Total marginal effect of Standardised Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) on conflict for the 2010–2012 period. Graphic: Abel, et al., 2019 / Global Environmental Change

New study establishes link between climate change, conflict, and migration – “In a context of poor governance and a medium level of democracy, severe climate conditions can create conflict over scarce resources”

23 January 2019 (UEA) – Research involving a University of East Anglia (UEA) academic has established a link between climate change, conflict, and migration for the first time. In recent decades climatic conditions have been blamed for creating political unrest, civil war, and subsequently, waves of migration, but scientific evidence for this is limited. One […]

Could climate change make it harder to get insurance in Australia? “There’s $88 billion at risk in terms of damage from coastal erosion in Australia”

By Ange Lavoipierre and Stephen Smiley 5 February 2019 (The Signal) – At the moment, Townsville is more or less underwater and large parts of Tasmania are on fire.Summer in Australia has always been extreme, but some corners of the country are experiencing climate-driven disasters that are worse than ever — and more of them […]

Copper mine destroying forests in Panama’s Mesoamerican Biological Corridor

By José Arcia 24 December 2018 (Mongabay) – From the air one can observe the destruction wrought by an open-pit mining project in Cerro Petaquilla and on the ground people talk about its environmental consequences. A security checkpoint and a sign announce that you have reached one of the entrances of the project in the […]

The unseen driver behind the Central American migrant caravan: global warming – “We are seeing tremendous climate instability that is radically changing food security in the region”

By Oliver Milman, Emily Holden, and David Agren 30 October 2018 (The Guardian) – Thousands of Central American migrants trudging through Mexico towards the US have regularly been described as either fleeing gang violence or extreme poverty. But another crucial driving factor behind the migrant caravan has been harder to grasp: climate change.Most members of […]

Afghan drought “displacing more people than Taliban conflict”

By Secunder Kermani 17 October 2018 (BBC News) – A deadly drought in Afghanistan is causing a humanitarian crisis that has displaced more people this year than the war between the government and the Taliban. The BBC’s Secunder Kermani reports from Herat. Shadi Mohammed, 70, wells up with tears as he walks through the makeshift […]

Utah’s extreme drought prompts a state of emergency – “The drought is at a level unseen for many years”

By Pam Wright 17 October 2018 (The Weather Channel) – An extreme drought that depleted half of Utah’s reservoirs has prompted Gov. Gary Herbert to declare a state of emergency.The declaration allows drought-affected communities, agricultural producers and others to begin the process of accessing state or federal resources, according to a press release.“The rainfall we […]

Scientists project sharp declines in beer supply due to global warming – “Even modest warming will lead to increases in drought and excessive heat events in barley-growing areas”

IRVINE, California, 15 October 2018 (UCI) – On top of rising sea levels, stronger hurricanes, and worsening wildfires, scientists project that human-caused climate change will result in one of the most dire consequences imaginable: a disruption in the global beer supply.In a study published today in Nature Plants, researchers from the University of California, Irvine […]

Rainfall tallies plummet after Australia’s driest September on record – “Below average rainfall covered almost the entire country”

By Peter Hannam 1 October 2018 (The Sydney Morning Herald) – Australia has notched its driest September on record, with less than a third of the usual rainfall for the month, extending the dry spell that has farmers and firefighters increasingly desperate for rain. Victoria posted its second driest September, also collecting just a third […]

A year after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico still struggles to regain what hasn’t been lost for good, while fearing the next big one – “Everything is lost. It’s all wild now.”

By Paloma Esquivel 20 September 2018 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Los Angeles Times) – The rain falling into Bianca Cruz Pichardo’s home in Puerto Rico’s capital forms a small stream from her living room to the kitchen, past a cabinet elevated by cinder blocks. The living room is dark, save for some light coming from […]

At least 14 dead as Typhoon Mangkhut hits the Philippines – Most powerful storm of 2018 so far targets Hong Kong and Hanoi

15 September 2018 (BBC News) – Some 14 people have been killed in a massive storm which brought destruction to the northern Philippines, a presidential adviser says. Typhoon Mangkhut ripped through the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, and is now moving west towards China. Almost all buildings in the city of Tuguegarao sustained some damage, […]

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