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Future Climate Change Will Impact Opportunities for Prescribed Fires
Prescribed burning is one of the most effective tools to prevent catastrophic fires. Some locations in the United States are facing a future where safe conditions to burn are fewer and farther between.
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More Than 100 Texas Counties Lack Plans to Curb Damage from Natural Disasters
The plans, which are required by the federal government to access certain grants after a natural disaster, are laborious to assemble — especially for rural counties.
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Hurricanes Are Getting Stronger
Atlantic hurricane seasons have only been getting worse. Ocean warming is creating stronger tropical storms. Hurricane Beryl strengthened to Category 3 as it approached Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula.
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52% Jump in days over 35°C (95 F) in World’s Biggest Capital Cities
New analysis looking at the 20 most populous capital cities shows that there is an overall rise in the number of days of extreme heat. The world’s biggest capital cities have experienced a 52% increase in the number of days reaching 35°C over the past three decades.
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Climate Change Is Increasing Stress on Thousands of Aging Dams Across the U.S.
There are more than 91,000 dams across the U.S., in all 50 states, with diverse designs and purposes. The average dam age is 57 years, and more than 8,000 dams are over 90 years old. The most recent report card of the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that 70% of U.S. dams will be more than 50 years old by 2030. Overall, the report gave U.S. dams a “D” grade and estimates that more than 2,300 are high hazard dams which could cause loss of life or serious property damage if they fail.
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Is the EU Doing Enough to Prepare for Wildfires?
Europe faces more intense wildfires due to climate change, prompting the EU to expand its response. Experts stress the need for preventive actions and sustainable forest management.
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Will Climate Change Make Insurance Too Expensive?
Extreme weather events influenced by climate change are causing ever greater destruction, forcing insurers to increase their premiums where they can. What does this mean for the future?
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Beach Erosion Will Make Southern California Coastal Living Five Times More Expensive by 2050: Study
The region’s sandy coastlines are vanishing at an alarming rate. It’s a warning sign for coastal communities worldwide, USC research suggests.
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'Hybrid’ Disaster Response Shows How Localization Saves Lives
The earthquake that struck southwest Haiti in August 2021 killed thousands of people and left more than half a million seeking help. New research by a University of Notre Dame expert finds that the assessment of this disaster can serve as a model for evaluating future disasters and making life-saving improvements.
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As Reservoirs Go Dry, Mexico City and Bogotá Are Staring Down ‘Day Zero’
In Mexico City and Bogotá, reservoir levels are falling fast, and the city governments have implemented rotating water shutoffs as residents are watching their taps go dry for hours a day. Droughts in the region have grown more intense thanks to warmer winter temperatures and long-term aridification fueled by climate change. In South Africa in 2018, Cape Town beat a climate-driven water crisis, and the way it did it holds lessons for cities grappling with an El Niño-fueled drought.
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Before “Superstorm” Sandy, Investors Underestimated Risk, Impact of Hurricanes
Weather experts are warning that this year’s Atlantic hurricane season could be among the most active on record. Hurricanes and other extreme weather events cause millions of dollars in damage , but they also create spikes in uncertainty that can linger in financial markets for affected firms for months.
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A Section of Critical Highway Collapsed in Wyoming. Could It Happen Anywhere?
The partial collapse of a roadway in Wyoming as a result of a landslide that occurred over the weekend raises serious questions about the state of the nation’s infrastructure. “These failures don’t happen everywhere. The conditions have to be right,” says one expert.
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Why This Summer Might Bring the Wildest Weather Yet
Summers keep getting hotter, and the consequences are impossible to miss: In the summer of 2023, the Northern Hemisphere experienced its hottest season in 2,000 years. Forecasts suggest that this year’s upcoming “danger season” has its own catastrophes in store. El Niño has been rough, but its departure could be even rougher.
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States Beg Insurers Not to Drop Climate-Threatened Homes
In the coming years, climate change could force Americans from their homes, not just by raising sea levels, worsening wildfires and causing floods — but also by putting insurance coverage out of reach.
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The Homeowner Mutiny Leaving Florida Cities Defenseless Against Hurricanes
The only protection the town of Hendrickson, Florida, has from the Gulf of Mexico’s increasingly erratic storms is a pristine beach that draws millions of tourists every year — but that beach is disappearing fast. A series of storms have eroded most of the sand that protects Redington Shores and the towns around it, leaving residents just one big wave away from water overtaking their homes. The federal government is refusing to restore eroded beaches in Pinellas County unless homeowners agree to one condition: public access.
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The long view
Trump Aims to Shut Down State Climate Policies
President Donald Trump has launched an all-out legal attack on states’ authority to set climate change policy. Climate-focused state leaders say his administration has no legal basis to unravel their efforts.