• INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTIONBurying Short Sections of Power Lines Could Drastically Reduce Hurricanes' Impact on Coastal Residents

    As Earth warms, people living near the coasts not only face a higher risk of major hurricanes but are also more likely to experience heat waves while grappling with widespread power outages. Strategically burying just 5% of power lines — specifically those near main distribution points — would almost halve the number of affected residents.

  • COASTAL CHALLENGESRapid Land Sinking Leaves Cities Vulnerable to Rising Seas

    Sea levels are rising as Earth’s ice sheets melt and as warming sea water expands, but many densely populated coastal cities around the world are more vulnerable to sea level rise because large amounts of their land are sinking. They suggest that an increase in industrial processes such as the extraction of groundwater, oil, and gas, as well as the rapid construction of buildings and other urban infrastructure may be contributing to this vulnerability.

  • COASTAL CHALLENGESRising Seas Threaten Tax Bases as Private Property Falls Below Tidelines

    New analysis from Climate Central quantifies the risk of sea level rise to the tax bases of hundreds of coastal counties across 24 states and Washington, D.C. as more land falls beneath the tideline. More than 48,000 properties are projected to be entirely below their states’ tidal boundary levels by 2050, with roughly 64,000 buildings at least partially below the high tide line. By 2100 more than one million properties with a combined assessed value exceeding $108 billion are projected to be at least partly submerged at high tide.

  • COASTAL CHALLENGESModeling Thawing at Base of Antarctic Ice Sheet

    Across Antarctica, some parts of the base of the ice sheet are frozen, while others are thawed. Scientists show that if some currently frozen areas were also to thaw, it could increase ice loss from glaciers that are not currently major sea-level contributors.

  • DISASTERSIncreasing Impacts of Floods and Droughts Worldwide

    Risk management has reduced the vulnerability to floods and droughts around the world, but their impact is still increasing worldwide.

  • RISK PREDICTIONS“Prediction Markets” Could Improve Climate Risk Policies and Investment Decisions

    A market-led approach could be key to guiding policy, research and business decisions about future climate risks, a new study outlines. The paper details how expert ‘prediction markets’ could improve the climate-risk forecasts that guide key business and regulatory decisions.

  • INFRASTRUCTUREIntense Heat Waves and Flooding Are Battering Electricity and Water Systems, as America’s Aging Infrastructure Sags Under the Pressure of Climate Change

    By Paul Chinowsky

    The underlying issue for infrastructure failure is age, resulting in the failure of critical parts such as pumps and motors. Compounding the problem of age is the lack of funds to modernize critical systems and perform essential maintenance. The consequences of inadequate maintenance are compounded by climate change, which is accelerating infrastructure failure with increased flooding, extreme heat and growing storm intensity.

  • ENERGY SECURITYClimate Change Puts Availability of Vital Renewable Energy Source at Risk

    Climate change is putting the availability of biomass fuels and technologies – vital alternatives to fossil fuels – at risk, according to new research. The study has found that as temperatures rise, the window of opportunity to maximize the use of biomass from plants, wood and waste as a renewable energy source and an alternative to petrochemicals is closing.

  • WATER SECURITYParched California prepares for first-ever Colorado River Cuts

    By Jake Bittle

    An emerging deal would cut water deliveries to Southern California — but fall far short of federal demands.

  • COASTAL CHALLENGESAntarctica’s Thwaites Glacier Retreat Faster than Expected – with Spine-Chilling Consequences

    The Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica – about the size of Florida — is already in a phase of fast retreat leading to widespread concern about exactly how much, or how fast, it may give up its ice to the ocean. The potential impact of Thwaites’ retreat is spine-chilling: a total loss of the glacier and surrounding icy basins could raise sea level from three to ten feet.

  • WATER SECURITYLaredo Confronts Drought and Water Shortage with Minimal Options

    By Dylan Baddour

    A mounting water supply crisis in scorching far-South Texas has left local governments pressed to respond. Two major cities, Brownsville and McAllen, rolled out watering restrictions in recent weeks, but leaders in the South Texas city of Laredo are reluctant to impose substantial restrictions on watering lawns even as water supplies near record lows.

  • FLOODSMultiform Floods: A Growing Climate Threat

    By Astrid Caldas

    We are in the thick of danger season (aka summer), that time of year when droughts, heat waves, wildfires, floods and hurricanes are more likely to happen. Not only that; climate change has made these disasters more severe and more likely to occur.

  • FLOODSRisks of Megafloods in California Increase

    California is currently contending with historic drought, but climate change is sharply increasing the risk of a catastrophic megaflood that could submerge large swaths of the state and displace millions of residents. The frequency of catastrophic deluges increases as temperatures rise.

  • COASTAL CHALLENGESWorld's Biggest Ice Sheet Could Cause Massive Sea Rise Without Action

    A new study shows that the worst effects of global warming on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) could be avoided. That depends upon temperatures not rising by more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

  • HEAT WAVESMore Than 107M Americans Will Soon Live inside an Emerging “Extreme Heat Belt” with Temperatures above 125 F

    Fifty U.S. counties, home to 8.1 million residents, are expected to experience temperatures above 125°F in 2023, the highest level of the National Weather Services’ heat index. By 2053, 1,023 U.S. counties are expected to exceed this temperature, an area that is home to 107.6 million Americans and covers a quarter of the U.S. land area.