Climatology

Research using genetic data from Turquet’s octopus suggests that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed during the Last Interglacial period due to modest temperature increases. This discovery highlights the WAIS’s vulnerability to even slight warming, posing significant risks under current climate change trajectories.Genetic studies of an Antarctic octopus reveal that the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) occurred in the Last Interglacial period, approximately 129,000 to 116,000 years ago, during a time when…

Recent winters have displayed conflicting signs of climate change, with both drastic snow shortages and severe blizzards. A Dartmouth study clarifies this by showing a significant decline in Northern Hemisphere snowpacks over the past 40 years due to human-driven climate change. This loss endangers water supplies and winter-reliant economies. The study’s findings, based on an analysis of temperature and precipitation data, indicate that many regions are approaching a “snow-loss cliff,” necessitating immediate adaptation…

Try walking outside on a midsummer day in New York City. You’re sweating buckets. You can smell garbage rotting by the side of the road. The sunlight and heat seem to reflect from the steaming pavement, which is so hot to the touch it burns your skin.Arctic Blast to Send U.S. into Dangerous Deep Freeze, Imperiling Holiday TravelThat’s an example of the urban heat island effect – a well-known phenomenon in which cityscapes, particularly those without much in the way of trees or shade, tend to amplify and reflect heat,…

Heat is a silent hazard sitting beneath cities, threatening to shift infrastructure. A study published this week in Communications Engineering, outlines how heat could be changing major cities, but urban areas throughout the U.S. may not be prepared.Arctic Blast to Send U.S. into Dangerous Deep Freeze, Imperiling Holiday TravelStudy researchers set up more than 150 sensors above and below ground throughout the Chicago Loop. They gathered data from 2019 into the end of 2022. These sensors were placed in subway tunnels,…

Birds perch on barriers separating Mexico and the United States, where the border meets the Pacific Ocean, in Tijuana, Mexico, Nov. 17, 2018.Photo: Marco Ugarte (AP)El Niño is here and bringing record temperatures this June. As of this month, the global shift has officially arrived and is “expected to gradually strengthen into the Northern Hemisphere winter 2023-24,” according to a recent announcement from NOAA.Lower Drought Conditions In California | Extreme EarthThere have been several signs of El Niño’s development…

The Arctic Circle could lose its summer sea ice a whole decade earlier than previously projected by scientists. It’s yet another sign that the climate crisis is affecting our global systems faster than researchers had understood before.Extreme Weather Events in 2022 | Extreme EarthIn a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers outlined how the Arctic could experiencerapid sea ice loss as early as the 2030s. It’s a decade earlier than a 2021 UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)…

El Niño years are rough: They come with an increased likelihood of diseases spreading, toxic algae blooms, and drought conditions. In a new study published in the journal Science, researchers looked at how the financial toll of this cyclical global shift can persist for years and result in the loss of trillions of dollars.Arctic Blast to Send U.S. into Dangerous Deep Freeze, Imperiling Holiday TravelEl Niño is marked by warming ocean temperatures in the Pacific and weaker trade winds, a combination that alters global…

A couple watches the sun set, on May 13, 2023, as seen from the 520 Bridge View Park in Washington during a heat wave. Photo: Lindsey Wasson (AP)The Pacific Northwest is currently baking under a heat wave that has lasted for several days. Temperatures on both the lower and higher end of the scales for today are expected to be 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit above average for that region throughout this week.Extreme Weather Events in 2022 | Extreme Earth“Record breaking heat over the Pacific Northwest will expand into the…

Poisonous algae bloom affected major cities and fishing towns in Chile in 2016. Experts said it was linked to high temperatures stemming from the El Niño. Photo: Esteban Felix (AP)El Niño almost here, the global shift is likely to stick around until this winter, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced this week. After an unusual three-year La Niña, all signs are pointing to changes in weather patterns for 2023.Lower Drought Conditions In California | Extreme EarthLast month, NOAA said there was a 62%…

The catastrophic 2019-2020 bushfire season in Australia was so extreme that it may have contributed to the rare triple-year La Niña, new research has found. In a study released in Science Advances this week, scientists found that the fires created enormous emissions that affected weather patterns globally.The U.S. In For A Dry Winter | Extreme EarthThe bushfires burned through eucalyptus forests throughout southern and eastern Australia. The fires ignited in 2019, burned for months, and weren’t put out until well into…