Air temperatures across the United States on 6 September 2020, when much of the Southwest roasted in a dramatic heatwave. The map was derived from the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model and represents temperatures at 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) above the ground. The darkest red areas are where the model shows temperatures surpassing 113°F (45°C). Graphic: Joshua Stevens / NASA Earth Observatory

California heatwaves are becoming more frequent and lasting longer – “This has serious consequences for the fire season in Southern California”

By Kasha Patel 11 September 2020 (NASA) – In early September 2020, an intense heatwave broke temperature records in several locations in Southern California. The dry, hot conditions helped fuel new and existing fires, which have consumed tens of thousands of acres of land. According to recently published research, these extremes fit a long-term trend toward longer and more […]

On 9 September 2020, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image of thick smoke streaming from a line of intense fires in Oregon and California. Many communities in the region are facing extremely poor and sometimes hazardous air quality. Data: NASA EOSDIS/LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Photo: Lauren Dauphin / NASA

Autumn could deliver the worst of California’s 2020 fire season – A scorching Labor Day weekend brought an all-time record heat and unprecedented fire spread, but fire risks climb in the fall

By Bob Henson 8 September 2020 (Yale Climate Connections) – Temperatures reached ghastly levels in southern California and wildfire carved a path close to two of the state’s iconic national parks as a historic heat dome gripped the western United States during the traditional end-of-summer Labor Day weekend. The heat had eased somewhat by Tuesday, […]

View of air pollution in Moscow, Russia on 6 August 2010 and 20 April 2020. Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova / Niklas Halle'n / AFP / Getty Images

Before-and-after photos show dramatic decline in air pollution around the world during coronavirus lockdown

By Sophie Lewis 22 April 2020 (CBS News) – As humans continue to stay indoors under lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Earth is slowly healing. Wild animals have taken to roaming the streets, clear waters have returned to the Venice canals and the world is literally shaking less.  With billions of people quarantined and businesses closed, travel has all but […]

Satellite view of airborne nitrogen dioxide pollution over Washington State in March 2020, compared with March 2019. Pollution is visibly reduced by the cessation of economic activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Data: Descartes Labs / Sentinel-5P satellite. Graphic: CNN

Satellite images show less pollution over the U.S. as coronavirus shuts down public places

By Madeline Holcombe and Sean O’Key 23 March 2020 (CNN) – As millions of Americans are kept from work, school and most public places as coronavirus is on the rise, satellite images show pollution on the decline.Images taken over the first three weeks of March show less nitrogen dioxide over parts of the United States than […]

An air tanker flies over PG&E power lines en route to drop fire retardant in the valley below during the firefighting operations to battle the Kincade Fire in Healdsburg, California on 26 October 2019. Photo: Philip Pacheco / AFP / Getty Images

PG&E to plead guilty to 84 involuntary manslaughter counts over 2018 wildfire in California

By Jonathan Stempel 23 March 2020 (Reuters) – Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to plead guilty to 84 involuntary manslaughter counts in connection with the 2018 Camp Fire, the most destructive wildfire in California’s history. The plea by California’s largest utility was announced on Monday by its parent PG&E Corp, three days after the […]

Coastal erosion encroaches on a house in Happisburgh, Norfolk, UK. Photo: Philip Bird, LRPS CPAGB / Shutterstock

15 towns being slowly swallowed by the sea – Coastal communities fighting a losing battle with the ocean

4 March 2020 (Love Property) – Positioned on the frontline of climate change, the world’s most vulnerable shoreline communities face an uncertain future. Plagued by ever-worsening coastal erosion and rising sea levels, their existence hangs precariously in the balance. As the tide continues to draw in, take a look at 15 towns being gradually reclaimed […]

Carbon emissions (CO2e) from different modes of transportation. Non-pooled ride hailing, like with Uber and lyft, emits the most carbon, by a wide margin. Graphic: UCS

Taking an Uber or Lyft pollutes more than driving, California finds – “For a one-mile trip, on average there’s another 0.7 miles of driving around to deliver that trip”

By Tony Barboza 7 March 2020 (Los Angeles Times) – Behind the tap-of-your-phone convenience of hailing an Uber or Lyft lies an inconvenient truth: Such rides generate more carbon emissions than simply driving yourself. The increased pollution comes primarily from “deadheading,” that is, drivers traveling to pick up a passenger or cruising the streets while […]

Spring leaf index anomaly in the continental United States, 1 January 2020 - 7 March 2020. In parts of the Southeast U.S., the arrival of spring in 2020 is the earliest in the 39-year record. Graphic: National Phenology Network

Spring 2020 in southern U.S. arrives earlier than ever recorded, adding to climate trend

By Cassidy Randall 6 March 2020 (The Guardian) – Across the south-eastern US, trees are unfurling their clouds of leaves after winter. Yet this picturesque and usually welcome development is this year cause for consternation. New data from the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) shows that in parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and northern Florida, […]

On 1 January 2016 and 2 January 2016, 6,540 common murre carcasses were found washed ashore near Whitter, Alaska, translating into about 8,000 bodies per mile of shoreline — one of the highest beaching rates recorded during the mass mortality event. Photo: David B. Irons

Huge “hot blob” in Pacific Ocean caused mass starvation in largest seabird die-off – “The magnitude and scale of this failure has no precedent”

By Michelle Ma 15 January 2020 (UW News) – The common murre is a self-sufficient, resilient bird. Though the seabird must eat about half of its body weight in prey each day, common murres are experts at catching the small “forage fish” they need to survive. Herring, sardines, anchovies and even juvenile salmon are no […]

Worldwide natural catastrophe loss events in 2019. Tropical cyclones, extreme storms, and floods caused overall losses of $150 billion. Video: Munich RE

Tropical cyclones causing billions in losses dominated the natural catastrophe picture of 2019 – “Cyclones are becoming more frequently associated with extreme precipitation”

8 January 2020 (Munich RE) – 820 natural catastrophes caused overall losses of US$ 150bn, which is broadly in line with the inflation-adjusted average of the past 30 years. A smaller portion of losses was insured compared with 2018: about US$ 52bn. This was due, among other things, to the high share of flood losses, which are […]

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial