Arctic sea ice loss could dry out California – “The recent California drought appears to be a good illustration of what the sea-ice driven precipitation decline could look like”

5 Dcember 2017 (LLNL) – Arctic sea ice loss of the magnitude expected in the next few decades could impact California’s rainfall and exacerbate future droughts, according to new research led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists.The dramatic loss of Arctic sea ice cover observed over the satellite era is expected to continue throughout […]

Records from ancient China reveal link between epidemics and climate change

By Chelsea Harvey 7 November 2017 (E&E News) – Scientists are worried about the effects of long-term warming on human health and infectious disease, but a new study finds a link between epidemics and a cold climate.By analyzing Chinese records throughout nearly 2,000 years of history—from between A.D. 1 and 1911—researchers have found that climate-driven […]

2017 ties record for most billion-dollar weather disasters in the U.S. in a single year

By Cory Reppenhagen 10 November 2017 (KUSA) – This year has been the most disastrous weather and climate year on record – and it’s not even over yet.The California Department of Insurance just announced that losses incurred from the October wildfires exceeds 3 billion dollars, and is expected to rise even further. That has now […]

World Meteorological Organization: 2017 likely to be in top 3 hottest years on record

6 November 2017 (WMO) – It is very likely that 2017 will be one of the three hottest years on record, with many high-impact events including catastrophic hurricanes and floods, debilitating heatwaves and drought. Long-term indicators of climate change such as increasing carbon dioxide concentrations, sea level rise and ocean acidification continue unabated. Arctic sea […]

Image of the Day: Satellite view of burn scars on California wine country

By Adam Voiland 25 October 2017Devastating wildfires burned through California’s wine country in October 2017, taking several lives and leaving thousands of people homeless. On 21 October 2017, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on the Terra satellite acquired this false-color image of the burn scars left by the Tubbs(upper left), Nuns […]

Forest fires stoke record loss in world tree cover – Wildfires contributed to global tree cover loss equivalent to the size of New Zealand in 2016

By Alister Doyle 23 October 2017 OSLO (Reuters) – Forest fires in Brazil and Indonesia contributed to a record loss in global tree cover in 2016, equivalent to the size of New Zealand, that could accelerate deforestation blamed for climate change, an independent forest monitoring network said on Monday.Man-made global warming increased the risks of […]

Should iconic Lake Powell be drained?

By Brittany Patterson 27 October 2017 GLEN CANYON NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, Utah (Scientific American) – Like many places across the West, Lake Powell seems impossibly large, mythical almost, with its rich red rock canyon walls standing in dramatic juxtaposition to the expanse of cerulean below that seems to stretch on forever.Dramatic is an apt way […]

In wildfire-ravaged Santa Rosa, to stay or go? – “My biggest fear is that we will lose the amazing community that we have because people can’t afford to live here”

By Mike McPhate 25 October 2017 (The New York Times) – With a vacancy rate of around 1 percent, Santa Rosa was a tough place to find a home before its recent disaster. Then the Tubbs fire wiped out about 5 percent of city’s housing stock — roughly 3,000 homes. For some of the displaced, […]

Brazil’s Chapada dos Veadeiros park ravaged by largest fire in its history

By Angela Boldrini 27 October 2017 (Folha de São Paulo) – More than a quarter of Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park has been consumed by the largest fire in its history. According to the latest report, on Tuesday (24th), 64,000 hectares (about 158,000 acres) of the Park’s 240,000 hectares (593,000 acres), were hit by the […]

Global Early Warning – Early Action System report on food security and agriculture, October – December 2017

October 2017 (FAO) – The Global Early Warning – Early Action System (EWEA) report on food security and agriculture is developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through its EWEA. The system aims to translate forecasts and early warnings into anticipatory action.This report specifically highlights: HIGH RISK Yemen (risk of […]

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