Most recent 40 articles: Climate Central
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America's electrical grid is headed for a total meltdown - Climate Central (Sep 14, 2022) |
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Sep 14, 2022 · REPORT: Surging Power Outages and Climate Change
We all depend on the electricity system that serves homes and businesses across the U.S., but this system is vulnerable to large-scale outages caused by extreme weather.
Hurricanes, wildfires, ice storms, flooding, and heat waves are growing in frequency, duration, and/or intensity with climate change - which puts stress on the nation’s aging electrical infrastructure.
The effects of climate change can both increase electricity demand and compromise electricity supply. And most of the nation’s electrical infrastructure wasn't built to function in our present-day climate. Further warming could impact electricity ... Read more ...
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Shrinking Cold Snaps - Climate Central (Jan 26, 2022) |
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Jan 26, 2022 · With the news of last year being the sixth hottest for the planet and fourth hottest for the U.S., heat has been getting a lot of attention recently. But in the midst of winter, many wonder how warming trends are affecting the cold. This week we look at the changing length of winter’s longest cold snaps locally from 1970 to 2021. Read more ...
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Vanishing forests tell a tale of rising water - Climate Central (Nov 16, 2021) |
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Nov 16, 2021 · Since then, they’ve sealed up the original wavy glass windows, fixed walls, installed insulation and new plumbing and wiring, and raised the entire waterfront property to protect against regular flooding. And as they’ve rehabilitated what McGuirk called a “gem,” they’ve watched the coastal landscape around it change as well.
“The point that we can see when we look out there is called Crab Point, and when we bought the place in 2010 there were 80 trees on that point,” McGuirk said. “Now there’s one. They’ve fallen and gone.”
The Chesapeake has become a global hotspot for the emergence of ghost ... Read more ...
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Picturing Our Future - Climate Central (Oct 12, 2021) |
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Oct 12, 2021 · Utilizing Google Earth images, Climate Central developed realistic renderings of coastal locations under different future warming scenarios. Through the Picturing Our Future interface, users can select from among hundreds of images of at-risk sites around the world, including financial centers, stadiums, museums, temples and churches, and other historically or culturally significant buildings. Each image allows toggling between a number of scenarios. Users can look at current conditions and compare where water levels could end up after 1.5°C of warming (if we implement measures to sharply cut carbon pollution) up to 4°C (if we allow unchecked carbon pollution).
Figure ... Read more ...
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A hotter and drier climate is set to hurt agriculture in the West and help farmers in Asia - Climate Central (Oct 04, 2021) |
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Oct 04, 2021 · This story was produced through a partnership between Quartz and Climate Central.
Scientists have found that climate change will strain the global food supply as drought and heat waves collide more often in the future. That concerning finding comes from a new study published in Nature Food that analyzed historical data to project how drier heat waves will affect corn and soy fields around the world.
Corn and soybean yields may fall 5% globally between 2050 and 2100 because of the combination of a drier and hotter climate. That’s on top of losses due to hotter temperatures alone. The figures were determined by analyzing historical patterns in agriculture and ... Read more ...
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How tidal flooding is impacting students, caretakers and education in Atlantic City - Climate Central (Oct 04, 2021) |
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Oct 04, 2021 · This story was produced through a partnership between Press of Atlantic City and Climate Central.
ATLANTIC CITY — Paula Rudolph Stryker drives her grandson to the Brighton Avenue School almost every day. While the drive involves the usual bouts of slowdowns with traffic lights and rush-hour congestion, one thing has slowed her more often in recent years.
Flooding.
“I’ve found more problems with the flooding. ... There have been a couple of times when we’ve had a delayed opening because of the flooding,” said Stryker, 63.
As seas rise at a quickening pace, the water continues to creep closer to where the city’s students ... Read more ...
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As temperatures rise, so do allergies - Climate Central (Apr 21, 2021) |
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Apr 21, 2021 · This story was produced through a partnership between Climate Central and KOMU 8 in Columbia, MO.
COLUMBIA - When Sherry Miller moved to Columbia from New Jersey, the heavy pollen in the air here triggered her asthma and sent her to the emergency room three times in a matter of months. In the 14 years since, she says the allergy issues she battles have gotten worse.
“It's one of those things you just wish you could get rid of,” she said. Her once seasonal allergies are now affecting her year-round, and they’ve been intensifying — she’s always on antihistamines now, and has started having more frequent sinus infections, even during the ... Read more ...
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Historic Harriet Tubman Sites at Risk of Rising Seas on Eastern Shore - Climate Central (Apr 06, 2021) |
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Apr 06, 2021 · This story was produced through a partnership between Climate Central and NBC4 in Washington DC.
As a tour guide on the Eastern Shore’s Harriet Tubman Byway, Alex Green has an up-close view of historic landmarks associated with the iconic abolitionist.
Such as Long Wharf, now a park on the water’s edge of Cambridge, which once served as a hub for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Stewart’s Canal, a seven-mile logging waterway dug by enslaved and free Black people. And the Bucktown General Store, where a young Tubman sustained a brutal head injury during her first act of defiance against an enslaver.
“This is African American heritage and ... Read more ...
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Climate Change Threatens Homes of Boston’s Most Vulnerable - Climate Central (Jan 29, 2021) |
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Jan 29, 2021 · >In East Boston, affordable housing units are at risk of flooding as the sea level rises.
This video and text story was produced through a collaboration with NBC Boston.
Roxanne De Jesus remembers seeing the waves spill out of the harbor in East Boston. A nor'easter — that grew in force so suddenly it was dubbed a “bomb cyclone” — pushed tides as high as Boston has seen in nearly a century.
“For the first time, we saw the water come out of the harbor,” she said.
It was early in 2018 and the storm drove the highest tide she’s seen in 22 years from her home at East Boston’s Shore Plaza East apartments. The ... | By Ayurella Horn-Muller (Climate Central) and Christopher Gloninger (NBC Boston) and Ale Zimmermann (NBC Boston) contributed reporting Read more ...
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Miami Beach’s Housing Crisis Worsened By Climate Change - Climate Central (Dec 15, 2020) |
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Dec 15, 2020 · This has been a problem for decades, and over the past six months, county officials have spearheaded one of the largest renovations of a public housing development in the county’s history. This project follows Miami’s Affordable Housing Master Plan that proposes launching a bank to fund affordable housing builds and incentivizing the development of thousands of new properties annually for a decade. Success will depend on city commissioners’ buy-in, which has stalled for almost a year.
Ahmed Martin, executive director of the Miami Beach Community Redevelopment Corporation, a housing nonprofit, said they have 323 affordable housing units in the area, with only ... Read more ...
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Barely Above Water - Climate Central (Dec 09, 2020) |
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Dec 09, 2020 · This story was produced through a collaboration between Climate Central and NJ Advance Media, which publishes NJ.com and a number of newspapers across New Jersey including the Newark Star-Ledger and the Times of Trenton.
When Hurricane Sandy hit Atlantic City in 2012, floodwaters swept up to the second step of the buildings at Julissa Carmona’s apartment complex, wrecking the Honda she had parked on the street.
Carmona had to dig deep for $2,800 to buy a Jeep, a vehicle better suited for rising tides. It was a financial hit for the 49-year-old casino worker, whose affordable housing complex sits beside an expansive, swampy-smelling marsh on the island’s bayside. Read more ...
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Climate change and concrete turn up heat on vulnerable communities in New Jersey’s cities - Climate Central (Sep 29, 2020) |
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Sep 29, 2020 · Where Newark is a desert of concrete and asphalt, Down Bottom Farms is an oasis of life.
Once a vacant lot, the urban farm now serves as a space for residents of the city’s historic Ironbound neighborhood to connect with their food and community. But nourishing the plants at Down Bottom Farms takes work, and that effort can be downright brutal in the summer heat, especially on a patch of land lacking the shade of trees.
“Oh my god, it’s unbearable,” Chris Rodriguez, an activist who manages Down Bottom Farms, said of the heat. Her crew of local youth often rises early so they can quit working by noon.
“After that it gets too hot and we ... Read more ...
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NYC’s Trees: A Natural Defense Against Heat, But Not Equally Shared - Climate Central (Sep 10, 2020) |
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Sep 10, 2020 · >Prospect Park goers find shade under trees. Credit: Clarisa Diaz
Taina was sitting with a friend in the shade cast by a large tree in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY on a Saturday afternoon in late July. Throughout the city, it was another scorching day for a population that had endured one of the world’s deadliest COVID outbreaks just months earlier.
“The heat is way too unbearable to be doing anything else but sitting in the park in the shade and kind of just enjoying that fresh breeze and that shadow,” said Taina, who asked Science Friday to use only her first name. “I live in Bushwick, and it takes me a while to get all the way across ... Read more ...
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Warming Brings Muggier Weather to Jacksonville, Threatening Most Vulnerable - Climate Central (Jul 09, 2020) |
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Jul 09, 2020 · An airman assigned to the 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE drinks water while working on a construction site. SENIOR AIRMAN DAMON KASBERG / U.S. AIR FORCE
Listen to the Story Here
Hear this story airing on 89.9 FM WJCT.
Diallo-Sekou Seabrooks was working a job as a concrete finisher last summer when he started feeling dizzy and lay down in the bed of a truck before heading home. The next day, the same thing happened.
In the muggy conditions that August afternoon, “it felt like 100 to me,” said the 48-year old, who was still recovering from kidney surgery at the time. Weather records show it only reached 92, with high humidity giving that heat its ... Read more ...
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The Push To Turn NYC’s Polluting Peaker Plants Into Publicly-Owned Solar Power - Climate Central (Jul 08, 2020) |
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Jul 08, 2020 · While peaker plants were originally intended to only be used once or twice a year, they now run in New York City on a more regular basis to meet the city’s growing energy demands, particularly in the evening when more lights and devices are turned on. If one spends some time by a peaker plant they may feel a little nauseous. They may feel worse if they reside near one.
It’s one reason why there’s a push to eliminate them, and rethink how the city approaches energy sources. During a pandemic summer, when more people will be indoors using their air-conditioners, the city could be in for even more devastating impacts on the communities where peaker plants are ... | By Clarissa Diaz (Gothamist). John Upton (Climate Central) contributed reporting. Read more ...
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'Give us a break, Lord’: Amid active hurricane season, pandemic halts recovery in Florida two years after Michael - Climate Central (Jun 29, 2020) |
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Jun 29, 2020 · Mary Hays poses for a portrait in front of her mobile home with her dog, Lulu, and a reminder to ‘Keep Believing’ on June 12th, 2020 at the Bay County Fairgrounds. Photo by Andrew Wardlow/Climate Central
PANAMA CITY, Fla. — With his only possessions packed tightly into two plastic bags on the ground beside him, Will Wells raked unkempt grass growing out of the sand around his friend’s mobile home on a plot of land at the Bay County Fairgrounds.
Wells, a longtime Panama City resident, just turned 42, but the disabled veteran said he didn’t have much to celebrate. He’s been homeless for nearly two years — ever since Hurricane ... | By Ayurella Horn-Muller, Climate Central | This story was produced through a partnership between Climate Central and Southerly, an independent, nonprofit publication that covers ecology, justice, and culture in the American South. Read more ...
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Tear Gas, Pollution, Wildfire Smoke: A Triple Threat to Your Lungs - Climate Central (Jun 11, 2020) |
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Jun 11, 2020 · Teron McGrew stayed home during the past two weeks while others in her hometown of Oakland were protesting systemic racism and police killings of Black people. Like many of her neighbors, McGrew has asthma and, because of her breathing difficulties, she feared being exposed to COVID-19 and to tear gas used by police. She also feared police brutality.
The new coronavirus is taking a particularly cruel toll in minority communities, with Black Americans far more likely to die from COVID-19 than white Americans. One of the inequities driving the high numbers of deaths is damage and disease to lungs caused by years spent breathing polluted air.
Lung health is a critical ... | By John Upton (Climate Central) | Danielle Venton (KQED) contributed Reporting | KQED Radio/Brian Watt, Morning Edition Read more ...
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Local: Earth Day annual average temperature trends | Climate Central - Climate Central (Apr 15, 2020) |
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Apr 15, 2020 · As COVID-19 has shown, we are all connected on one Earth. Science-guided information and swift actions are essential, both individually and collectively- key lessons for climate change too.
One way to advance solutions is to talk about them. This Earth Week, the Covering Climate Now initiative is hosting a 'Joint Coverage Week” for climate change solutions.
We've also updated our popular city trends package, plotting annual temperatures since the first Earth Day 50 years ago.
And for those looking to engage audiences from afar, we've compiled some content that's fit for Environmental Education Week (also April 20-24) and beyond.
Download Data (CSV) Read more ...
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National: annual average temperature trend for the contiguous U.S. | Climate Central - Climate Central (Apr 15, 2020) |
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Apr 15, 2020 · As COVID-19 has shown, we are all connected on one Earth. Science-guided information and swift actions are essential, both individually and collectively- key lessons for climate change too.
One way to advance solutions is to talk about them. This Earth Week, the Covering Climate Now initiative is hosting a 'Joint Coverage Week” for climate change solutions.
We've also updated our popular city trends package, plotting annual temperatures since the first Earth Day 50 years ago.
And for those looking to engage audiences from afar, we've compiled some content that's fit for Environmental Education Week (also April 20-24) and beyond.
Download Data (CSV) Read more ...
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SERIES: Water Ways: Dutch Lessons for a Changing Coast | Climate Central - Climate Central (Mar 12, 2020) |
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Mar 12, 2020 · Read on Partner Site (includes video) | Read on ClimateCentral.org
This is the fourth installment of a Times-Picayune and Advocate series exploring how the Netherlands' climate change adaptation strategies could be a model for the Louisiana coast.The series was produced in collaboration with WWNO New Orleans Public Radio and Climate Central, and is part of the Pulitzer Center's Connected Coastlines reporting initiative. For more information, go to pulitzercenter.org/connected-coastlines
Read on Partner Site (includes video) | Read on ClimateCentral.org
This is the third installment of a Times-Picayune and Advocate series exploring how the Netherlands' climate ... Read more ...
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Local: Average Date of Last Freeze (2020) - Climate Central (Feb 26, 2020) |
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Feb 26, 2020 · Analyzing average spring temperatures since 1970, the top increases occurred in the Southwest--where spring is the fastest warming season. Reno, Nev. topped the list with an increase of 7.2℉, followed by Las Vegas, Nev. (6.4℉), El Paso, Texas (5.8℉), and Tucson (5.8℉). In general, 81% (197) of the 242 cities analyzed warmed by at least 1℉ over the past fifty years. The Southwest also saw the greatest jump in the number of spring days above normal, with 79% (191 of 242) of cities recording an increase of 5 or more days.
The last freeze is an important marker of the beginning of the growing season- when plants emerge from their protective phase ... Read more ...
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Local: Average Spring Temperatures (2020) - Climate Central (Feb 26, 2020) |
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Feb 26, 2020 · Analyzing average spring temperatures since 1970, the top increases occurred in the Southwest--where spring is the fastest warming season. Reno, Nev. topped the list with an increase of 7.2℉, followed by Las Vegas, Nev. (6.4℉), El Paso, Texas (5.8℉), and Tucson (5.8℉). In general, 81% (197) of the 242 cities analyzed warmed by at least 1℉ over the past fifty years. The Southwest also saw the greatest jump in the number of spring days above normal, with 79% (191 of 242) of cities recording an increase of 5 or more days.
The last freeze is an important marker of the beginning of the growing season- when plants emerge from their protective phase ... Read more ...
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Local: Spring Days Above Normal (2020) - Climate Central (Feb 26, 2020) |
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Feb 26, 2020 · Analyzing average spring temperatures since 1970, the top increases occurred in the Southwest--where spring is the fastest warming season. Reno, Nev. topped the list with an increase of 7.2℉, followed by Las Vegas, Nev. (6.4℉), El Paso, Texas (5.8℉), and Tucson (5.8℉). In general, 81% (197) of the 242 cities analyzed warmed by at least 1℉ over the past fifty years. The Southwest also saw the greatest jump in the number of spring days above normal, with 79% (191 of 242) of cities recording an increase of 5 or more days.
The last freeze is an important marker of the beginning of the growing season- when plants emerge from their protective phase ... Read more ...
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2020 Local Snow Trends by Season - Climate Central (Feb 07, 2020) |
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Feb 07, 2020 · Our analysis of long-term snowfall trends finds that snowfall has been decreasing across much of the United States in the spring and fall ("shoulder seasons") Results from 145 locations show that 116 stations (80%) had decreased snowfall before December, and 96 stations (66%) had decreased snowfall after March 1. Winter snow trends however, were a mixed record- with more snow in northern locations and less snow in southern regions of the U.S. Cities showing the greatest change in average annual snowfall were as follows:
Find individual season images here
Snow's not just for pretty pictures- it's a critical component of our climate system. Snow helps cool the Earth by ... Read more ...
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2020 National Snowfall Trend Map - Climate Central (Feb 07, 2020) |
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Feb 07, 2020 · Our analysis of long-term snowfall trends finds that snowfall has been decreasing across much of the United States in the spring and fall ("shoulder seasons") Results from 145 locations show that 116 stations (80%) had decreased snowfall before December, and 96 stations (66%) had decreased snowfall after March 1. Winter snow trends however, were a mixed record- with more snow in northern locations and less snow in southern regions of the U.S. Cities showing the greatest change in average annual snowfall were as follows:
Find individual season images here
Snow's not just for pretty pictures- it's a critical component of our climate system. Snow helps cool the Earth by ... Read more ...
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2020 Snow Report - Climate Central (Feb 07, 2020) |
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Feb 07, 2020 · The impact of climate change on snow can be a tricky story to tell. While warming winters would suggest that more precipitation will fall as rain instead of snow, a warming climate is also associated with increased precipitation which, in cold regions, can lead to an increase in snowfall. A new report from Climate Central aims to make sense of this challenging subject- analyzing snowfall data collected between 1970 and 2019 from 145 stations across the country.
Find individual season images here
Our analysis of long-term snowfall trends finds that snowfall has been decreasing across much of the United States in the spring and fall ("shoulder seasons") Results from 145 ... Read more ...
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2020 Local Snow Trends by Season - Climate Central (Feb 05, 2020) |
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Feb 05, 2020 · Our analysis of long-term snowfall trends finds that snowfall has been decreasing across much of the United States in the spring and fall ("shoulder seasons") Results from 145 locations show that 116 stations (80%) had decreased snowfall before December, and 96 stations (66%) had decreased snowfall after March 1. Winter snow trends however, were a mixed record- with more snow in northern locations and less snow in southern regions of the U.S. Cities showing the greatest change in average annual snowfall were as follows:
Find individual season images here
Snow's not just for pretty pictures- it's a critical component of our climate system. Snow helps cool the Earth by ... Read more ...
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2020 National Snowfall Trend Map - Climate Central (Feb 05, 2020) |
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Feb 05, 2020 · Our analysis of long-term snowfall trends finds that snowfall has been decreasing across much of the United States in the spring and fall ("shoulder seasons") Results from 145 locations show that 116 stations (80%) had decreased snowfall before December, and 96 stations (66%) had decreased snowfall after March 1. Winter snow trends however, were a mixed record- with more snow in northern locations and less snow in southern regions of the U.S. Cities showing the greatest change in average annual snowfall were as follows:
Find individual season images here
Snow's not just for pretty pictures- it's a critical component of our climate system. Snow helps cool the Earth by ... Read more ...
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2020 Super Bowl: Sea Level Rise Flood Risk - Climate Central (Jan 30, 2020) |
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Jan 30, 2020 · In the past half-century, NFL cities have trended warmer by at least 0.7°F and as much as 5°F, if you count the Raiders' new home in Las Vegas. Next-highest are the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals, whose home cities have heated up more than 4°F since 1970. Of the Super Bowl teams, San Francisco's warming trend is more than double Kansas City's (3.0 vs. 1.3°F), while Hard Rock Stadium in Miami falls in the middle (2.5°F).
That stadium may face increased flood risk as climate change accelerates sea level rise. The above image illustrates what Hard Rock Stadium could look like if the water level was 6 feet above the local high tide line. Water could ... Read more ...
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2020 Super Bowl: Warming NFL Cities - Climate Central (Jan 30, 2020) |
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Jan 30, 2020 · In the past half-century, NFL cities have trended warmer by at least 0.7°F and as much as 5°F, if you count the Raiders' new home in Las Vegas. Next-highest are the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals, whose home cities have heated up more than 4°F since 1970. Of the Super Bowl teams, San Francisco's warming trend is more than double Kansas City's (3.0 vs. 1.3°F), while Hard Rock Stadium in Miami falls in the middle (2.5°F).
That stadium may face increased flood risk as climate change accelerates sea level rise. The above image illustrates what Hard Rock Stadium could look like if the water level was 6 feet above the local high tide line. Water could ... Read more ...
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2020 Super Bowl: Warming Trends and Flood Risk - Climate Central (Jan 30, 2020) |
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Jan 30, 2020 · Download high-resolution file
In 2018, the NFL joined the Green Sports Alliance, in an effort to support sustainability efforts across the league as a whole. Since its inception in 2011, the Green Sports Alliance now counts 600 sports teams and venues from 15 different sports leagues and 14 countries among its membership. NFL sustainability measures include the Kansas City Chiefs' 'Extra Yard for the Environment” waste reduction program and the San Francisco 49ers' Levi's Stadium 27,000-square-foot green roof, complete with an urban farm and stormwater management system.
How are sports teams near you reacting to climate change? Check out the Green Sports Alliance ... Read more ...
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