Map showing the near-surface air temperature differences from the 1981-2010 average for January to September 2021. Data are from the ERA5 reanalysis product. Graphic: C3S / ECMWF

State of the Climate in 2021: Past seven years are on track to be the seven warmest on record – “Extreme events are the new norm”

GENEVA, 31 October 2021 (WMO) – Record atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and associated accumulated heat have propelled the planet into uncharted territory, with far-reaching repercussions for current and future generations, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The past seven years are on track to be the seven warmest on record, according to the provisional WMO […]

Map showing the percent change in reported 12 month-ending count of U.S. drug overdose deaths by jurisdiction, April 2020 - April 2021. Graphic: National Center for Health Statistics / CDC

U.S. overdose deaths reached record high as pandemic spread – Drug overdoses killed more than 100,000 Americans in yearlong period ending April 2021 – “These are numbers we have never seen before”

By Roni Caryn Rabin 17 November 2021 (The New York Times) – Americans died of drug overdoses in record numbers as the pandemic spread across the country, federal researchers reported on Wednesday, the result of lost access to treatment, rising mental health problems and wider availability of dangerously potent street drugs. In the 12-month period […]

Map showing the temperature difference from normal across North America on 28 September 2021, as simulated by the European weather model. Hazen, North Dakota was among numerous locations that endured record-breaking heat in the northern Plains on Tuesday. Bismarck rose to 98 degrees, while Dickinson, N.D., about 60 miles southwest of Hazen, also hit 100. In South Dakota, Rapid City and Aberdeen both soared to 94, setting records for 28 September 2021. Average high temperatures in interior North Dakota in late September are in the 60s, meaning the actual readings deviated about 30 degrees from the norm. Graphic: WeatherBell / The Washington Post

It’s nearly October 2021, and the temperature hit 100°F (37.7°C) in North Dakota – “A temp of 100F one week after the autumn equinox is an absolute insanity”

By Jason Samenow 29 September 2021 (The Washington Post) – It’s a week past the autumn equinox, and the first snows have fallen in the Rockies and the mountain peaks of New England. But in Hazen, N.D., the mercury soared to the century mark Tuesday afternoon. According to several climatologists, that 100-degree reading is the highest temperature observed […]

Aerial view of Lake Oroville, seen through a thick haze of smoke from California wildfires, on 20 August 2021. Lake Oroville has a surface area of 15,000 acres but is facing the worst crisis in its 52-year history. Photo: Action News Now

California mega-drought reduces Lake Oroville reservoir to historically low level – Hydroelectric plant shuts down – “We’re in uncharted territory”

OROVILLE, California, 20 August 2021 (Action News Now) – The reach of the drought emergency has a shocking look at as Lake Oroville drains to dirt. With a surface area of just over 15,000 acres – Lake Oroville provides water and electricity and impacts the local economy as recreation is big on this lake. California’s […]

Smoke and flames from the Dixie fire are seen from Wolf Creek Road west of Greenville, California, 4 August 2021. Photo: InciWeb

Dixie Fire grows to second largest in California history – “We need to acknowledge, just straight up, these are climate-induced wildfires”

By Tim Stelloh 8 August 2021 (NBC News) – The Dixie Fire became the second largest wildfire in California history Sunday as thousands of residents remained under evacuation orders and more than 10,000 buildings stood in the blaze’s path. The fire, which began July 14 and leveled much of the historic Sierra Nevada town of Greenville […]

Cars and homes destroyed by the Dixie Fire line central Greenville on Thursday, 5 August 2021, in Plumas County, California. Photo: Noah Berger / AP Photo

Wildfire explodes to third-largest in California history – “We’re seeing truly frightening fire behavior. We really are in uncharted territory.”

By Daisy Nguyen and Noah Berger 6 August 2021 GREENVILLE, California (AP) – A Northern California wildfire that is now the third-largest in state history had burned for weeks, mostly in remote wildland areas with few people, before it roared through the little mountain community of Greenville, driven by shifting winds and bone-dry vegetation. Eva […]

Flames consume a home on Highway 89 as the Dixie Fire tears through the Greenville community of Plumas County, California, on Wednesday, 4 August 2021. “We lost Greenville tonight,” U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who represents the area. Photo: Noah Berger / AP Photo

Wildfire destroys California town – “We lost Greenville tonight” – 2021 fire season on track to be California’s worst ever

By Christopher Weber and Noah Berger 5 August 2021 GREENVILLE, California (AP) – A 3-week-old wildfire engulfed a tiny Northern California mountain town, leveling most of its historic downtown and leaving blocks of homes in ashes, while a new wind-whipped blaze destroyed homes as crews braced for another explosive run of flames Thursday amid dangerous […]

A firefighter works on the Dixie Fire in California, 22 July 2021. Photo: InciWeb

Evacuations ordered after two California wildfires converge into one

By Maria Caspani 25 July 2021 (Reuters) – Crews and officials battling a large fire that has incinerated more than 190,000 acres (77,000 hectares) in northern California braced for the possibility on Sunday that smoke columns could spawn lightning storms capable of igniting more blazes. The swarming Dixie fire in Butte County, north of Sacramento, […]

A truck driver who hauls fire equipment watches as the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire, burns in Doyle, California, on 10 July 2021. Photo: Noah Berger / AP Photo

California and other parts of the West broil and burn in third 2021 heatwave – “Do not stop and take pictures”

By Christopher Weber 12 July 2021 (AP) – Firefighters working in searing heat struggled to contain the largest wildfire in California this year while state power operators urged people to conserve energy after a huge wildfire in neighboring Oregon disrupted the flow of electricity from three major transmission lines. A large swath of the West […]

Lake Mead, a lifeline for water in Los Angeles and the West, tips toward crisis – “This place is unrecognizable”

By Jaaweed Kaleem and Thomas Curwen 11 July 2021 LAKE MEAD, Nevada (Los Angeles Times) – Eric Richins looked out from his pontoon boat to the shallows on the lake’s western edge. He squinted and paused as if he had come upon a foreign shore. For the first time in a career navigating the waters […]

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