Urban gardens, parks and green walls are crucial ways to tackle flash floods and city heat. But new global research finds its effectiveness varies from city to city.
Such a dramatic rise in extreme heat days is not inevitable. If global warming is limited to 1.5°C this century, Western Sydney will have fewer than 17 days of 35°C per year.
2021 was the sixth hottest year on record, despite the cooling effect of back-to-back La Niñas. Let’s reflect on the year that was, and what we can expect for this year and beyond.
Many of the temperatures presently being recorded in Africa, and those projected in the next decade, are already close to the limits of human survival, or “liveability”.
The latest climate change assessment by scientists is a ‘code red for humanity’, according to the UN.
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation and Daniel Merino, The Conversation
How scientists are improving their understanding of the connection between extremes and climate change – and what’s to come. Listen to The Conversation Weekly.
One year following the 2019/20 fires, this forest has been slow to recover.
Rachael Nolan
Many plants are really good at withstanding bushfires, but the combination of drought, heatwaves and pest insects under climate change may push them to the brink.
The aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Barataria, Louisiana, US.
EPA-EFE/Dan Anderson
The research, focused on the Jordan Springs estate in Western Sydney, found houses were built close together and made from materials which exacerbate hot weather.
Flooding is projected to increase in eastern Africa.
Toney Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
The report projects an increase in mean temperatures and hot extremes across the continent. Worryingly the rate of temperature increase across the continent exceeds the global average.
One quarter of monitored social housing properties recorded winter temperatures below World Health Organisation standards for more than 80% of winter, new research shows.
The growing frequency of climate extremes affected human health and caused wide-scale damages to the ecosystems that people depend upon, including agriculture, fisheries and freshwater.