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Greater L.A. to heat up an average 4 to 5 degrees by mid-century
A groundbreaking new study shows that temperatures in the Los Angeles region to rise by an average of 4 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit by the middle of this century, tripling the number of extremely hot days in the downtown area and quadrupling the number in the valleys and at high elevations
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Significant sea-level rise in a 2-degree warming world
Sea levels around the world can be expected to rise by several meters in coming centuries, if global warming carries on; even if global warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius, global-mean sea level could continue to rise, reaching between 1.5 and 4 meters above present-day levels by the year 2300
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Finding the best ways to protect infrastructure, recover from disasters
Researchers at Sandia National Lab bring the quantitative methods they have developed to the analysis of disasters and how best to recover from them; the researchers look at interdependencies among systems and supply chains, the resilience of various systems, how infrastructure systems fail, cascading effects, and how results might differ if a series of disasters hits instead of just one; the Sandia researchers say they can better quantify the results of such resiliency studies by taking a mathematically rigorous approach to objective assessments
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California coastal infrastructure at risk from rising sea levels
An exhaustive study by the National research Council finds projects that the sea level off most of California is likely to rise about one meter over the next century, an amount slightly higher than projected for global sea levels; this will place much of the state coastal infrastructure at risk, because significant development along the coast — such as airports, naval air stations, freeways, sports stadiums, and housing developments — has been built only a few feet above the highest tides; for example, the San Francisco International Airport could flood with as little as 40 centimeters of sea-level rise
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Seeping Arctic methane to pose serious problems for Florida coastline
Large quantities of methane gas are buried under the Arctic permafrost; the melting of ice caps in the Arctic causes this gas to escape into the atmosphere through vents; until recently, cryosphere (frozen soil and ice) has served to plug or block these vents, but thawing conditions have allowed the conduits to open, and deep geologic methane now escapes; methane is a very strong greenhouse gas, and its presence in the atmosphere has grown three times faster than carbon dioxide since the industrial era
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Top 5 critical hurricane preparedness actions
The National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at Columbia University reminds Americans that hurricane preparedness lasts all season — from June to November — and that emergency preparedness is a year-round proposition, because emergencies do not have a season
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Mobile data used to predict population displacement during disasters
Using data supplied by a mobile operator, researchers have shown that population movements after the 2010 Haiti earthquake followed regular patterns; this information can be used to predict beforehand the movements of people after a disaster, and thus improves chances for aid to be delivered to the right places at the right time
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New research into flood impacts in the South of England -
Researchers have developed and applied a method for understanding the effects and impacts of coastal flooding across the south coast of the United Kingdom, which could contribute to more effective flood forecasting, defense design, and land use planning
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Laser beams shine light on nature’s extreme events
“Extreme” events in nature, such as hurricanes, tsunamis and bushfires, may be more commonplace and predictable than you might think; researchers are using lasers to study how frequently extreme events happen, and their work highlights that in nature, “extreme” does not have to mean “rare”
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New Red Cross first aid app brings safety tips to smart phones
The American Red Cross today (Wednesday) launched its official first aid app, putting free lifesaving information in the hands of smart phone users. The Red Cross says this app is the first in a series to be created by the organization
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New research to improve protection and recovery from major floods
As parts of the United Kingdom suffer further flooding with more heavy rain forecast, three research projects funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) could radically change the way U.K. government and local authorities prepare for and respond to floods, mitigating future risks
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Fire risks to increase in some regions of the world
Climate change is expected to disrupt future fire patterns around the world, with some regions, such as the western United States, seeing more frequent fires within the next thirty years; at the same time, fire activity could actually decrease around equatorial regions, particularly among the tropical rainforests, because of increased rainfall
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Guidelines for securing business records in hurricane season
A data protection specialist developed best practices guidelines to assist businesses along the Atlantic coastline to assess their business continuity in preparation for the hurricane season
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London’s financial district employees say City unprepared for Olympics
Nearly 70 percent of investment bank staff think that the City, London’s financial district, is lagging behind in preparation for the Summer Olympic Games, with nearly half of respondents unsure whether their company has a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) in place
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AT&T receives DHS disaster preparedness certification
AT&T said Friday that it is the first company in the United States to earn DHS certification for disaster preparedness; AT&T’s certification is the first under the DHS Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Program, designed to enable private sector organizations to enhance their capabilities for planning, responding to, and recovering from natural disasters and other threats
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More headlines
The long view
Proactively Planning for Community Relocation Before and After Climate Disasters
Between 1980 and mid-2023, 232 billion-dollar disasters occurred in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, with the number of disasters doubling annually since 2018. As the frequency, intensity, and destructiveness of climate change-driven disasters increase, accompanied by an increase in recovery costs, more experts are calling for a managed retreat of entire communities from disaster-prone areas to safer ground.
Number of People Affected by Tropical Cyclones Has Increased Sharply Since 2002
The number of people affected by tropical cyclones has nearly doubled from 2002 to 2019, reaching nearly 800 million people in 2019, according to a new study. More people are affected by tropical cyclones in Asia than any other region, but every affected world region saw an increase in the number of people exposed to tropical cyclones, which are expected to become more intense and possibly more frequent as the climate warms.
Coastal Populations Set to Age Sharply in the Face of Climate Migration
As climate change fuels sea level rise, younger people will migrate inland, leaving aging coastal populations — and a host of consequences — in their wake. While destination cities will work to sustainably accommodate swelling populations, aging coastal communities will confront stark new challenges.
Damaging Thunderstorm Winds Increasing in Central U.S.
Destructive winds that flow out of thunderstorms in the central United States are becoming more widespread with warming temperatures. New research shows that the central U.S. experienced a fivefold increase in the geographic area affected by damaging thunderstorm straight line winds in the past 40 years.