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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Co-Occurring Droughts May Threaten Global Food Security
Droughts occurring at the same time across different regions of the planet could place an unprecedented strain on the global agricultural system and threaten the water security of millions of people, according to a new study.
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Macron Supports Nuclear in Carbon-Neutrality Push
France will build at least six new nuclear reactors in the decades to come, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, placing nuclear power at the heart of his country’s drive for carbon neutrality by 2050.
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Water Resources Depletion Near Large Urban Areas
Researchers analyzed the spatial distribution of water resources depletion in connection with proximity to large urban areas and defined a model that might prove fundamental to mitigate the impact of urbanization on the ecosystem.
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Computing Carbon Storage
The road to a stabilized climate is challenging and contentious. A number of solutions will be needed to enable a fast, equitable transition away from fossil fuels: among them the development of sustainable energy sources, greener materials, and methods to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere.
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U.S. Army Releases Its Climate Strategy
The U.S. Army announces the release of its first Climate Strategy that guides decision making in response to threats from climate that affect installation and unit sustainability, readiness, and resilience. The strategy directs how the Army will maintain its strategic advantage through deliberate efforts to reduce future climate impacts and risks to readiness and national security.
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When Water Is Coming from All Sides
When hurricanes hit, it is not solely the storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean that led to flooding. Inland sources, like rain-swollen rivers, lakes and suburban culverts, also contributed significantly. Researchers have developed and tested the world’s first 3D operational storm surge model, which takes these factors, which were missed by many computer models at the time, into account.
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Germany needs to invest in nature to defend against floods
Wednesday, 2 February, is the first international World Wetlands Day. It should prompt action to restore these vital ecosystems to protect communities, biodiversity, and prevent future disasters
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Demand for Rare Minerals and Metals Creates Eco-Dilemma
The world is crying out for rare minerals for the manufacture of electric cars, wind turbines and other technologies that we simply need more of. But how can we guarantee access to these resources without threatening the natural world and mankind as we know it?
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More headlines
The long view
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.