A better understanding of the science behind falling trees – followed by informed action – will help keep us safe and ensure trees continue to provide their many benefits.
Obadiah Mulder, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences et Ida Kubiszewski, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Wetlands bear the brunt of much storm damage to the coast. But over the past 300 years, 85% of the world’s wetland area has been destroyed.
NOAA released its list of climate and weather disasters that cost the nation more than $1 billion each. Like many climate and weather events this past year, it shattered the record.
From heatwaves to droughts to storms, climate change poses one of the biggest health threats to Australians. Yet the federal government makes no mention of it in its strategic health planning.
Disaster preparation and evacuation procedures weren’t made for social distancing. The pandemic means response decisions are now fraught with contradictions.
Some rainstorms drench you in a second, while others drop rain in a nice peaceful drizzle. A meteorologist explains how rainstorms can be so different.
From June through October, it’s not unusual for huge Saharan dust plumes to blow across the Atlantic. They can darken skies but also bring calmer weather and electric sunsets. Here’s how they form.
Hurricane and tornado winds spin in circles, but there’s another, equally dangerous storm type where winds barrel straight ahead. They’re called derechos, and are most common in summer.
In the Southeast US, tornadoes strike at night more often than in other regions. This poses special challenges for getting early warnings to the public.
Earth’s biggest rivers are streams of warm water vapor in the atmosphere that can cause huge rain and snowfall over land. Climate change is making them longer, wetter and stronger.
Large, intense bushfires can pump so much heat into the atmosphere they form their own thunderstorm system. And that can make the weather on the ground even more dangerously unpredictable.
African countries need to take into account the effects environmental changes, like climate change, have on their ability to deal with food security, poverty reduction and lowering mortality rates.