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12 December 2019
One of Europe’s worst famines likely caused by devastating floods
Europe’s Great Famine of 1315–1317 is considered one of the worst population collapses in the continent’s history. Historical records tell of unrelenting rain accompanied by mass crop failure…Now, new research using tree ring records confirms the historical data, showing the years of the Great Famine were some of Europe’s wettest.
10 December 2019
Property values plummeted and stayed down after Hurricane Ike
Texas homes that took the biggest hit in value after 2008’s Hurricane Ike were, surprisingly, not those within historic flood zones, new research finds. Instead, they were homes just outside these zones, where damage affected whole neighborhoods, driving property value down for years, according to a team of researchers from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill who presented the findings this week at AGU’s Fall Meeting 2019 in San Francisco.
5 June 2019
One third of the African urban population exposed to extreme heat by 2090
An international team of researchers has combined demographic projections and climate scenarios across Africa for the first time. Rapid urbanization combined with climate change is having a major impact on the living conditions of city-dwellers in Africa, especially in terms of exposure to extreme – or even lethal – temperatures.
1 February 2019
Climate change may push Santa Ana fire season into winter months
Climate models predict a narrowing of the Santa Ana season in tandem with the wet season in Southern California over the next century, which could leave vegetation dry and fire-prone as winds peak in December and January, according to a new study.
28 December 2018
Who is vulnerable to the impacts of tropical cyclones and why?
Tropical cyclones, and the torrential rains and strong winds these storms bring along with them, threaten coastal communities around the world and are expected to increase in intensity due to climate change. Whether or not a natural hazard, such as a tropical cyclone, becomes a natural disaster depends on whether the hazard overwhelms existing human infrastructure in a particular country or region. But when does a natural disaster result in fatalities?
6 December 2018
Scientists find causes of firenado in deadly Carr Fire
Climate, weather set the stage for uncontrollable inferno in Redding, California.
20 November 2018
Pacific Ocean typhoons could be intensifying more than previously projected
Changes to the uppermost layer of Earth’s oceans due to rising temperatures are likely causing an increase in intense Pacific Ocean typhoons, suggesting strong typhoons may occur more frequently than scientists project in the coming decades, according to new research.
1 October 2018
Half-degree of warming could have big impact on water availability
Approximately 117 million more people could face water shortages if global temperatures increase 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels compared to a 1.5-degree Celsius increase in temperatures, a new study suggests. The world’s water cycle, including evaporation and precipitation, is expected to intensify with global warming, according to the study. This could affect the distribution of freshwater and constrain the global water supply, which poses risks to national food security, economic prosperity and societal well-being.
7 August 2018
New study predicts warming climate will drive thousands to ER for heat illness
Even under the most charitable climate scenario where emissions are restricted across the globe, ER visits for hyperthermia in the United States could still increase by 21,000 by 2050, costing up to $38 million according to a new study in GeoHealth.
30 May 2018
Increasing heat drives off clouds that dampen California wildfires
Increasing summer temperatures brought on by a combination of intensifying urbanization and warming climate are driving off once common low-lying morning clouds that shade many southern coastal areas of California, leading to increased risk of wildfires.
17 May 2018
A bolt of insight
A new study in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres observes rare terrestrial gamma ray flashes produced by lightning strikes.
3 May 2018
Meltwater lakes not only summer phenomenon: Warm wind melts snow in Antarctica in winter as well
Even though the sun does not shine in Antarctica in winter, in some places snow on the glaciers can melt. The cause: warm wind.
26 April 2018
Satellites could further help mitigate river floods
Now, a new study in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, analyzes what it would take for river-observing satellites to become an even more useful tool to mitigate flood damage and improve reservoir management globally in near real-time.
20 March 2018
Wind, sea ice changes suggest climate change in western Arctic
A major shift in western Arctic wind patterns occurred throughout the winter of 2017 and the resulting changes in sea ice movement are possible indicators of a changing climate, according to authors of a new study.
5 March 2018
2017 North American wildfire pollution comparable to moderate volcanic eruption
A new study finds the fires that spread throughout North America last summer burned so powerfully their smoke pushed all the way into the stratosphere, circled the globe in roughly two weeks and remained in the stratosphere at measurable levels for several months.
29 January 2018
Researchers find way to give advanced notice for hailstorms
A new study identifies a method for predicting the likelihood of damaging hailstorms in the United States—up to three weeks in advance. Hail is the most economically destructive hazard posed by severe thunderstorms, producing on average billions of dollars in U.S. losses each year, including damage to roofs, homes and especially crops.
24 January 2018
Dust on snow controls springtime river rise in West
A new study has found that dust, not spring warmth, controls the pace of spring snowmelt that feeds the headwaters of the Colorado River.
7 November 2017
Scientists may have solved mystery of rapidly rising Indian Ocean sea level
Sea levels around the world have risen by 1.7 millimeters (0.07 inches) on average each year since 1880, but in recent years, scientists have observed a rapid increase in sea level in the north Indian Ocean. Tide gauge records and other datasets reveal the pace of sea level rise in the north Indian Ocean has accelerated to 3.1 millimeters (0.12 inches) per year within the last three decades. The accelerating sea level rise has confounded scientists but new research claims weakening of South Asian monsoons may be to blame.
24 October 2017
Scientists use seismic waves to measure tornado intensity
Seismic waves generated by tornadoes when they touch down could be used to measure a twister’s intensity, according to a new study that examined the May 2011 Joplin tornado. The findings could open the door to devising more accurate methods to study tornadoes from the ground.
25 July 2017
Researchers uncover 200-year-old sunspot drawings in Maine
In April of 1815, the volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia caused a global decrease in temperatures for the following few years, and 1816 came to be known as the “year without a summer.” New England states were particularly hard hit by these temperature changes, which significantly affected agriculture production and quality of life. Alongside his journal entries, Reverend Jonathan Fisher of Blue Hill, Maine sketched the sunspots during the summer of 1816, thinking they might be responsible for the cold summer temperatures.
