Group items tagged

"Global drought has not increased significantly over the past 60 years, a report in Nature has found. Previous assessments of global drought have relied on the Palmer Drought Severity Index, which only accounts for temperature, and does not consider sunlight, humidity or wind. These assessments have falsely indicated that global drought will increase as the planet warms. The paper's authors show that when these additional factors are included, worldwide drought has actual changed very little since 1950."

"Over 2012 and 2013, parts of New Zealand experienced their worst drought in nearly 70 years. Drought is the costliest climate extreme in New Zealand; the 2012-2013 event depressed the country's GDP by 0.7-0.9%. The drought of 1988-1989 affected 5,500 farms, pushing some farmers to the wall. But what does a climate-changed future hold? Recent evidence confirms that New Zealand on the whole is getting dryer. And we're beginning to understand why - increasing greenhouse and ozone-depleting gases are driving changes in the atmosphere, with impacts far beyond New Zealand."

"From record hot and cold temperatures to floods and droughts, 2013 was a wacky year for weather. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weighed in Wednesday with its list of the year's most significant climate anomalies and events. The report puts specific weather events into historical context, with the general effect of suggesting that global temperature rise is driving heightened weather extremes."

"From the damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy to the upheaval caused by drought in the Middle East, this groundbreaking documentary event series provides first-hand reports on those affected by, and seeking solutions to, climate change. Coming in 2014."

"From the damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy to the upheaval caused by drought in the Middle East, this groundbreaking documentary event series provides first-hand reports on those affected by, and seeking solutions to, climate change. Coming in 2014."

"Climate change isn't an issue for any one government or any one region. Carbon pollution has taken a devastating toll across the planet, from floods in Manila to droughts in Australia. To learn about the global reach of the environmental changes caused by human behavior, take a world tour with the six videos that premiered during Climate Reality Project's 24 Hours of Reality: The Cost of Carbon."

"Climate change isn't an issue for any one government or any one region. Carbon pollution has taken a devastating toll across the planet, from floods in Manila to droughts in Australia. To learn about the global reach of the environmental changes caused by human behavior, take a world tour with the six videos that premiered during Climate Reality Project's 24 Hours of Reality: The Cost of Carbon."

"When extreme weather events occur the Climate Commission is consistently asked questions about the link to climate change. This report unpacks our current knowledge about different types of extreme weather events: extreme temperatures, rainfall, drought, bushfires, storm surges, cyclones and storms."

"In Spring 2013, we conducted our latest national survey on Americans' climate change and energy beliefs, attitudes, policy support, and behavior. The first report focuses on Americans' beliefs about extreme weather and climate change. We found that about six in ten Americans (58%) say "global warming is affecting weather in the United States." Many Americans believe global warming made recent extreme weather and climatic events "more severe," specifically: 2012 as the warmest year on record in the United States (50%); the ongoing drought in the Midwest and the Great Plains (49%); Superstorm Sandy (46%); and Superstorm Nemo (42%). We also found that about two out of three Americans say weather in the U.S. has been worse over the past several years, up 12 percentage points since Spring 2012. The report can be downloaded here: Extreme Weather and Climate Change in the American Mind, April 2013."

"The world experienced unprecedented high-impact climate extremes during the 2001-2010 decade, which was the warmest since the start of modern measurements in 1850 and continued an extended period of pronounced global warming. More national temperature records were reported broken than in any previous decade, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The report, The Global Climate 2001-2010, A Decade of Climate Extremes, analysed global and regional temperatures and precipitation, as well as extreme events such as the heat waves in Europe and Russia, Hurricane Katrina in the United States of America, Tropical Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, droughts in the Amazon Basin, Australia and East Africa and floods in Pakistan."

"Last week, the New York Times reported that venerable Dow Jones Industrial Average component Coca-Cola Co. was awakening to the impact of climate change on its business. The increase in unpredictable weather, droughts, floods and other climate-related events was disrupting the company's product supply. Some of their "essential ingredients" are now under threat. Global warming, according to the article, is being seen "as a force that contributes to lower gross domestic products, higher food and commodity costs, broken supply chains and increased financial risk." This debate is no longer about whether global warming is real (it is) or whether humans are the most likely cause (you are), but rather, some very interesting and different questions that might be more professionally relevant to finance: How is this going to affect business? What are the investing consequences? Who will be the financial winners and losers of climate change?"

"Australia is getting wetter despite drought across much of the country, a climate report has revealed. The CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology's latest State of the Climate report is a snapshot of how Australia's weather has changed over the last two years." This is the ABC report including video and downloads

"In the American West, wildfires are essential for keeping forests healthy. But the same fires that help release nutrients and promote new plant growth can also wipe out thousands of acres of forest and cause millions of dollars in damage. Since the 1970s, wildfires have been on the rise and some of this is due to a warming planet. But increased wildfires because of hot climate is not the whole story. Here we look at the way climate can affect vegetation in the West, and what influence this has on wildfires. Drought and rainfall can have very different wildfire outcomes depending on where you look in the West."

"CLIMATE CHANGE HAS ARRIVED Here in the Pacific, droughts, floods, cyclones and rising seas are destroying our homes and jeopardizing our future. On 3 September, Pacific leaders will gather in Majuro to launch a new wave of climate leadership."

"In recent years, Europe has suffered a rising number of extreme weather events - from unprecedented heat waves and droughts to record-breaking floods, wind storms and freezes. These events do not respect borders and it is vital that Europe's policy makers come together to devise common strategies to help mitigate the physical, human and economic costs. This new EASAC report based on a comprehensive collection of scientific data from the last 20 years provides just such a rallying call."

"Chileans call the fruit "green gold" for its popularity stateside, but as Eilis O'Neill writes for Civil Eats, the crop is doing all sorts of damage to the country's groundwater supply, especially as it continues to face ongoing drought:"