Open access notables Manifold increase in the spatial extent of heatwaves in the terrestrial Arctic, Rantanen et al., Communications Earth & Environment:  It is widely acknowledged that the intensity, frequency and duration of heatwaves are increasing worldwide, including the Arctic. However, less attention has been paid to the land area affected by heatwaves. Here, using atmospheric reanalysis and global climate models, we show that the area covered by heatwaves is substantially expanding in the terrestrial Arctic. Compared to the mid-20th century, the total land area affe ..read more

This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Emily Ogburn, right, hugs her friend Cody Klein after he brought her a meal on October 2, 2024, in Swannanoa, North Carolina. Ogburn's home was spared and she spent the morning of the storm helping and comforting neighbors who had found shelter on a neighbor’s porch. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images) Deadly Hurricane Helene, wildfires in the Amazon, an extreme monsoon downpour in India, a heat wave during the Summer Olympics, and other dangerous and devastating weather events in 2024 were all made more likely and damaging by clima ..read more

This is a re-post from the Climate Brink Much of my immediate family lives in Asheville and Black Mountain, NC. While everyone is thankfully safe, this disaster struck much closer to home for me than most. There is lots that needs to be done for disaster relief, and I’d encourage folks who can to donate to the recovery effort. But as Western North Carolina and other areas of the Southeastern US work to recover after the catastrophic flooding caused by Helene, its worth exploring the role that climate change may have played in the event. While Helene would have been a disaster even in ..read more

This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler On Bluesky, it was pointed out that Asheville, NC was recently listed as a place to go to avoid the climate crisis. link Mother Nature sent a “letter to the editor” indicating that she didn’t agree: Flood waters from the French Broad River cover the River Arts District in Asheville, North Carolina on Saturday, September 28, 2024. Jacob Biba/Citizen Times. Link Helene’s climate link While climate change does not cause hurricanes, we are certain it makes them more destructive. Humans have increased sea level, leading t ..read more

A listing of 30 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 29, 2024 thru Sat, October 5, 2024. Story of the week We're all made of standard human fabric so it's nobody's particular fault but while "other" parts of the world have very recently lived (mostly) through enormous floods with huge consequences, only over the past week has the United States focused its immediate attention on hydrometeoological extremes— thanks to the arrival and massive hammer blow of Hurricane Helene (see "psychological distance"). Our Stor ..read more

Open access notables Sloth metabolism may make survival untenable under climate change scenarios, Cliffe et al., PeerJ: Sloths are limited by the rate at which they can acquire energy and are unable to regulate core body temperature (Tb) to the extent seen in most mammals. Therefore, the metabolic impacts of climate change on sloths are expected to be profound. Here we use indirect calorimetry to measure the oxygen consumption (VO2) and Tb of highland and lowland two-fingered sloths (Choloepus hoffmanni) when exposed to a range of different ambient temperatures (Ta ..read more

This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sanket Jain Noushadbi Mujawar has created a community health model that helps people in India build resilience amid the rising climate disasters. (Photo credit: Sanket Jain) Community health care worker Noushadbi Mujawar safely evacuated everyone from Rajapur, an isolated village in India, as its streets began flooding in August 2019. Mujawar, 42, remained in the village herself even as floodwaters rose 12 feet above her house. “I moved to a nearby taller building and decided to stay,” said Mujawar, who wanted to help those villagers who sta ..read more

This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters Hurricane Helene at sunset on Sep. 26, 2024, as the storm was closing in on the Florida coast as a Cat 4 with 130 mph winds. (Image credit: NOAA/RAMMB-CIRA Satellite Library) After a spectacular burst of rapid intensification, Hurricane Helene made landfall just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River, about 10 miles west-southwest of Perry, Florida, at about 11:10 p.m. EDT Thursday. Top sustained winds were estimated at 140 mph, making Helene a Category 4 hurricane at landfall. We’ll have much more on Helene’s man ..read more

This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler link You should probably learn the term compound climate event. It refers to the occurrence of multiple weather- or climate-related hazards happening simultaneously or in close succession, leading to amplified impacts. One of the most feared compound events is a hurricane causing massive infrastructure damage followed by extreme heat. If the damage caused a blackout, it could leave a huge population without access to air conditioning, leading to heat-related illnesses and fatalities. This is far from a theoretical occurrenc ..read more

A listing of 30 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 22, 2024 thru Sat, September 28, 2024. Story of the week Given the headlines dominance of hot oceans lofting water into the atmosphere where it then obeys the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship thereby leading to catastrophic rainfall, our Story of the Week might have been a composite of misery brought down on many heads thanks to our having changed Earth's climate. For an example of our hydrometeorological scope of disaster being widened in plain view ..read more