Jesus Hernandez guides his granddaughter Angelina via a container through a street flooded in the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, on Thursday, 26 September 2024. Photo: Ramon Espinosa / AP Photo

Our dystopian climate isn’t just about fires and floods. It’s about society fracturing.

By Bill McKibben 9 October 2024 (The Guardian) – Even as the good people of Florida’s west coast pulled the soggy mattresses from Helene out to the curb, Milton appeared on the horizon this week – a double blast of destruction from the Gulf of Mexico that’s a reminder that physics takes no time off, not even in the […]

Ocean Climate Shift Index (CSI) along the track of Helene, as it developed from disturbance to tropical storm to hurricane to major hurricane. Ocean CSI in surrounding regions are drawn from 24 September 2024, when the storm developed from a potential tropical cyclone to a tropical storm, coinciding with the highest Ocean CSI (in excess of 500) measured along its track. Graphic: Climate Central

Hurricane Helene was supercharged by ultra-warm water made up to 500 times more likely by global warming, study finds – “The heat that human activities are adding to the atmosphere and oceans is like steroids for hurricanes”

By Rachel Ramirez 9 October 2024 (CNN) – The exceptionally warm water of the Gulf of Mexico that supercharged deadly Helene last month was made up to 500 times more likely by human-caused climate change, which also ramped up the hurricane’s wind and rain, according to a new scientific analysis. Helene, which made landfall in Florida as […]

Satellite view of three hurricanes simultaneously spinning over the North Atlantic Ocean, 6 October 2024. This image shows the three storms—Milton, Kirk, and Leslie—at about 12 p.m. Central Time (17:00 Universal Time). It was captured as Milton was developing in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, about an hour before it became a hurricane. This was the first-known hurricane season to see three hurricanes simultaneously present in the basin after September. Photo: Michala Garrison / NASA Earth Observatory

Three hurricanes churn in an active Atlantic Ocean in October 2024 – First-known hurricane season to see three hurricanes simultaneously present in the basin after September

By Emily Cassidy 8 October 2024 (NASA Earth Observatory) – From the stable Lagrange point 1, located one million miles above Earth, NASA’s EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera) imager on the DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) satellite observed an unusually active Atlantic Basin. In early October, three hurricanes simultaneously spun over the North Atlantic Ocean. This image shows the three […]

Satellite footage taken by NOAA’s GOES-East satellite on 8 October 2024 shows Hurricane Milton intensifying as it travels east toward Florida. Photo: NOAA

Hurricane Milton’s extreme rapid intensification is part of a climate-fueled trend – Among Category 4 and larger hurricanes since 2022, Milton reached Category 4 status the fastest – “This is nothing short of astronomical”

By Denise Chow 7 October 2024 (NBC News) – Hurricane Milton’s last 36 hours have been nothing short of astonishing, as it strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just over a day. The storm’s blisteringly fast evolution is part of a trend of rapidly intensifying storms fueled by climate change. The term “rapid intensification” […]

Nikki Wicker, co-owner of Roy's Restaurant, cleans after Hurricane Helene made landfall overnight, in Steinhatchee, Florida, 27 September 2024. Photo: Octavio Jones / REUTERS

Project 2025 proposes eliminating aid for families and businesses rebuilding after storms – Far-right road map would end vital disaster loan program

8 August 2024 (Center for American Progress) – In the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Debby, the Southeast is tasked with the difficult work of rebuilding homes, businesses, and lives. Initial reports indicate at least six people have died from the storm. Federal agencies play a critical role in providing swift and efficient support to these families and […]

Fallen power lines littered the roads in Galveston after Hurricane Beryl hit the Texas coast on Monday, 8 July 2024. Photo: Meridith Kohut / The New York Times

Rising frustration in Houston after millions lost power in storm – “For a Category 1 hurricane to result in over a million customer outages in its immediate aftermath demonstrates that there is plenty of need for the resiliency hardening investments”

By J. David Goodman and Ivan Penn 10 July 2024 (The New York Times) – The sun felt hotter than usual in Houston this week, as millions of sweltering residents emerged from the rapid thrashing of Hurricane Beryl to face a prolonged power outage — the largest ever seen by the city’s utility, according to […]

Satellite image of Hurricane Beryl as it makes landfall on the Gulf Coast of Texas on 8 July 2024. Photo: Wanmei Liang / NASA Earth Observatory

8 dead, 2.5 million without power as Hurricane Beryl slams into Texas, Louisiana

By Clyde Hughes, Allen Cone, and Darryl Coote 8 July 2024 (UPI) – At least eight people were killed after Hurricane Beryl slammed southeast Texas with heavy winds, rain and flash flooding Monday. More than 2.5 million were still without power late Monday. The death toll included seven people killed in Texas and one in […]

The Little Sioux River floods homes in Smithland, Iowa, on 25 June 2024. Photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes / The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

Flooding across the U.S. Midwest may have wiped out up to 1 million acres of crops, new estimates show – 7 million acres accumulated more than 6 inches of rain, which caused standing water in fields

By Tyne Morgan 3 July 2024 (Farm Journal) – Portions of Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska are grappling with the aftermath of flooding, while continuing to fight a swollen river. The Mississippi River is facing flood threats, too. The high waters and flooding are suffocating fields, causing crop damage to key growing areas across the […]

Homes destroyed by Hurricane Beryl lie in Clifton, Union Island, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Thursday, 4 July 2024. Photo: Lucanus Ollivierre / AP Photo

Hurricane Beryl batters Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as Texas officials urge coastal residents to prepare – 11 dead across the Caribbean – “This is a determined storm that is still strong”

By Martín Silva and John Myers Jr. 5 July 2024 TULUM, Mexico (AP) – Beryl battered Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday after hitting near the resort town of Tulum, whipping trees and knocking out power, while officials in Texas urged coastal residents to prepare as the storm moves toward the Gulf of Mexico. Beryl hit Mexico as […]

Map showing hottest 5-day period for maximum daytime temperatures (left) and maximum nighttime temperatures (right) in Mexico for 3 June 2024 - 9 June 2024. The thick black contour shows the study region. Black crosses show the locations where impacts or temperature records have been reported. Data: ERA5. Graphic: World Weather Attribution

Climate change made killer heat wave in Mexico, Southwest U.S. even warmer and 35 times more likely – “The changes we have seen in the last 20 years, which feels like just yesterday, are so strong”

By Seth Borenstein 20 June 2024 WASHINGTON (AP) – Human-caused climate change dialed up the thermostat and turbocharged the odds of this month’s killer heat that has been baking the Southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America, a new flash study found. Sizzling daytime temperatures that triggered cases of heat stroke in parts of the United States were […]

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