Boston grapples with the threat of storms and rising water – ‘This is something that we’re worried about’

By Christopher Joyce 22 February 2013 (NPR) – Since the drubbing that Superstorm Sandy gave the Northeast in November, there’s a new sense of urgency in U.S. coastal cities. Even though scientists can’t predict the next big hurricane, they’re confident that a warmer climate is likely to make Atlantic storms bigger and cause more flooding. […]

‘Canary in the coal mine’: Living beyond the levees in Louisiana – ‘Leeville is washing away’ as sea level rises

By Rick Jervis 23 February 2013 LEEVILLE, Louisiana (USA Today) – At the 85th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, an independent Louisiana-shot film, Beasts of the Southern Wild, will be up for four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, for its fictional account of a desolate band of folks living beyond the levees. Nearly […]

Australia re-rated on international reinsurance markets after another summer of flooding and extreme weather – Costs soar for reinsurers: ‘Insurers must rate to risk. If they don’t, they have a real difficulty in terms of solvency.’

By Peter Hannam, Carbon economy editor18 February 2013 (Sydney Morning Herald) – Australia has been re-rated on international reinsurance markets after another summer of flooding and extreme weather raised the country’s peril profile, said Insurance Council of Australia chief executive Rob Whelan. As a result of the re-rating, Australian insurers have to pay more for […]

Report points to risk of serious gap in weather satellite data

By DYLAN WALSH18 February 2013 (The New York Times) – A new report from the Government Accountability Office elevates the problem of looming gaps in satellite weather data to a “high risk” concern for the federal government The G.A.O.’s high-risk report, updated every two years to coincide with each new Congress, focuses on federal programs […]

Filipino super-typhoon an ominous warning of climate change impact – ‘The devastation was worse than anything I have ever seen’

By Simon Tisdall17 February 2013 (guardian.co.uk) – When super-typhoon Bopha struck without warning before dawn, flattening the walls of their home, Maria Amparo Jenobiagon, her two daughters and her grandchildren ran for their lives. The storm on 4 December was the worst ever to hit the southern Philippines: torrential rain turned New Bataan’s river into […]

Australia flood coverage rises to unaffordable levels –‘Most people can’t afford insurance. It’s beyond anybody’s pocket.’

By Peter Hannam, carbon economy editor17 February 2013 (Sydney Morning Herald) – Thousands of Australians are facing soaring insurance premiums for flood cover, forcing many to ditch protection even as the risk of extreme weather increases. Insurers blame the increases on the spate of flooding across much of eastern Australia in recent years – with […]

The scary truth about how much climate change is costing you – ‘Climate-change financial implications are the equivalent of the subprime-mortgage meltdown’

By Coral Davenport7 February 2013 NORFOLK, Virginia (National Journal) – Jimmy Strickland can tell you exactly how much money rising sea levels have cost his business. In 1989, he opened his accounting firm in a one-story brick building near Norfolk’s historic cobblestoned Hague district, which surrounds one of this low-lying city’s many tidal rivers. Dressed […]

Increase in deadly rains caused by global warming – ‘If extreme rainfall events continue to intensify, we can expect to see floods occurring more frequently around the world’

By Tim Wall4 February 2013 (Discovery News) – Don’t let the drought in the U.S. fool you, intense rainfall around the world has been causing deadly floods in the past few years. Several have died in the current flooding in Queensland, Australia. In July 2012, the heaviest rain in decades left 37 dead in Beijing, […]

An Arctic CSI case: Cyclone is absolved in record sea ice melt

By Becky Oskin, OurAmazingPlanet  1 February 2013 The scene of the crime: The Arctic. The suspect: The Great Arctic Cyclone of August 2012. The victim: The Arctic sea ice, which melted to a record low area last year. “The Great Arctic Cyclone of August 2012″ arose in Siberia on 2 August 2012 and crossed the […]

Climate change blamed for Australia’s extreme weather – ‘The frequency of more intense events is going to increase’

By Michael Slezak29 January 2013 The east coast of Australia has been drenched by floods and torrential rains, even as recent bush fires affecting much of the country continued to burn. Four people are known to have died as Australians get a further taste of extreme weather that is predicted to become more common as […]

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