Correlation of significant shifts in or appearances of markers between sites documenting the onset of the Anthropocene. Collectively, the 12 reference sites, via analysis across many sites using similar multiple proxies, show the extent to which the proxies at each site cluster at an approximately coincident level around the mid-20th century, consistent with the Great Acceleration Event Array (GAEA) proposed by Waters et al. (2022). This demonstrates the degree to which the primary marker chosen at a site represents the range of critical changes encompassed by that section. Each site team has identified a level where significant changes cluster, these ranging in age between 1945 and 1968 CE, though for most sites the level chosen dates to the 1950s. Graphic: Waters, et al., 2023 / The Anthropocene Review

Canadian lake sediments reveal start of Earth’s Anthropocene epoch – “Clearly, the biology of the planet has changed abruptly. We cannot go back to a Holocene state now.”

By David Stanway 11 July 2023 (Reuters) – Sediment deposited at Crawford Lake, a small but deep body of water in Canada’s Ontario province, provides unmistakable evidence that Earth entered a new human-driven geological chapter – the Anthropocene epoch – some seven decades ago, a team of scientists said on Tuesday. The members of the […]

Map showing the American GFS model forecast for the heat dome covering the U.S., 29 July 2023. Graphic: WeatherBell

More records will fall as brutal heat wave continues across southern U.S. – “Extreme heat will significantly increase the potential for heat-related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities”

By Matthew Cappucci 21 July 2023 (The Washington Post) – For more than a month, a blistering heat wave has baked much of the Lower 48, reaching from the Pacific to the Atlantic and bringing triple digit temperatures to nearly 70 million Americans. The parent “heat dome” is going nowhere anytime soon and will push the entire continental United […]

Clouds of smoke from a forest fire rise to the sky on the island of Rhodes, Greece, Saturday, 22 July 2023. A large blaze burning on the Greek island of Rhodes for the fifth day forced authorities to order an evacuation of four locations, including two seaside resorts. Photo: Rhodes.Rodos / AP

2,000 people including tourists evacuated as a wildfire rages on the Greek island of Rhodes

By Demetris Nellas 22 July 2023 ATHENS, Greece (AP) – A large wildfire burning on the Greek island of Rhodes for a fifth day has forced authorities to order an evacuation of four locations, including two seaside resorts. About 2,000 people, including tourists, were evacuated by sea, fire department spokesman Yannis Artopios said Saturday evening. […]

Graph showing energy generation mix in China in the first four months of both 2019 and 2023. Data: National Bureau of Statistics of China. Graphic: David Stern and Khalid Ahmed

China is pumping out carbon emissions in 2023 as if COVID never happened – “China’s new path seems to be less sustainable than before”

By David Stern and Khalid Ahmed 9 July 2023 (The Conversation) – Carbon emissions from China are growing faster now than before COVID-19 struck, data show, dashing hopes the pandemic may have put the world’s most polluting nation on a new emissions trajectory. We compared emissions in China over the first four months of 2019 […]

Map of regional temperature anomaly and heat-related mortality rate in Europe during the summer of 2022. a, Regional temperature anomaly (°C) averaged over the summer. b–f, Regional heat-related mortality rate (summer deaths per million) aggregated over the summer for the whole population (b), women aged 65–79 years (c), men aged 65–79 years (d), women aged 80+ years (e) and men aged 80+ years (f). Summer refers to the 14-week period between 30 May and 4 September 2022 (weeks 22–35). Graphic: Ballester, et al., 2023 / Nature Medicine

Study finds possibility that more Europeans died because of heat in 2022 than any year in recorded history

By Alice Park 10 July 2023 (TIME) – As the Earth continues to warm, the rising temperatures are contributing to a number of health conditions that are in turn driving up mortality. And for the first time, scientists have figured out a more detailed way to estimate how many deaths can be attributed to heat. […]

KCCI-TV chief meteorologist Chris Gloninger stands outside his home, Tuesday, 27 June 2023, in West Des Moines, Iowa. Gloninger announced that he was leaving the Des Moines station due to threats he received for his coverage of climate change on air. Photo: AP Photo / Charlie Neibergall

Iowa TV meteorologist hounded off the air over climate-change reporting – “I started just connecting the dots”

By Hannah Fingerhut, Heather Hollingsworth, and Summer Ballentine 7 July 2023 DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The harassment started to intensify as TV meteorologist Chris Gloninger did more reporting on climate change during local newscasts — outraged emails and even a threat to show up at his house. Gloninger said he had been recruited, in […]

A ghost forest develops atop the Catlett Islands along the north shore of Virginia’s York River. Photo: M. Kirwan / VIMS

Ghost forests: coastal forests dying off as sea-level rise accelerates

By Ginger Zee, Daniel Manzo, and Kelly Livingston 6 July 2023 (ABC News) – As people around the world contend this week with the hottest temperatures ever recorded on Earth, more visual evidence of climate change is emerging with the spread of ghost forests. The globe is naturally warming and seas naturally rise, but greenhouse […]

The California State Capitol in Sacramento. Photo: Rschlie / Getty Images

Oil and gas lobbying threatens California’s game-changing climate bills – Legislation aims to shine a light on corporate climate pollution and carbon offsets – “Delay is the new denial”

By Aaron Cantú 26 June 2023 (Capital & Main) – Two transparency bills in the California Legislature would require corporations to disclose more information about their emissions and their efforts to fight the climate crisis. The oil and gas industry is spending millions to kill them. The bills would force big companies that do business in California to […]

Aerial view of the Paso Severino reservoir that supplies water to Montevideo, Uruguay, in July 2023. It is nearly completely empty and currently only holds only 3 percent of its normal capacity due to three consecutive years of drought. Uruguay is facing the worst water crisis in its history due to the prolonged drought. Photo: Guardian News

Three consecutive years of drought leave millions in Uruguay without tap water fit for drinking – Main reservoir for capital at 3 percent of capacity

By Martín Tocar 15 July 2023 (The Guardian) – More than half of Uruguay’s 3.5 million citizens are without access to tap water fit for drinking, and experts say the situation could continue for months. Some had predicted the crisis years ago when pointing out the vulnerability of the single reservoir supplying water to the […]

Meridional winds in m/s (contours; purple: southerly, orange: northerly winds, in (a–c, e–g) contours start at an absolute value of 3 m/s and increase/decrease by 3 respectively, in (d, h) contours start an absolute value of 0.5 and increase/decrease by steps of one) and near surface temperature anomalies filled contours during (a–c) wave-7 and (e–g) wave- 5 events relative to the respective climatology in the northern hemisphere summer (JJA) based on (a, e) ERA5 reanalysis (1960–2014), (b, f) historical (1960–2014) and (c, g) future (SSP5-8.5, 2045–2099) bias-adjusted output from CMIP6 simulations (four models). d, h) Difference in meridional winds and temperature response during wave events comparing historical and future patterns in four bias-adjusted CMIP6 models (for twelve non adjusted models see Fig. S6). Hatching shows statistical significance on a 95% confidence level (a, d, e, h) or 100% model agreement in sign (4 out of 4 models, b, c, f, g) While the phase positions and intensity of the wave patterns (line contour) are well represented in the models their surface imprint are considerably underestimated in historical simulations. Changes in the temperature response are identified over North America, Eurasia and East Asia (d, h). Graphic: Kornhuber, et al., 2023 / Nature Communications

Study finds climate risk to crops greater than thought – Simultaneous harvest failures across major crop-producing regions threaten global food security – “These types of concurring events are really largely underestimated”

By Kelly Macnamara 4 July 2023 (AFP) – The risks of harvest failures in multiple global breadbaskets have been underestimated, according to a study Tuesday that researchers said should be a “wake up call” about the threat climate change poses to our food systems. Food production is both a key source of planet-warming emissions and […]

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