Prolonged drought and extreme weather are forcing Canada to import electricity from the US after nearly two decades of exporting excess hydropower to its neighbour. Canada is the world’s third-largest producer…Continue readingCanada imports US electricity as droughts curb hydropower
Tag: climate impact
For a while, it looked like Zambia had achieved a status that almost any nation would envy. Drawing hydropower from the massive Zambezi River and its tributaries, the country could meet…Continue readingWhy hydropower is failing this nation — and could fail others
An international team of scientists using observations from NASA-German satellites found evidence that Earth’s total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since. Reporting…Continue readingNASA satellites reveal abrupt drop in global freshwater levels
In 2020, more than a quarter of the Maldivian islands containing mangrove forests saw their trees experiencing a gradual deterioration before dying, a condition known as dieback. Mangroves play an essential…Continue reading‘Drowning’ mangrove forests in Maldives signal global coastal threat
Over the past five years, all bird species have faced population decline after suffering from habitat loss, pesticide use, climate breakdown and bird flu. Overall, bird species have declined in number…Continue readingWild bird numbers continue ‘alarming’ decline in UK
A new study published today in Nature Geoscience by Dr. Andrew Jarvis at Lancaster University and Professor Piers Forster at the University of Leeds shows that humans may have already caused…Continue readingHumans have already caused 1.5°C of long-term global warming according to new estimates
Every US state except Alaska and Kentucky is facing drought, an unprecedented number, according to the US Drought Monitor. A little more than 45% of the US and Puerto Rico is…Continue readingNearly all of US states are facing droughts, an unprecedented number
“We’ve broken the water cycle, destroyed ecosystems and contaminated groundwater,” Antonio Guterres said at the three-day summit in New York, which gathers some 6,500 participants including a dozen heads of state…Continue readingHumanity has ‘broken the water cycle,’ UN chief warns
A distinguished international team of scientists on Tuesday issued the starkest warning yet that human activity is pushing Earth into a climate crisis that could threaten the lives of up to…Continue reading‘We Are Afraid’: Scientists Issue New Warning As World Enters ‘Uncharted Climate Territory’
The world is striving to reach net-zero emissions as we try to ward off dangerous global warming. But will getting to net-zero actually avert climate instability, as many assume? Our new…Continue readingEarth’s climate will keep changing long after humanity hits net-zero emissions
Human-caused climate change worsened floods that have killed hundreds of people and displaced millions in Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan this year, according to a study published on Wednesday. A…Continue readingClimate change worsened deadly Africa floods
The dangers of a collapse of the main Atlantic Ocean circulation, known as AMOC, have been “greatly underestimated” and would have devastating and irreversible impacts, according to an open letter released…Continue reading‘We don’t know where the tipping point is’: climate expert on potential collapse of Atlantic circulation
The World Weather Attribution (WWA) network said on Wednesday that human-driven climate change, caused by the use of fossil fuels, had made seasonal downpours across the Niger and Lake Chad basins…Continue readingGlobal warming worsening deadly flooding in Africa
All over Europe alarm bells are ringing over the state of winter snow sports and fears for the future. In France, the ski resorts of Alpe du Grand Serre and Grand…Continue readingFears for future of ski tourism as resorts adapt to thawing snow season
At least eight people died after heavy rains in Brazil, authorities said Saturday, as storms swept parts of the country following a severe drought that fueled a record wave of wildfires.…Continue readingEight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
A few weeks on from the flooding of 19 September, when the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna was struck by its third devastating storm in less than 18 months, the…Continue reading‘It’s shameful and I won’t pay it’: flood-hit Italians rage against insurance call
Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have all declared a state of national disaster in the past months as the drought has destroyed crops and livestock. Angola and Mozambique are also…Continue readingWorst drought in century devastates Southern Africa with millions at risk
More than half the world’s food production will be at risk of failure within the next 25 years as a rapidly accelerating water crisis grips the planet, unless urgent action is…Continue readingGlobal water crisis leaves half of world food production at risk in next 25 years
A major new study reveals that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from forest fires have surged by 60% globally since 2001, and almost tripled in some of the most climate-sensitive northern boreal…Continue readingGlobal CO₂ emissions from forest fires have increased by 60% since 2001
The boreal forests here in the Sami homeland take so long to grow that even small, stunted trees are often hundreds of years old. It is part of the Taiga –…Continue readingWhat happens to the world if forests stop absorbing carbon? Ask Finland
It begins each day at nightfall. As the light disappears, billions of zooplankton, crustaceans and other marine organisms rise to the ocean surface to feed on microscopic algae, returning to the…Continue readingTrees and land absorbed almost no CO₂ last year. Is nature’s carbon sink failing?
Warm water fueled amazingly rapid intensification that took Milton from a minimal hurricane to a massive Category 5 in less than 10 hours. It weakened, but quickly bounced back, and when…Continue readingHere’s what has made Hurricane Milton so fierce and unusual
The Amazon rainforest could be reaching an irreversible tipping point beyond which it will decline until “we’re just left with scrub,” conservationists have warned. WWF’s biennial Living Planet report said the…Continue readingAmazon rainforest near tipping point partly driven by UK consumers, WWF says
On staple crops, England’s wheat haul is estimated to be 10m tonnes, or 21%, down on 2023, according to analysis of the latest government data by the Energy and Climate Intelligence…Continue readingHarvest in England the second worst on record because of wet weather
We are seeing unprecedented rapidly intensifying tropical storms such as Hurricane Helene in the eastern United States and Super Typhoon Yagi in Vietnam. Unprecedented fires in Canada have destroyed towns. Unprecedented…Continue readingUnprecedented peril: Disaster lies ahead as we track towards 2.7°C of warming this century, researchers warn
Some kind of overshoot of 1.5˚C is increasingly being seen as inevitable by scientists and policymakers. This new study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, cautions against “overconfidence” in such a…Continue readingStudy warns of ‘irreversible’ climate impacts from overshooting 1.5˚C
An international coalition led by Oregon State University scientists concludes in its annual report published in BioScience that the Earth’s worsening vital signs indicate a “critical and unpredictable new phase of…Continue readingClimate report warns of escalating crisis, urges immediate action as UN summit nears
Many of Earth’s “vital signs” have hit record extremes, indicating that “the future of humanity hangs in the balance”, a group of the world’s most senior climate experts have said. More…Continue readingEarth’s ‘vital signs’ show humanity’s future in balance
A large French Alpine ski resort has announced it is to close, citing a lack of funds to become a year-round destination, as low- and medium-altitude mountain areas around Europe struggle…Continue readingLarge French Alpine ski resort to close in face of shrinking snow season
The remnants of Hurricane Kirk swept into western Europe Wednesday, tearing up trees in Portugal and Spain before dumping heavy rains on France that left at least one dead. A storm…Continue readingOne dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
As Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida, fueled by a record-hot Gulf of Mexico, a new analysis has shown how the Gulf’s heat that worsened last month’s Hurricane Helene was 200…Continue readingGlobal heating makes hurricanes like Helene twice as likely
Studies have found that, across the world, extreme rainfall has become more common and intense due to climate change; there is a high degree of confidence that such is the case…Continue readingHurricane Helene’s reach was shocking, another example of how climate change ‘is here and now,’ scientists say
Rivers dried up at the highest rate in three decades in 2023, putting global water supply at risk, data has shown. Over the past five years, there have been lower-than-average river…Continue readingClimate warning as world’s rivers dry up at fastest rate for 30 years
Plant cover across the Antarctic peninsula has soared more than tenfold over the last few decades, as the climate crisis heats up the icy continent. Analysis of satellite data found there…Continue readingAntarctica is ‘greening’ at dramatic rate as climate heats
Wildfires are burning through the carbon budget that humans have allocated themselves to limit global heating, a study shows. The authors said this accelerating trend was approaching – and may have…Continue readingWildfires are burning through humanity’s carbon budget
A year ago, Carlos Nobre, one of Brazil’s top climate scientists, was a rare voice of optimism about the future of the planet. The 73-year-old, one of the top experts on…Continue readingFires taking Amazon closer to ‘point of no return’: Expert
With as much as 80% of Brazil under a blanket of smoke from historic wild fires, face masks last used during the coronavirus pandemic are coming out again. South America’s biggest…Continue readingBrazilians choke as fire smoke blankets 80% of country
Hurricane Helene’s death toll has surpassed 150 as searchers use helicopters to get past washed-out bridges and hike through wilderness to reach isolated homes. Crews were still trudging through knee-deep muck…Continue readingMore than 150 dead after Hurricane Helene dumps over 40tn gallons of rain
Water flows in mainland Australia’s most important river system, the Murray-Darling Basin, have been declining for the past 50 years. The trend has largely been blamed on water extraction, but our…Continue readingNew study reveals why the mighty Darling River is drying up—and it’s not just because we’re taking too much water
In July 2024, global temperatures reached unprecedented levels, breaking historical records with an average of 17.16°C. This extreme heat has led soil water to evaporate, leaving the vegetation and biodiversity more…Continue readingGlobal drought threatens food supplies and energy production
Hurricane Helene caused deadly and destructive flooding when it swept through the Southeast on Sept. 26–29, 2024. Across a broad swath of western North Carolina, where the worst flooding occurred, the…Continue readingWhy are so many historically rare storms hitting the Carolinas?
A team of Earth scientists from the Center for Marine Environmental Studies, the University of Tokyo, The Australian National University, Matsuyama University, Kyoto University, and Shimane University, has found, via a…Continue readingNew assessment suggests Anthropocene started in the 1950s
Two people have died in a rugged mountainous area in central Greece while trying to help firefighters tackle a forest fire that has forced several villages to be evacuated, authorities have…Continue readingRaging wildfires in central Greece leave two people dead
Residents of Nepal’s flood-hit capital returned to their mud-caked homes on Sunday to survey the wreckage of devastating floods that have killed at least 104 people across the Himalayan republic. Deadly…Continue reading104 dead in Nepal floods after relentless monsoon rains
Climate change is dramatically reshaping life in Pacific Island nations, leaving them ever more vulnerable to storm surges, saltwater contamination, ruined crops, and relentless coastal erosion. “Every day it’s a constant…Continue readingStay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate’s grim choice
River Madeira’s waters have fallen to their lowest level since the 1960s and the skies overhead have filled with smoke from wildfires that are raging across Brazil. Vast, desert-like expanses of…Continue readingBrazil’s ‘Paradise’ on fire: ‘The forest is burning. Animals are burning. Everything’s burning’
Tidal action on the underside of the Thwaites Glacier in the Antarctic will “inexorably” accelerate melting this century, according to new research by British and American scientists. The researchers warn the…Continue reading‘Doomsday’ glacier set to melt faster and swell seas as world heats up
Colombian authorities said Sunday they were fighting forest fires across seven departments, as a scorching drought fanned blazes across Latin America. From Ecuador to Brazil, many Latin American nations are gripped…Continue readingColombia battles fires as drought fuels Latin American flames
More than 16 million people in the US were under heat alerts on Friday, according to the National Weather Service, mostly clustered in the southern tips of Nevada, Arizona and California.…Continue readingGrim new death records amid brutal heat plaguing south-west US
Millions of people in my country, Malawi, face unprecedented existential crises driven by climate breakdown. The frequency of extreme weather events and the massive impact they have on communities have left…Continue readingPeople must understand: we in Malawi are paying for the climate crisis with our lives
Flooding caused travel disruption, closed schools and submerged homes in central and southern England on Monday after more than a month’s worth of rain fell in 24 hours in some areas.…Continue readingFlooding causes chaos after month’s rain falls in a day in parts of England
The Czech Republic sat at the centre of a storm that has killed two dozen people across central Europe and prompted the EU to promise €10bn in aid to flood-stricken countries.…Continue reading‘We’re getting rid of everything’: floods destroy homes and lives in Czech Republic
The report by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) details nine factors that are crucial for regulating the planet’s ability to sustain life. In six of these areas, the…Continue readingWorld’s oceans near critical acidification level
Since taking office in 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has spent about half a trillion dollars to address persistent flooding from extreme weather in the Philippines. But despite the significant spending,…Continue readingBattered by typhoons: Why aren’t Philippine flood control projects working?
Brazil is burning. From the Amazon rainforest to the Pantanal wetlands, flames have consumed millions of hectares of forest and farmland in recent weeks. Nearly two-thirds of Latin America’s biggest country…Continue readingWhat we know about the fire ‘pandemic’ plaguing Brazil
Two people are missing and about 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes after devastating floods and landslides hit the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, prompting accusations that Giorgia Meloni’s…Continue readingTwo missing and 1,000 evacuated as Storm Boris devastates northern Italy
More than five times the average rainfall for the whole of September has fallen in five days on swathes of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, triggering devastating…Continue readingFloods in Poland and wildfires in Portugal show reality of climate breakdown, says EU
South America is experiencing its worst forest fire season in nearly two decades, with millions of acres burning across several countries. The blazes come amid the region’s worst drought on record,…Continue readingNo one should be surprised that South America is burning
Across Yemen in recent weeks, nearly 100 people have died in floods. And more than 560,000 people across the country have been affected since late July. Yemen’s central highlands, Red Sea…Continue reading‘Staggering’ destruction in Yemen after deadly flash flooding
Parts of Central and West Africa have seen heavy flooding over an unusually intense rainy season, unleashing a humanitarian crisis in which hundreds have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.…Continue readingFloods hit millions in West and Central Africa
The 11th Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research conference was held in Pucón, Chile August 19-23, 2024. Fifteen-hundred academics, researchers, and scientists specializing in Antarctica met to share cutting-edge research. Reports at…Continue readingAntarctica’s Deep Vulnerability Exposed at 11th Scientific Conference
A new study from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering researchers, along with researchers from the Institute de Physique du Globe de Paris at the University of Paris Cité, has found…Continue readingDeserts’ biggest threat? Flooding
The 2024 northern summer saw the highest global temperatures on record, beating 2023’s high and making this year likely Earth’s hottest ever recorded. The data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service…Continue readingJune-August 2024 were hottest ever recorded: EU monitor
South Korea experienced its highest average summertime temperature since such records began half a century ago, nearly two degrees higher than the historic average. From June to August, the average temperature…Continue readingSouth Korea sees highest average summer temperature on record
Phoenix, Arizona, saw its 100th straight day of 100˚F (37.8˚C) heat this week. The hottest large city in the United States broke its previous record of 76 consecutive 100˚F days set…Continue readingPhoenix, Arizona, hits its 100th consecutive day of 100˚F (37.8˚C) weather
Bureau of Meteorology data showed average temperatures across the nation in August were 3.03˚C above the long-term average, easily beating the previous 2.56˚C record set in 2009. The 2024 winter also…Continue readingAustralia sweats through hottest August on record with temperatures 3˚C above average
The Durango Fire Protection District was repeatedly denied insurance coverage for the construction of its new downtown firehouse earlier this year because of the wildfire risk. “We literally are a fire…Continue readingColorado’s wildfire risk is so high a fire department struggled to find insurance to build a new firehouse
A climate assessment report published in November 2022 by the Centre for Science and Environment, a public-interest research and advocacy organization based in New Delhi, analysed the first nine months of…Continue readingThe climate disaster strikes: what the data say
The Great Barrier Reef will continue to deteriorate, largely due to climate change, and the window to secure its future is rapidly closing. That is the sobering conclusion of a major…Continue reading‘Humanity is failing’: Official report warns our chance to save the Great Barrier Reef is fast closing
Costa Brava resorts in Spain’s north-east are struggling to cope with an influx of jellyfish as rising sea temperatures facilitate reproduction and drive species farther north. Between May and August almost…Continue readingResorts on Spain’s Costa Brava struggle with invasion of jellyfish as seas warm
According to the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the number of days with temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius in the world’s largest capital cities has surged by 52 percent…Continue readingSeoul residents sweating with record ‘tropical nights’ weather
A massive wildfire blazed its way into Athens’ northeastern suburbs on Monday as hundreds of firefighters battled to contain it, forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes and sparking a…Continue readingAthens suburbs on fire as Greece calls on EU for help
Greece on Sunday was battling a spate of wildfires which have forced the evacuation of hundreds of people, as experts warn of more extreme weather conditions to come next week. Firefighters…Continue readingGreece wildfires force hundreds to evacuate
Hot weather inflamed by carbon pollution killed nearly 50,000 people in Europe last year, with the continent warming at a much faster rate than other parts of the world. Heatwaves have…Continue readingHeat aggravated by carbon pollution killed 50,000 in Europe last year
The wildfire has already destroyed a third of the popular tourist town of Jasper — and officials say the flames could stay ablaze for months. The wildfire in Alberta, Canada, broke…Continue readingJasper National Park’s largest wildfire in a century destroys a third of Canadian town — and could continue for months
Seasonal change in the north is rapid and, for local people, summer marks a brief reprieve from months of bitter cold. But a heatwave that is currently hovering over the community…Continue reading‘It’s devastating’: summer in Canada’s Arctic region brings severe heatwaves
The Great Barrier Reef is under critical pressure, with warming sea temperatures and mass coral bleaching events threatening to destroy the remarkable ecology, biodiversity, and beauty of the world’s largest coral…Continue readingNew 400-year temperature record shows Great Barrier Reef is facing catastrophic damage, researchers warn
A world where global mean surface temperature has increased 3°C will be characterized by widespread and intense heat stress, extreme weather events, ruptured and unproductive marine and terrestrial ecosystems, broken food…Continue readingEarth at risk: An urgent call to end the age of destruction and forge a just & sustainable future
A beach in north-east Scotland is eroding rapidly owing to climate change, leaving a town at risk of flooding and its centuries-old golf links crumbling into the sea. The Dynamic Coast…Continue reading‘This is climate change’: Scottish beach eroding by 7 metres a year
Halfway through the peak flood season, China has already experienced the highest number of significant floods since record keeping began in 1998, and the hottest July since 1961, authorities said on…Continue readingChina sees highest number of significant floods since records began
As global temperatures continue to rise, India is grappling with increasingly severe heat waves. As early as April, many Indian cities, including New Delhi, the capital, have experienced record temperatures above…Continue readingExtreme heat in India: A crisis on the rise
Torrential rains in China have killed at least 30 people and left dozens more missing, state media said Thursday, as the country grinds through another summer of extreme weather. Confirmation of…Continue reading30 dead, dozens missing after torrential rain in central China
Butterfly numbers are the lowest on record in the UK. Butterfly Conservation, which runs the Big Butterfly Count, sounded the alarm after this year’s count revealed the worst numbers since it…Continue reading‘Warning sign to us all’ as UK butterfly numbers hit record low
The punishing heat experienced around the Mediterranean in July would have been “virtually impossible” in a world without global warming, a group of climate scientists said Wednesday. A deadly heat wave…Continue readingMediterranean heat wave ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change: Scientists
A crushing drought in Sicily has withered fields of grain, deprived livestock of pasture land and fanned a spate of wildfires, causing damage already estimated at 2.7 billion euros this year.…Continue readingDrought in Sicily threatens grain fields, animal herds
Thunderstorms and torrential rain brought another wave of violent floods Tuesday that caved in roads, crushed vehicles, pushed homes off their foundations and led to dramatic boat rescues in north-eastern Vermont,…Continue reading‘Apocalyptic’ floods in Vermont destroy homes as two dozen rescued by boat
Last week, a strong typhoon left a trail of destruction across the Philippines, Taiwan and China. Super Typhoon Gaemi began as a tropical storm but intensified rapidly, leaving at least 65…Continue readingManila is reeling after a super typhoon—we must prepare fast-growing megacities for worsening disasters
A James Cook University report has revealed severe damage in about 80% of mangroves along the Great Barrier Reef, from Cairns to Gladstone. JCU TropWATER researcher Professor Norm Duke said mangroves…Continue readingSurveys reveal vast mangrove damage along Great Barrier Reef
For the 2.3 million people who call this valley home, the dangerous elements are harder to ignore. When temperatures climb, shadeless streets are hot enough to cause second-degree burns in seconds.…Continue readingLife at 115˚F (46˚C): a sweltering summer pushes Las Vegas to the brink