project associate at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, which is …

The new "abnormal": Experts agree climate change will intensify droughts and heatwaves in the future
1 year, 5 months ago

The new "abnormal": Experts agree climate change will intensify droughts and heatwaves in the future

Salon  

Imagine a future in which one-fifth of the planet is regularly subjected to boiling heatwaves and blistering droughts. "It's a 'new abnormal' and it is now playing out in real time—the impacts of climate change are upon us in the form of unprecedented, dangerous extreme weather events." "Compound drought and heatwaves severely threaten socio-ecological systems, leading to greater impacts — …

Scientists: Climate change worsened Eastern Africa drought
1 year, 7 months ago

Scientists: Climate change worsened Eastern Africa drought

Associated Press  

MALINDI, Kenya — The ongoing drought in Eastern Africa has been made worse by human-induced climate change, which also made it much likelier to occur in the first place, an international team of climate scientists concluded. “Climate change caused the low rainfall in the region,” Joyce Kimutai, principal meteorologist at the Kenya Meteorological Department said. “Climate change has made the …

‘A year of extremes’: What World Meteorological Organization’s 2022 report says about the state of global climate
1 year, 8 months ago

‘A year of extremes’: What World Meteorological Organization’s 2022 report says about the state of global climate

Firstpost  

The UN agency’s 2022 report has some worrying findings about climate change that has fuelled extreme weather events. Published on Friday, the State of Global Climate 2022 report by the World Meteorological Organization makes some worrying revelations about record-high temperatures, melting glaciers and rising pollution. What have the findings of WMO’s report on the state of global climate revealed about …

Extreme weather events are becoming more severe, not less
54 years, 11 months ago

Extreme weather events are becoming more severe, not less

Associated Press  

CLAIM: Climate, weather or meteorological events that we would classify as “extreme” have declined in severity over the last 20 or 30 years. Scientific research has documented how events including extreme precipitation, droughts and forest fires have become more frequent and severe as a result of climate change. THE FACTS: A podcast clip shared on Instagram this week falsely claims …

Droughts, Wet Events Made More Frequent, Intense by Global Warming: NASA-led Study
1 year, 9 months ago

Droughts, Wet Events Made More Frequent, Intense by Global Warming: NASA-led Study

News 18  

Major droughts and pluvials – periods of excessive precipitation and water storage on land – have indeed been occurring more often, confirmed a new National Aeronautics and Space Administration-led study. Two NASA, US, scientists examined 20 years of data from the NASA/German GRACE and GRACE-FO satellites to identify extreme wet and dry events, the study published in the journal Nature …

Scientists say climate change goosed New Zealand storm fury
1 year, 9 months ago

Scientists say climate change goosed New Zealand storm fury

Associated Press  

Climate change worsened flooding from a tropical cyclone that shut down much of New Zealand last month in one of the country’s costliest disasters, scientists said, but they couldn’t quite calculate how much it magnified the catastrophe. “Climate change is a serious concern for flooding in New Zealand and you’ve got to understand these are gigantic amounts of rainfall,” said …

Study: Don’t blame climate change for South American drought
1 year, 10 months ago

Study: Don’t blame climate change for South American drought

Associated Press  

Climate change isn’t causing the multi-year drought that is devastating parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Bolivia, but warming is worsening some of the dry spell’s impacts, a new study says. The natural three-year climate condition La Nina – a cooling of the central Pacific that changes weather worldwide temporarily but lasted much longer than normal this time – is …

Study: Don't blame climate change for South American drought
1 year, 10 months ago

Study: Don't blame climate change for South American drought

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The natural three-year climate condition …

Editorial: 2022 brought more heat and pollution. We’re still careening toward climate disaster
1 year, 11 months ago

Editorial: 2022 brought more heat and pollution. We’re still careening toward climate disaster

LA Times  

New climate data show that 2022 was among the hottest years on record but that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions just keep rising. Another study showed the amount of heat being taken up by Earth’s oceans reached another record high last year. And it’s another stark reminder that despite some recent progress on climate policy, such as the passage of the …

California downpours won't fix decades of drought: Scientists
1 year, 11 months ago

California downpours won't fix decades of drought: Scientists

The Hindu  

Near-record rainfall has battered California for weeks, sparking floods and landslides as the state struggles to cope with so much water. But scientists say even this much precipitation won't reverse the western US state's decades-long drought. Aquifers in deficit Beyond its reservoirs and snow reserves, the state faces a much deeper-seated problem with its depleted groundwater, says Nicholas Pinter, a …

Climate change helped make 2022 the 3rd most expensive year on record
1 year, 11 months ago

Climate change helped make 2022 the 3rd most expensive year on record

The Hindu  

US weather disasters are getting costlier as more people move into vulnerable areas and climate change raises the risks of extreme heat and rainfall, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned as it released its annual billion-dollar disasters report on January 10, 2023. For example, “it is clear that climate change increases the upper limit on hurricane strength and rain …

90% of humans will suffer extreme heat, drought due to climate change: report
1 year, 11 months ago

90% of humans will suffer extreme heat, drought due to climate change: report

Salon  

If you are reading this article, there is a 9 out of 10 chance that you live somewhere that will experience future extreme heat weather events due to climate change. In an analysis published for the scientific journal Nature Sustainability, Oxford's Professor Louise Slater and Wuhan University's Dr. Jiabo Yin explain that as the planet's temperature continues to rise, there …

Here’s what’s known about how climate change fuels tropical cyclones
1 year, 11 months ago

Here’s what’s known about how climate change fuels tropical cyclones

The Hindu  

Hurricane Ian hit Florida in September 2022 as one of the United States’ most powerful hurricanes on record, and it followed a two-week string of massive, devastating storms around the world. It is clear that climate change increases the upper limit on hurricane strength and rain rate and that it also raises the average sea level and therefore storm surge. …

Climate change is making flooding worse
1 year, 11 months ago

Climate change is making flooding worse

The Hindu  

Heavy rainfall turned into dangerous flooding in rugged Appalachia in late July, sweeping away homes and killing more than three dozen people. Although floods are a natural occurrence, human-caused climate change is making severe flooding events like these more common. In mountainous regions, three effects of climate change in particular are creating higher flood risks: more intense precipitation, shifting snow …

2022 was a historic year for climate change reform — and for natural disasters
2 years ago

2022 was a historic year for climate change reform — and for natural disasters

Salon  

It may seem like 2022 was such a slog it felt more like three years instead of one — something about the pandemic has warped time perception — but even so, on geological timescales, it was a blip. Our planet's average temperature has fluctuated many times throughout its 4.5 billion year history, but things are heating up, fast, and humans …

Is climate change affecting global health?
2 years, 1 month ago

Is climate change affecting global health?

The Hindu  

The story so far: Even as countries are meeting at the ongoing Climate Change Conference in Egypt, a recent report by Lancet, has traced in detail the intimate link between changing weather events and their impact on the health of people. The 2022 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change: Health at the Mercy of Fossil Fuels points out that …

Climate Questions: How much has the climate changed already?
2 years, 1 month ago

Climate Questions: How much has the climate changed already?

Associated Press  

Relentless drought in China, East Africa, the U.S. West and northern Mexico, devastating floods in Pakistan and Kentucky, scorching heat waves in Europe and the Pacific Northwest, destructive cyclones in southern Africa and intense hurricanes in the U.S. and Central America make up just some of the recent extreme weather events that scientists have long predicted would be more intense …

Climate change made summer drought 20 times more likely
2 years, 2 months ago

Climate change made summer drought 20 times more likely

Associated Press  

Drought that stretched across three continents this summer — drying out large parts of Europe, the United States and China — was made 20 times more likely by climate change, according to a new study. Researchers from World Weather Attribution, a group of scientists from around the world who study the link between extreme weather and climate change, say this …

Climate change made this summer’s droughts around the world 20 times more likely, study finds
2 years, 2 months ago

Climate change made this summer’s droughts around the world 20 times more likely, study finds

LA Times  

The reservoir in Yesa, about 35 miles from Pamplona in northern Spain, was badly affected by drought during the summer. Droughts that struck three continents this summer — drying out large parts of Europe, the United States and China — were made 20 times more likely by climate change, according to a new study. Researchers from World Weather Attribution, a …

Extreme heat, flooding and wildfires: How climate change supercharged the weather
2 years, 3 months ago

Extreme heat, flooding and wildfires: How climate change supercharged the weather

NPR  

Extreme heat, flooding and wildfires: How climate change supercharged the weather TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. And I think it's an explicit acknowledgment both of the age of our infrastructure, but also the fact that climate change really is not some distant worry but something that we're already dealing with now. Let's get back to my interview with …

‘Clairvoyant’ 2012 climate report warned of extreme weather
2 years, 3 months ago

‘Clairvoyant’ 2012 climate report warned of extreme weather

Associated Press  

Record high temperatures in urban Europe as heat waves bake the planet more often. In a report that changed the way the world thinks about the harms of global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s special report on extreme events, disasters and climate change warned in 2012: “A changing climate leads to changes in the frequency, intensity, spatial extent, …

Heat Waves, Droughts And Floods: No More A Developing World Problem
2 years, 3 months ago

Heat Waves, Droughts And Floods: No More A Developing World Problem

News 18  

Last month, temperature levels crossed 40 degrees in Great Britain. Backing out from Shared responsibility It is only in recent times that the global north has started to see such direct and massive impacts of climate change. Effects of Climate Change Almost the entire globe has been seeing an increase in hotter days and heat waves. Although India has not …

Weather whiplash: Summer lurches from drought to flood
2 years, 4 months ago

Weather whiplash: Summer lurches from drought to flood

Associated Press  

Parts of northern Texas, mired in a drought labeled as extreme and exceptional, are flooding under torrential rain. “These extremes of course are getting more extreme,” said National Center for Atmospheric Research climate scientist Gerald Meehl, who wrote some of the first studies 18 years ago about extreme weather and climate change. “This is in line with what we expected.” …

How climate change drives heatwaves and wildfires
2 years, 4 months ago

How climate change drives heatwaves and wildfires

Al Jazeera  

The searing heat is part of a global pattern of rising temperatures, attributed by scientists to human activity. “Every heatwave that we are experiencing today has been made hotter and more frequent because of climate change,” said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London who also co-leads the World Weather Attribution research collaboration. Fingerprints of climate change To …

EU warns of dire climate season ahead with droughts, fires
2 years, 5 months ago

EU warns of dire climate season ahead with droughts, fires

India Today  

The European Union’s executive warned on Thursday that the continent is facing one of its toughest years when it comes to natural disasters like droughts and wildfires because of increasing climate change. With extremely dry weather hitting several Mediterranean nations, EU Commissioner Maro efovi told legislators on Thursday that “the present drought in Europe could become the worst ever.” Fires …

EU warns of dire climate season ahead with droughts, fires
2 years, 5 months ago

EU warns of dire climate season ahead with droughts, fires

Associated Press  

BRUSSELS — The European Union’s executive warned on Thursday that the continent is facing one of its toughest years when it comes to natural disasters like droughts and wildfires because of increasing climate change. With extremely dry weather hitting several Mediterranean nations, EU Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told legislators on Thursday that “the present drought in Europe could become the worst …

Researchers can now explain how climate change is affecting your weather
2 years, 5 months ago

Researchers can now explain how climate change is affecting your weather

NPR  

Researchers can now explain how climate change is affecting your weather Enlarge this image toggle caption Nathan Howard/AP Nathan Howard/AP Chances are, if you live on Earth, you've experienced some strange, or downright dangerous, weather in the last few years. says Michael Wehner, a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who studies how climate change influences extreme weather. Climate …

Climate change is driving 2022 extreme heat and flooding
2 years, 5 months ago

Climate change is driving 2022 extreme heat and flooding

India Today  

Extreme weather events from scorching heatwaves to unusually heavy downpours have caused widespread upheaval across the globe this year, with thousands of people killed and millions more displaced. For heatwaves and extreme rainfall, "we find we have a much better understanding of how the intensity of these events is changing due to climate change," said study co-author Luke Harrington, a …

Climate change to make droughts longer, more common, says UN
2 years, 7 months ago

Climate change to make droughts longer, more common, says UN

Associated Press  

The frequency and duration of droughts will continue to increase due to human-caused climate change, with water scarcity already affecting billions of people across the world, the United Nations warned in a report Wednesday. The ongoing debilitating drought in the east and Horn of Africa was highlighted as one of the “dramatic consequences” of climate change by the U.N. agency. …

Hot spring forecast: Drought deepens in West, flooding ebbs
2 years, 9 months ago

Hot spring forecast: Drought deepens in West, flooding ebbs

Associated Press  

There’s no relief in sight for the West’s record-shattering megadrought, which will likely only deepen this spring, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its seasonal outlook Thursday. “Drought has increased, especially in the West as it has warmed,” said Deke Arndt, NOAA’s climate science and services chief. “The reason the West is warming is climate change, especially over …

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