Extreme Weather

By Simon Valle, Bangor University and David Jorge Pereira, University of Birmingham (The Conversation) – When a major cyclone tears through an island nation, all efforts rightly focus on saving human lives and restoring livelihoods. However, these storms have permanent consequences for other species that are often forgotten. As the world continues to heat, cyclones […]

Climate Crisis

The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence

Marc Martorell Junyent

Review of Peter Schwartzstein, The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence (London: Footnote Press, 2024). Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– Although climate change does not directly cause conflict, it makes violence more likely to occur and to be more intense. The effects of climate change act as ‘threat […]

Climate Crisis

Valencia Floods: Our warming Climate is making once-rare Weather more Common, and more Destructive

The Conversation

By Antonio Ruiz de Elvira Serra, Universidad de Alcalá | – (The Conversation) – In the last few days, a seasonal weather system known in Spain as the “cold drop” or DANA (an acronym of depresión aislada en niveles altos: isolated depression at high levels) has caused heavy rain and flooding across Spain’s Mediterranean coast […]

Climate Crisis

The Delhi Heatwave is Testing the Limits of Human Endurance, in an Omen for us All

The Conversation

By Liz Hanna, Australian National University | – (The Conversation) – Delhi is reeling from the most extreme heatwave India has ever seen. While the record-breaking maximum recorded temperature of 52.9°C has been called into question by India’s Meteorological Department, it’s entirely possible. The city has been sweltering, with top temperatures ranging from 45.2°C to […]

Climate Crisis

Top 3 Climate Catastrophes Menacing Florida, as DeSantis Erases Climate Change From Web Sites

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – When we think about Florida, we may think about flamingos. But in the Ron DeSantis regime, the state bird ought to be the ostrich. The Tampa Bay Times reports that the governor this week signed legislation that would make the term “climate change” disappear from state web sites and would […]

Agriculture

America’s Red Snow: Hottest Winter on Record, Largest Wildfires in Texas History

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency announced Friday that the winter of 2023-24 was the hottest on record in U.S. history. Global records have been kept since about 1850, with the widespread use of mercury thermometers. The average surface temperature of the US this past winter was 37.6°, which is […]

Arctic

If melting Glaciers shut down the Atlantic Gulf Stream, Extreme Climate Change Catastrophes will Follow

The Conversation

By René van Westen, Utrecht University; Henk A. Dijkstra, Utrecht University; and Michael Kliphuis, Utrecht University | – Superstorms, abrupt climate shifts and New York City frozen in ice. That’s how the blockbuster Hollywood movie “The Day After Tomorrow” depicted an abrupt shutdown of the Atlantic Ocean’s circulation and the catastrophic consequences. While Hollywood’s vision […]

Climate Crisis

In Earth’s Hottest Year on Record, an Unprecedented 28 Billion-dollar Disasters struck US

The Conversation

By Shuang-Ye Wu, University of Dayton | – National weather analysts released their 2023 billion-dollar disasters list on Jan. 9, just as 2024 was getting off to a ferocious start. A blizzard was sweeping across across the Plains and Midwest, and the South and East faced flood risks from extreme downpours. The U.S. set an […]

Climate Crisis

In Hottest Year on Record, Global Heating Killed a Taylor Swift Fan at Rio Concert

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that 2023 is on track to be the hottest year ever recorded, i.e. in the past 174 years. In fact, it likely is hotter than at any time in 125,000 years. Ocean-surface temperatures were also at all time highs throughout the year. Although […]