Visible satellite image of Tropical Storm Kyle and Tropical Storm Josephine as of 9:10 a.m. EDT Saturday, August 15, 2020. RAMMB / CIRA / Colorado State University
By Jeff Masters, Ph.D.
The record-busy 2020 Atlantic hurricane season brought another addition to its bevy of early-season storms at 5 p.m. EDT August 14, when Tropical Storm Kyle formed off the coast of Maryland.
Kyle arrived well ahead of the previous earliest appearance by the Atlantic season's eleventh named storm – Katrina on August 24, 2005. Seven other Atlantic storms have set similar records during this already-hyperactive 2020 season.
However, the majority of 2020's impressive herd of early-season storms have been short-lived; only two made it to category 1 hurricane strength. As a result, the Accumulated Cyclone Energy, or ACE – a measure of the total destructive power of a hurricane season – has been unusually low for the first 10 storms of a season, according to statistics tweeted by Sam Lillo:
2020 currently has a total ACE of 23.6 through 10 storms. Though the 10th storm is ongoing, it's becoming more apparent that #Josephine is unlikely to be a big ACE producer.
— Sam Lillo (@splillo) August 14, 2020
The lowest ACE on record from the first 10 storms is 27.2, in 2013. pic.twitter.com/4xC0ZObNcV
Notwithstanding its historic timing, Kyle is not expected to bring major impacts to land. As of 5 a.m. EDT Saturday, Kyle was located 280 miles southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, moving east-northeast at 21 mph with top sustained winds at 45 mph.
Kyle was over the Gulf Stream, where waters were a record-warm 27-28 degrees Celsius (81-82°F), which is about 2 degrees Celsius (3.6°F) above average. Satellite images showed that high wind shear resulting from strong upper-level winds out of the southwest were keeping the low-level center exposed to view, and all of Kyle's heavy thunderstorms were confined to the east side of the center. High wind shear will affect Kyle throughout the weekend, and it is unlikely that the storm will become a hurricane.
Well-defined steering currents will take Kyle rapidly to the east-northeast over the weekend, and Kyle's winds and rain are not expected to impact any land areas. By Monday, Kyle will leave the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and move over cold waters, bringing an end to its brief life as an inconsequential tropical storm.
Tropical Storm Josephine Also No Threat to Land
Meanwhile, the season's record-earliest tenth named storm, Tropical Storm Josephine, was also struggling with high wind shear as it traced out a path over the open ocean.
At 5 a.m. EDT Saturday, Josephine was located about 310 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, moving west-northwest at 15 mph with top sustained winds at 45 mph. Josephine is expected to bring one to three inches of rain over portions of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico over the weekend. Josephine will encounter steadily rising wind shear through Monday, peaking at a very high 30 – 35 knots. This high shear is likely to destroy Josephine's circulation by Monday, before the storm can affect any other land areas.
Reposted with permission from Yale Climate Connections.
Infants and young children may experience high phthalate levels because they often put plastic products in their mouths. Image Source / Getty Images
By Stephanie Eick
You may not realize it, but you likely encounter phthalates every day. These chemicals are found in many plastics, including food packaging, and they can migrate into food products during processing. They're in personal care products like shampoos, soaps and laundry detergents, and in the vinyl flooring in many homes.
<p>They're also in the news again after an editorial by scientists in the <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.2020.306014" target="_blank">American Journal of Public Health</a> included an urgent call for better federal regulation of the chemicals.</p><p>In particular, scientists are urging state and federal agencies to eliminate phthalates (pronounced THAL-ates) from products used by pregnant women and children. Despite evidence of the harm these chemicals can cause, federal regulation in the United States has been minimal beyond <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/01/26/2018-01451/prohibition-of-childrens-toys-and-child-care-articles-containing-specified-phthalates-revision-of" target="_blank">children's toys</a>. A recent move by the General Mills-owned food brand Annie's to <a href="https://www.annies.com/faq/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">eliminate phthalates from its macaroni and cheese</a> suggests stricter rules are feasible.</p><p>So, what's the risk, and what can you do about it?</p><p>I'm an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wKXbh1UAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">environmental epidemiologist</a> who studies the impact of pregnant women's exposure to environmental chemicals. Here are answers to three important questions about phthalates.</p>
<h2>Who's at Risk?</h2><p>Ortho-phthalates, commonly referred to as phthalates, are synthetic chemicals that are used to manufacture plastic. They help make plastic more flexible and harder to break.</p><p>Despite their abundance in many products, phthalates can be harmful to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412018329908" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pregnant women</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935115001899?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">their children</a>. These chemicals can disrupt the endocrine system, the glands that release hormones as the body's chemical messengers. Studies suggest that can lead to pregnant women <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412021000684" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">delivering their babies early</a>. Other studies have found that children born to mothers exposed to high levels of phthalates can have a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935115001899?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lower IQ</a> and poorer social communication development, and that these children are also more likely to develop <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP2358" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ADHD</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0161813X18303255?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">behavior problems</a>. Researchers have also found effects on the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1280349/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">genital development of male infants</a> born to mothers exposed to phthalates during pregnancy.</p><p>While phthalates can be found in nearly everyone, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412018329908" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">minority women have been found to be especially burdened</a>. Studies show that many <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2018.03.030" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">beauty products</a> targeted at these communities contain high levels of chemicals.</p><p><a href="http://doi.org/10.1097/MOP.0b013e32835e1eb6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Infants and young children</a> may experience high phthalate levels because they often put plastic products in their mouths as they explore the world.</p><p>Phthalates can enter food at <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/Phthalates_FactSheet.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">many places</a> in the supply chain, including through plastic tubing for liquids during production, plastic storage containers and even food preparation gloves. Foods that are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4050989/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">high in fat</a> in particular can absorb phthalates through exposure during processing. Eating out doesn't avoid the risk. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2018.02.029" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">study of U.S. children and adults</a> showed that those who ate food outside of their homes had higher phthalate levels.</p>
<h2>How Do I Know if a Product Has Phthalates?</h2><p>Figuring out which products have high levels of phthalates isn't always easy. While <a href="https://phthalates.americanchemistry.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">phthalates</a> are required to be listed on ingredients labels, they are sometimes included instead as part of the fragrance, which <a href="https://www.safecosmetics.org/fragrance-disclosure/learn-more/trade-secrets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">allows them to be excluded</a> from the ingredients list.</p><p>Many companies have voluntarily removed phthalates, and many consumer products are now labeled "phthalate free." The <a href="https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Environmental Working Group</a>'s Skin Deep website also offers a way to search for details about chemicals in cleaning and personal care products.</p>
<h2>How Do I Keep My Family Safe?</h2><p>Phthalates are <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/Phthalates_FactSheet.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rapidly metabolized</a> and generally removed from the body once exposure stops. Until there is better regulation, a few simple changes can make a big difference in promoting health and reducing phthalate levels in the home.</p><p>One <a href="http://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1003170" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">easy change</a> is to swap out all plastic food packaging containers with glass containers. If that's not possible, it's best to let food cool to room temperature before placing it in plastic food storage containers.</p><p>Don't microwave anything in plastic, because phthalates can <a href="http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110100507" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">migrate from food storage containers</a> into food.</p><p>You can also reduce phthalate exposure by checking labels to avoid using products that include phthalates, by <a href="http://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1003170" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">eating less processed food</a> that might have absorbed phthalates during production, and by cooking more meals at home.</p>
<p>
<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephanie-eick-1212588" target="_blank">Stephanie Eick</a> is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Reproductive Health, University of California, San Francisco.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Disclosure statement: Stephanie Eick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-phthalates-and-how-do-they-put-childrens-health-at-risk-155841" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
</p><iframe height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155841/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1"></iframe>From Your Site Articles
- 7 Types of Plastic Wreaking Havoc on Our Health - EcoWatch ›
- Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Results in Decline in Toxic Phthalates ... ›
- Phthalates Exposure in Womb Linked to Autistic Traits in Boys ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
An oil pumpjack is seen in a Texas cotton field against a backdrop of wind energy. ChrisBoswell / Getty Images
Many congressional districts with the most clean energy potential are current fossil fuel hubs, potentially reducing political barriers to a just transition away from the energy sources that cause climate change, a Brookings report says.
Of the 155 congressional districts with high renewable energy potential, 91 are currently represented by a Republican.<p><br>Although fossil fuel companies have laid off well over 100,000 workers in the last year alone, in some cases while their executives raked in <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/MVY1h1-_RTJN7mQ5ZLkJ0w4W3fCDQw4nwFmrMQqrWk3p_9LV1-WJV7CgLcCV2Df3L1V8BtsW2_x6NM3601T9W5c5Qtv1W8mMBW74KJT267rhm4W17YTpJ8p5pTPW6kyj365Dcpr0W84Kmdm5JDgWFN8w9R8dmmRHNW3QMyqv4jhm4BN3W2BvyqbzFjW4CCrmM8WKztLW8YKVFK6vCrRLW3nCpt375_vHRW2sDJXQ1R8Kc4W8lQ9pd8M5g2HW2f1fnZ5F_X1PW6F98Pr8kHHRSW3b9jnl6hY8MvW1RmG5X8ysxJ0W2cRmR06xHGjfW6FqMSC6pd4yNW8Gn8zS5rfsl9W3XfPnx4zdZgVVjgcXV4b1fyyW4llG__99Vgp2W48Ds8c5QqTfYW3CwWFf5tS3Q2W96QcZ99487Rr31Ng1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bonuses funded by government bailouts</a>, the Brookings researchers describe a fear of transitioning to renewable energy in geographically concentrated regions and communities historically dominated by the fossil fuel industry. </p><p>The Brookings report did not address the billions of dollars spent by fossil fuel companies over decades to deny the science of climate change and fund politicians who support their industries. </p><p>While many workers in the fossil fuel industry are finding <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/MVY1h1-_RTJN7mQ5ZLkJ0w4W3fCDQw4nwFmrMQqrTy5nxG7V3Zsc37CgL8bW40b_lj927k13W7BcJZT8BqWSMW3tbhQG4bHXgFW639_Rf3s01YkW1bcZZ55dDP_PW5sqqPG6HcmKgN3ZmLcg9KXlDW9fDBRM4d8ls6W6c6tr62qqs6LW50t0NS2WVbq3N7XF1wXYV06kW7_Fh133KRKM8W5Z2j8k3PNYKmW3j7RDX1SBHYBW5D7SM44RNQL4W71Pf2Z7bWdt6V1SGF85j4knsW5ZdjY673mNQGW6vP-_G4dRgFsVjntSb6LHB7pW5gxjl28rpMVtW6xjfx21t26zKW6VNVL68Mng3TN64Mq75nctXmW2xS4BD7N0tXkW49tMfh5fQGRkW4NQskf7BkRkHW5x5BdW7CzVKNW7-HWBP5HnvCTW3vb3D55RC2_3W3tyYzP78jh4wW8vNy9y6k4D863nqX1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">their skills transfer easily</a> to renewable energy, oil and gas workers could also be employed plugging orphaned wells, which leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and other pollutants.</p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p>Brookings: <a href="https://www.eenews.net/energywire/2021/02/25/stories/1063725859?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=113098412&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-839hnX7b4zvCuqLUebVBKHK2HmH_2m8irPUGeEuycSZygZjz_VnUscwzq9nRj6WUpT1dNLTFsa-40M5MyUjMRwCs0j3w3Rs855EyCa7x_gAR9tTT0&utm_content=113098412&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">E&E</a>, <a href="https://www.axios.com/clean-energy-jobs-transition-biden-c656cb47-fe7e-4a8c-9737-981e006aff6f.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=113098412&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-820Rqwn19yHmMV1VXr5zuWUaA-6TDDux8h9pANCdwtRhxc1z_MdVhdY31lRccPdnX-I5iaExEyGuZyPUBiHzAnGEPeejcUei8O-dxiI8GSKaM4iNU&utm_content=113098412&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Axios</a>; Bonuses: <a href="https://bailoutwatch.org/analysis/bailed-out-oil-firms-lay-off-workers?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=113098412&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9u3p0E67jWSCvYD7I-2YFDhEp58vEJzLASuQGVA_qPbufk2qtOPkaRawD25U7NHyobohaYbVYDBBfVGhmzqNRKbEDNNbRvanzDupjNjauDi0ddZWM&utm_content=113098412&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">BailoutWatch</a>; Orphaned Wells: <a href="https://www.kxan.com/weather/weather-blog/curbing-climate-change-while-also-putting-unemployed-oil-gas-workers-back-to-work/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=113098412&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-89DPzr9Bwxk-sF9J39afc8oKu10cH4J_RQhKymU3VaHOTdmij2mnhRByaaz24lZD0thps-E4K4IDbaBotigWb2c4l9MRB_1lVfJVGNDTzr2br-O4A&utm_content=113098412&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">KXAN</a><br/></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, sign up for daily </em><a href="https://www.linktrack.live/hot-news-sign-up" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>, and visit their news site, </em><a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Nexus Media News</em></a><em>.</em></p>
Read More
Show Less
Trending
This Popular Condiment Is Helping Save Sea Turtles From One of Israel’s Worst Oil Spills
20h
Animals
A sea turtle rescued from Israel's devastating oil spill. MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP via Getty Images
Rescue workers in Israel are using a surprising cure to save the sea turtles harmed by a devastating oil spill: mayonnaise!
<p>The condiment can both help break down the tar that has coated even the turtles' insides and clean out their system, Guy Ivgy, a medical assistant at the National Sea Turtle Rescue Center in Michmoret, explained to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mayonnaise-help-turtles-oil-spills-c5f679439e7a0f95fb79384978944cde" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a>.</p><p>"They came to us full of tar. All their trachea from inside and outside was full of tar," he said.</p>
<p>Tar from a mysterious oil spill began washing up on Israeli beaches last week, as EcoWatch reported previously. The spill is being called one of the worst ecological disasters in the nation's history, and has now covered most of Israel's 120 miles of coastline along the Mediterranean, according to The Associated Press. It has now also spread to the coastline of Lebanon.</p><p>The spill has generated around 1,000 tons of tar, which has seriously affected <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a>, including sea turtles. The injured turtles have been taken to the National Sea Turtle Rescue Center, which is north of Tel Aviv. Ivgy told The Associated Press Tuesday that the center was currently treating 11 turtles. Yaniv Levy, the center's founder and director, told <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-with-mayonnaise-and-q-tips-israelis-save-oil-drenched-turtles-1.9562907?v=1614269214502" target="_blank">Haaretz</a> the same day that the center was treating 27 turtles total and six for tar damage specifically.</p>
<p>The tar-coated turtles have to be cleaned both inside and out, Levy explained.</p><p>"They all got here with a coat of tar on their heads, and in their eyes, nostrils, mouth, digestive system and stomach," he said. "With this kind of damage they have no chance to survive without treatment. We removed the tar from their nostrils and eyes so they could breathe and see."</p><p>The mayonnaise helps clean the digestive system. First, volunteers use vegetable oil to thin the tar. Then, they use mayonnaise to dilute the tar and remove it from the stomach and intestinal lining. At the same time, the mayonnaise provides fats and proteins to the turtles while it is not safe for them to eat solid food.</p><p>"If they eat regular food, it turns into a lump with the tar and could cause blockages, which is why we don't give them solid foods during the first days," Levy said.</p>
<div id="69149" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5c72399c478551575fe4f92bdb8d25dc"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1364507790841180160" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">At this Israeli turtles hospital, oil spill victims are saved with Q-tips and mayonnaise
https://t.co/XrmHbKrmHu https://t.co/bmmlcY4wTJ</div> — Haaretz.com (@Haaretz.com)<a href="https://twitter.com/haaretzcom/statuses/1364507790841180160">1614158983.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>This isn't the first time mayonnaise has been used to treat sea turtles rescued from an oil spill. The Turtle Hospital in Florida also recommends it as a safe and effective treatment, according to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56194624" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BBC News</a>.</p><p>Mayonnaise is an effective treatment because of its unique properties, <a href="https://www.livescience.com/mayonnaise-sea-turtle-treatment-after-isreal-oil-spill.html" target="_blank">Live Science explained</a>. That is because it is an emulsion, a mixture of two liquids that don't usually mix, in this case oil and water. The egg yolks in mayonnaise contain both water and lecithin, a molecule that is hydrophilic (water-attracting) on one side and hydrophobic (water-repelling) on the other. That means that, when the yolks are combined with acid (usually lemon juice or vinegar) and oil to make mayonnaise, the oil sticks to the hydrophobic sides of the lecithin molecules, and the hydrophilic sides stick out, sticking to the water and preventing it from separating from the oil.</p>
<p>Live Science explained why this is good news for tar-coated turtles:</p><blockquote>Because mayonnaise has both hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties, it can interact with both the oily, hydrophobic tar and hydrophilic molecules in a turtle's digestive tract. The hydrophobic oil can mix with the tar, making it thinner and less viscous; meanwhile, the hydrophobic ends of the lecithin molecules are also drawn towards the tar, with their hydrophilic ends facing out. This creates a barrier around the tar that better interacts with water, making the toxic substance less sticky.</blockquote><p>In Israel, the treatment appears to be working. Levy told Haaretz he thought the turtles in his care would be ready to be released in a month or two.</p><p>"A little more mayonnaise and they'll all recover and get back to natural food," he said.</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Israeli Oil Spill Is a 'Severe Ecological Disaster' - EcoWatch ›
- Endangered Sea Turtles Recovering After 'Cold Stunning' Event ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
A "digital twin of Earth." European Space Agency
As the weather grows more severe, and its damages more expensive and fatal, current weather predictions fall short in providing reliable information on Earth's rapidly changing systems.
<p>That's why a team of European scientists and ETH Zurich computer scientists are putting their heads together to "marry" the earth sciences and computer sciences to create a "<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-00986-y?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nclimate%2Frss%2Fcurrent+%28Nature+Climate+Change+-+Issue%29" target="_blank">digital twin of Earth</a>." The simulation will provide an information system for scientists and policymakers to test scenarios with different sustainable development options, <a href="https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2021/02/a-highly-accurate-digital-twin-of-our-planet.html" target="_blank">ETH Zurich reported</a>.</p><p>"If you are planning a two-metre high dike in The Netherlands, for example, I can run through the data in my digital twin and check whether the dike will in all likelihood still protect against expected extreme events in 2050," Peter Bauer, deputy director for Research at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and co-initiator of the project Destination Earth, told ETH Zurich.</p>
<p>Over the past 20 years, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather">extreme weather</a> events have been on the rise, according to a <a href="https://www.undrr.org/news/drrday-un-report-charts-huge-rise-climate-disasters" target="_blank">report by the United Nations</a>. From 2000 to 2019, 1.23 million people were killed by 7,348 major natural disasters. Twenty years before that, in comparison, there were 4,212 natural disasters, killing 1.19 million. This increase comes with a heavy price tag. Extreme natural weather cost $2.97 trillion in global economic losses in the past two decades, compared to the $1.63 trillion, two decades prior.</p><p>These numbers are expected to grow, urging researchers to design large-scale policy solutions across nations.</p><p>As part of their plans to become climate neutral by 2050, the European Union launched the Destination Earth initiative to track and plan for the future of extreme weather, monitor the health of the planet and support and inform EU environmental policy, according to a <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/destination-earth-destine" target="_blank">EU policy report</a>.</p>
<p>In an effort to advance the "digital revolution of earth-system sciences" a team of scientists and researchers, including Bauer looked at the steady advancement of weather models since the 1940s, <a href="https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2021/02/a-highly-accurate-digital-twin-of-our-planet.html" target="_blank">ETH Zurich reported</a>. Their <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43588-021-00023-0" target="_blank">paper</a> was published Monday in <em>Nature Computational Science.</em></p><p>The climate problem is a complex one, requiring weather predictors to cover more than just local regions, but encompass the "complex processes of the entire Earth system," ETH Zurich reported. Yet, while their findings are not meant to "invalidate the steady progress achieved in weather prediction over the past decades," the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43588-021-00023-0" target="_blank">authors stress</a> the urgent need to develop a "high resolution" and "more realistic representation" of Earth's changing atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, land surfaces and biosphere.</p>
<p>"We are willfully destructive," Mami Mizutori, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction <a href="https://www.undrr.org/news/drrday-un-report-charts-huge-rise-climate-disasters" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said in a statement</a> about the UN report on natural disasters. "Disaster risk is becoming systemic with one event overlapping and influencing another in ways that are testing our resilience to the limit. The odds are being stacked against us when we fail to act on science and early warnings to invest in prevention, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction."</p><p>While the "digital twin of Earth" model is a bold step forward, it is necessary to ensure nations are prepared to handle the future of extreme weather, the authors wrote.</p><p>"The apparent effects of climate change on our environment — in particular on the frequency of occurrence and the intensity of environmental extremes — require urgent political response and much faster progress in delivering skillful predictions of future change," the authors wrote.</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Are New Extreme Global Warming Projections Correct? - EcoWatch ›
- Are We Really Past the Point of No Return on Climate? Scientists ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Melting ice in places such as Greenland could stop a critical ocean current. Paul Souders / Getty Images
The climate crisis could push an important ocean current past a critical tipping point sooner than expected, new research suggests.
<p>The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) helps move heat from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere, and is one of the reasons why Europe has relatively mild winters, <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/a-major-ocean-current-might-be-on-the-verge-of-a-climate-change-tipping-point" target="_blank">Science Alert explained</a>. However, the current has begun slowing down in recent years, and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scientists" target="_self">scientists</a> want to know what it would take for the current to stop. A study published in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/9/e2017989118" target="_blank">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Monday</a> calculates that this moment could come sooner than expected.</p><p>"It is worrying news. Because if this is true, it reduces our safe operating space," Johannes Lohmann of the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen and study co-author said in a <a href="https://www.tipes.dk/steady-now-unfortunate-timing-and-rate-of-change-may-be-enough-to-tip-a-climate-system/" target="_blank">press release</a>.</p><p>Essentially, the new findings come down to timing. The AMOC is threatened by increasing freshwater into the North Atlantic as the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greenland" target="_self">Greenland</a> ice sheet melts. A certain amount of freshwater will cause the current to stop. But Lohmann wanted to test what would happen if that water were added quickly instead of gradually.</p><p>"These tipping points have been shown previously in climate models, where meltwater is very slowly introduced into the ocean," Lohmann told <a href="https://earther.gizmodo.com/a-major-ocean-current-may-be-hurtling-towards-collapse-1846337333" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gizmodo</a>. "In reality, increases in meltwater from Greenland are accelerating and cannot be considered slow."</p>
<p>So researchers used an ocean model called Veros to calculate when the current would stop if freshwater were gradually added, the press release explained. Researchers then added freshwater at increased rates and found that quickly added freshwater would stop currents before reaching the initial freshwater threshold.</p><p>This has serious implications for the AMOC current itself. If it were to completely halt, tropical monsoon patterns would shift, rainfall in the Northern Hemisphere would decrease and the North Atlantic would get stormier. It also raises concerns about other climate tipping points, such as polar ice sheets collapsing or the Amazon rainforest drying out. If the AMOC can stop before the previously calculated tipping point is reached, is the same true for other systems?</p><p>"The results show that the safe operating space of elements of the Earth system with respect to future emissions might be smaller than previously thought," the study authors wrote.</p>
<p>However, outside scientists urged caution. Dave Sutherland, an associate professor in Earth sciences at the University of Oregon, told Gizmodo that the findings were important and timely, but that the models did not take all details into account, such as the location of the meltwater entering the ocean from Greenland.</p><p>Lohmann agreed that more testing is needed, but also pressed the urgency of climate action.</p><p>"Due to the potentially increased risk of abrupt climate change in parts of the Earth system that we show in our research, it is important that policymakers keep pushing for ambitious short- and mid-term climate targets to slow down the pace of climate change, especially in vulnerable places like the Arctic," Lohmann told Gizmodo.</p>
<p><br/></p>
Read More
Show Less