extreme weather

Extreme Heat Stress in Europe Hit Record Levels in 2023, Report Finds

Extreme Heat Stress in Europe Hit Record Levels in 2023, Report Finds

Extreme heat stress is affecting much of Europe at record rates, according to a new report from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). According to the European State of the Climate 2023 report, temperatures in Europe were consistently high, with higher than average temperatures for 11 months last year. […]

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    European Court of Human Rights to Rule on Whether Governments Must Protect People From Climate Change

    European Court of Human Rights to Rule on Whether Governments Must Protect People From Climate Change

    This week, the European Court of Human Rights could make a landmark ruling that governments have an obligation to protect people from the adverse impacts of climate change. Judges will rule on three distinct cases concerning whether people’s human rights were breached when governments failed to protect them from the ravages of a warming planet. […]

    Africa’s Great Apes Are Already Feeling the Effects of Climate Change, First-of-Its-Kind Study Finds

    Africa’s Great Apes Are Already Feeling the Effects of Climate Change, First-of-Its-Kind Study Finds

    African great apes are some of the most iconic creatures on Earth. Humans’ closest living relative, these majestic primates are becoming increasingly impacted by climate change. In the next three decades, African apes will experience more extreme events such as heat waves, wildfires and flooding, according to a new study led by Razak Kiribou, a […]

    ‘Climate Change Is Changing the Geography of Wine,’ Study Finds

    ‘Climate Change Is Changing the Geography of Wine,’ Study Finds

    More heat waves and unpredictable rainfall could destroy vineyards from California to Greece by 2100, according to a new study, while at the same time creating ideal conditions for wine growing in the United Kingdom and other unexpected regions. “Climate change is affecting grape yield, composition and wine quality. As a result, the geography of […]

    Despite Weather Extremes, Australia’s Grey-Headed Flying Fox ‘Is Doing OK’

    Despite Weather Extremes, Australia’s Grey-Headed Flying Fox ‘Is Doing OK’

    The grey-headed and spectacled species of mainland flying fox — common in Australia, also known as “fruit bats” — have historically experienced such low numbers that they faced the possibility of extinction, reported The Conversation. But after a decade-long survey by the National Flying-fox Monitoring Program (NFFMP) — coordinated by CSIRO, along with state and […]

    WMO Issues ‘Red Alert’ as Climate Records Are Broken Worldwide

    WMO Issues ‘Red Alert’ as Climate Records Are Broken Worldwide

    The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has issued a “red alert” as all major global climate records — greenhouse gas levels, near-surface temperatures, ocean heat and acidification, Antarctic sea ice cover, glacier retreat and sea level rise — were broken in 2023, a WMO press release said. Floods, swiftly intensifying tropical cyclones, heat waves, drought and […]

    Arizona’s Health Department Adds Chief Heat Officer

    Arizona’s Health Department Adds Chief Heat Officer

    Following the hottest year on record, complete with a megadrought in Arizona that led to construction restrictions to reserve groundwater around Phoenix, Arizona has added a new chief heat officer to its Department of Health Services. The officer’s role is to help with extreme heat preparedness in the state. Dr. Eugene Livar, a physician who […]

    Deforestation Could Put 84% of North American Lizards at Risk, Study Says

    Deforestation Could Put 84% of North American Lizards at Risk, Study Says

    Deforestation is making lizards in North America more vulnerable because of a lack of shelter from extreme temperatures, according to a new study. Led by scientists at University of Colorado Boulder and Tel Aviv University, the study found that forest loss, alongside climate change, could negatively impact 84% of lizards in North America by 2100. […]