Most recent 10 articles: Washington Post - Climate and Environment
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Antarctic temperatures soar 50 degrees above norm in long-lasting heat wave - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 31, 2024) |
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Jul 31, 2024 · This historic warm spell in East Antarctica is an ominous example of the temperature spikes this polar climate could experience more of in a warming world.
Ground temperatures in East Antarctica have soared more than 50 degrees (28 Celsius) above normal in the second major heat wave to afflict the region in the past two years. This historic warm spell could persist for another 10 days and is an ominous example of the major temperature spikes this polar climate could experience more frequently in a warming world.
“This heat wave is a near-record (or record) event for the region of Antarctica it’s having the biggest impact on,” Edward Blanchard, an atmospheric scientist at ... Read more ...
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Climate leaders say Harris has 'lit an electric spark’ with young voters - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 30, 2024) |
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Jul 30, 2024 · More than 350 environmentalists endorse her candidacy, saying it could help energize climate-minded voters, less than 100 days before the 2024 election.
More than 350 prominent climate advocates on Tuesday endorsed Vice President Harris for president, a sign that environmental leaders believe her campaign will energize like-minded voters in a way that President Biden could not.
In a letter shared first with The Washington Post, big names in the environmental movement - including former U.S. climate envoy John F. Kerry, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) - wrote that Harris has long prioritized climate action and would continue ... Read more ...
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How to make all your food waste disappear - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 30, 2024) |
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Jul 30, 2024 · Composting is not for everyone. But have you tried a solar digester?
Composting is not for everyone.
I realize this when I go home to visit my parents in Florida, or almost anywhere outside states, such as Vermont, that mandate it. Curbside pickup is rare. Many view it as a chore. Even for people like me who enjoy transforming leftovers into rocket fuel for their garden, composting can turn into a foul, stinking, sulfurous mess.
So, I get it.
But what if you could make food waste disappear by throwing it into a hole in the ground and walking away. No more fouled trash. Less climate pollution. While researching ways to compost, I discovered an easy method to ... Read more ...
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A surprising byproduct of wildfires: Contaminated drinking water - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 29, 2024) |
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Jul 29, 2024 · Over the weekend, the Park Fire grew to more than 360,000 acres, prompting evacuation orders and warnings around Chico, Calif. in Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties. In the days ahead, Cal Fire will seek to contain the blaze to reduce harm to people, structures and the environment. However, months from now when the rains come and the fires are extinguished, a hidden threat could put communities at risk once again.
When the mayor of Las Vegas, N.M., issued a warning in 2022 to its 13,000 residents, it wasn’t over a fire - they had recently lived through the state’s largest wildfire in its history: Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak. The dire warning was that the city had 30 days ... Read more ...
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Flash flood at Dollywood forces fans to flee in high water - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 29, 2024) |
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Jul 29, 2024 · The East Tennessee theme park reported one injury during slow-moving thunderstorms that caused road closures.
Dollywood fans enjoying a summer weekend had to flee the Tennessee theme park Sunday after strong storms sent floodwaters rushing through the park, forcing some to wade through nearly waist-deep water to get to their cars.
Photos and videos captured on social media showed brown water surging through pedestrian areas and building up in the parking lot.
“Craziest Dollywood experience in my almost 32 years of going,” one person wrote in a TikTok video that showed torrential rains and crowds in ponchos exiting the park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
The resort, ... Read more ...
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Why the Park Fire exploded so quickly - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 28, 2024) |
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Jul 28, 2024 · The speed at which the Park Fire consumed an enormous area has stunned even those who live and breathe wildfire, and who have watched other historic blazes rip through the region.
Wildfire experts knew the Northern California region where the Park Fire sparked was ready to burn, but no one expected how fast it would go up in flames. In just three days, the fire exploded into the state’s seventh-largest wildfire on record.
It consumed about 5,000 acres per hour after first igniting Wednesday, scorching 150,000 acres on Friday alone and racing far to the north to threaten towns that earlier seemed well out of reach. As of Sunday morning, it had spread to more than 350,000 ... Read more ...
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4 hottest days ever observed raise fears of a planet nearing 'tipping points’ - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 27, 2024) |
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Jul 27, 2024 · Since last July, Earth’s average temperature has been at least 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels.
Key takeaways
Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed.
As global temperatures spiked to their highest levels in recorded history on Monday, ambulances were screaming through the streets of Tokyo, carrying scores of people who had collapsed amid an unrelenting heat wave. A monster typhoon was emerging from the scorching waters of the Pacific Ocean, which were several degrees warmer than normal. Thousands of vacationers fled the idyllic mountain town of Jasper, Canada ahead of a fast-moving wall of wildfire flames.
By the ... Read more ...
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As wildfires rage, forecasters test new way to warn people near flames - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 27, 2024) |
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Jul 27, 2024 · The warnings are being evaluated by the National Weather Service, however, and it could be some time before they are available in regions like the fire-prone West.
Days before a historic spate of wildfires in the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma in February, local meteorologists had been training on a new way to warn people about fast-spreading fires - with a system that can quickly detect emerging threats and tell people where the flames are headed. During that outbreak, 41 wildfires tore through 1.4 million acres in less than two days, including the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which grew into the largest in Texas history. Read more ...
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Climate change challenges winemakers, but some are benefitting from it - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 25, 2024) |
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Jul 25, 2024 · While many vintners are forced to grapple with extreme weather brought on by climate change, some regions are seeing more consistent harvests and better-quality wines.
Climate change is transforming wine. We’ve seen devastating wildfires threaten or destroy recent harvests in California, Australia, Chile and Portugal; harsh winters decimate vineyards in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley and the Eastern United States; and spring frosts, an age-old enemy of vignerons, increasingly menacing as warmer average temperatures nudge vines to send out their tender shoots earlier in the spring.
It might seem strange to suggest climate change has produced any winners, but if we ... Read more ...
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Extreme heat is threatening humanity’s best ally in fight against climate change - Washington Post - Climate and Environment (Jul 25, 2024) |
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Jul 25, 2024 · High temperatures, droughts and wildfire last year caused some forests to wilt and burn enough to degrade the ability of the land to lock away carbon dioxide.
Earth’s forests lost much of their ability to absorb the carbon dioxide humans pumped into the air last year, according to a new study that is causing concern among climate scientists that a crucial damper on climate change underwent an unprecedented deterioration.
Temperatures in 2023 were so high - and the droughts and wildfires that came with them were so severe - that forests in various parts of the world wilted and burned enough to have degraded the ability of the land to lock away carbon dioxide and act as a ... Read more ...
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