We already know that climate change makes heatwaves hotter and longer. But a new series of research papers asks whether there is also a climate fingerprint on frosty spells and bouts of wet weather.
A flooded street in Euroa, Victoria.
AAP Image/Brendan McCarthy
You should never try to drive through floodwater, because you never know what’s beneath the surface. And new research shows some roads are more treacherous than others.
Knowing about hailstones in advance would be preferable.
AAP Image/Dan Peled
Chris Sellers, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York)
Five years after Superstorm Sandy, we see how disadvantaged social groups suffered more from the storm before and after – much as we’re seeing in Hurricanes Harvey and Maria.
The intensity of heavy downpours in Houston has increased dramatically since the 1950s, leading some people to argue the city’s disaster planning and infrastructure are not up-to-date.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
It’s not just about rebuilding infrastructure after storms: Cities need to systematically rethink their knowledge systems which are at the heart of urban resilience.
A solar and battery-powered microgrid got San Juan’s Children’s Hospital quickly back online after Hurricane Maria.
Alvin Baez/Reuters
Yes, Puerto Rico and any other storm-vulnerable location could benefit from on-site solar and battery backup, but it’s unrealistic to say these microgrids are enough to power the island.
Flooding in Port Arthur, Texas during Hurricane Harvey, Aug. 31, 2017. According to the Climate Science Special Report released on Nov. 2, heavy precipitation events are becoming more frequent and intense in most regions of the world.
SC National Guard
On Nov. 2 the White House posted a detailed climate science report without comment. The Trump administration is unlikely to heed it, but it could boost state, local and private sector action.
A fireman tackles one of the wildfires that swept through parts of California in October.
Jim Urquhart/Reuters
This year is poised to go down as the hottest non-El Niño year ever recorded, with record low polar ice and extreme weather that left many regions battling bushfires and hurricanes.
Cars are submerged on a flooded road in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville in 2012.
Alex Holver/NixPages
A massive residential development in a flood-prone inner-city suburb sounds like a recipe for disaster. But good urban design can deliver higher density and reduce the flood risk.
Gerard Butler at the US premiere of Geostorm.
REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Geostorm is the newest addition to the Hollywood climate doom canon. It is terrible, which is why you should think about this genre but under no circumstances actually watch this movie.
Extreme temperatures in Cordoba, Spain in June 2017.
EPA/SALAS
In an unchanging climate, we would expect record-breaking temperatures to get rarer as the observation record grows longer. But in the real world the opposite is true - because we are driving up temperatures.
Koalas are stressed out by a range of pressures, from habitat loss to dog attacks.
Edward Narayan
The amount of atmospheric energy available to thunderstorms will increase in response to climate change, putting the tropics and subtropics at risk of being lashed with more intense storms.
Sydney is facing 50°C summer days by 2040, new research says.
Andy/Flickr/Wikimedia Commons