• Groundwater Levels Fall Across Western and Central Kansas

    Average groundwater levels across western and central Kansas fell by more than a foot in 2021, with the greatest declines in the southwest portion of the state. “The entire state is currently in some stage of drought and even with recent snowfalls, I bet it remains that way,” one expert said.

  • Tornadoes, Climate Change Make Dixie the new Tornado Alley

    Studies do show tornadoes getting more frequent, more intense and more likely to come in swarms. Moreover, studies show that, statistically, there is an emergence of another center of tornado activity in the Southeast, centered around Alabama. Oklahoma still has tornadoes, of course. But the statistical center of Tornado Alley has moved eastward.

  • Wildfires Devastate the Land They Burn, and They Are Also Warming the Planet

    The 2021 wildfire season broke records globally, leaving land charred from California to Siberia. The risk of fire is growing, and a recent report warned that wildfires are on track to increase 50% by 2050. These fires destroy homes, plant life, and animals as they burn, but the risk doesn’t stop there. Researchers detail how the brown carbon released by burning biomass in the northern hemisphere is accelerating warming in the Arctic and warn that this could lead to even more wildfires in the future.

  • How a Hurricane Fueled Wildfires in the Florida Panhandle

    The wildfires that broke out in the Florida Panhandle in early March 2022 were the nightmare fire managers had feared since the day Hurricane Michael flattened millions of trees there in 2018. It might sound odd – hurricanes helping to fuel wildfires. But Michael’s 160 mph winds left tangles of dead trees that were ready to burn.

  • Texas Cold Snap Highlights Need for Improved Power Systems

    The greatest demand for electricity in Texas is traditionally during the hottest days of the year, when air conditioners turn on full blast to beat the heat. But in February 2021, an unusually long spell of cold weather took the region by surprise. With extreme weather events rising in frequency, the need for a prepared modern energy grid grows.

  • CO2 Could Be Stored Below Ocean Floor

    Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing humanity. To combat its potentially catastrophic effects, scientists are searching for new technologies that could help the world reach carbon neutrality. One potential solution that is drawing growing attention is to capture and store carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the form of hydrates under ocean floor sediments.

  • Climate Change Contributor to 2017 Oroville Dam Spillway Incident

    A one-two punch of precipitation resulted in damage to Oroville Dam’s main and emergency spillways pushing the second largest dam in California into a crisis in February 2017. Researchers say that they have identified the fingerprint of climate change in the events that triggered the incident. Issues with the dam’s spillways led to the evacuation of 188,000 people.

  • Number of Wildfires to Rise by 50% by 2100 and Governments Are Not Prepared

    Even the Arctic, previously all but immune, faces rising wildfire risk, experts say. Wildfires and climate change are “mutually exacerbating.” Governments are called to radically shift their investments in wildfires to focus on prevention and preparedness.

  • Accelerated Impact of Climate Change on Human Wellbeing, Nature

    Increased heatwaves, droughts and floods are already exceeding plants’ and animals’ tolerance thresholds, driving mass mortalities in species such as trees and corals. These weather extremes are occurring simultaneously, causing cascading impacts that are increasingly difficult to manage. They have exposed millions of people to acute food and water insecurity.

  • Lake Evaporation Patterns Will Shift with Climate Change

    Lakes serve as a major global source of freshwater. As temperatures continue to get warmer, so will lakes. As global average temperatures rise, lake evaporation is projected to increase at double the rate of ocean evaporation. However, future increases in lake evaporation vary substantially across regions.

  • How a Two-century Megadrought Gap Set Up the West for Its Water and Climate Crisis

    Since the turn of the 21st century, researchers probing evidence locked in tree rings and other clues to past climate conditions have been building an increasingly unnerving picture of southwestern North America as prone to deep, prolonged droughts. Megadrought is the emerging term for the worst of these extreme dry spells — those lasting two decades or more.

  • Hotter, Drier Nights Mean More Runaway Fires

    Thanks to the warming climate, the potential for more severe nighttime wildfires is increasing, and warmer nights mean firefighters will not be able to rely on cooler temperatures to help them get a handle on fires, a new study shows.

  • What Drives Sea Level Rise? U.S. Report Warns of 1-Foot Rise within Three Decades and More Frequent Flooding

    Sea levels are rising, and that will bring profound flood risks to large parts of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts over the next three decades. A new report led by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns that the U.S. should prepare for 10-12 inches of relative sea level rise on average in the next 30 years. That much sea level rise means cities like Miami that see nuisance flooding during high tides today will experience more damaging floods by midcentury.

  • U.S. Coastline to See Up to a Foot of Sea Level Rise by 2050

    The United States is expected to experience as much sea level rise by the year 2050 as it witnessed in the previous hundred years. That’s according to a NOAA-led report updating sea level rise decision-support information for the U.S. The report also finds that the sea level rise expected by 2050 will create a profound increase in the frequency of coastal flooding, even in the absence of storms or heavy rainfall.

  • Nuclear Power May Be Key to Least-Cost, Zero-Emission Electricity Systems

    Human activity is spewing carbon pollution into the atmosphere, affecting the global carbon cycle and causing warming, as well as altered precipitation patterns. Nuclear power generation can play a crucial role in helping the world reach a key goal of zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century, especially in countries with low wind resources.