We all know climate change makes extreme weather more likely. But it’s also loading the dice for quick-forming drought, sudden and intense rainfall and fast-forming tropical storms.
A satellite captured Tropical Storm Idalia’s convection as it gained strength off Cuba on Aug. 28, 2023.
NOAA GOES
A hurricane scientist explains the conflict between 2023’s abnormally high ocean heat and the storm-disrupting wind shear accompanying El Niño.
Burlington, Vt., is often named as a ‘climate haven,’ but surrounding areas flooded during extreme storms in July 2023.
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Even ‘climate havens’ face a riskier future, and infrastructure often isn’t built to handle climate change. But there are steps cities can take to prepare.
Water flows around the Rapidan Dam near Mankato, Minn., on June 24, 2024, after heavy rains in the Upper Midwest.
AP Photo/Mark Vancleave
Parts of New York’s Hudson Valley were hit with 10 inches of rain, and the mountains of Vermont – where runoff can quickly turn deadly – saw some its worst flooding since Hurricane Irene.
Some were quick to point the finger at climate change when floods hit eastern Australia in February and March 2022, in the lead up to the federal election. But it’s not that simple, scientists say.
The hardest-hit homes in Florida’s mid-April flooding were in modest neighborhoods in low-lying areas.
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
Nationally, 57% of the population says they’re not prepared for a flood disaster. Surveys and disasters show that those most at risk are least prepared.
Martin Brook, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Building too close to cliffs and slopes, weak soils, lack of vegetation and increased rainfall all played a part in the massive storm damage to Auckland. The city needs to change the way it uses land.
Kevin Trenberth, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
A climate scientist explains the forces behind the summer’s extreme downpours and dangerous heat waves, and why new locations will be at risk in the coming year.
At least 9 inches of rain across eastern Kentucky became floodwater that swept through neighborhoods in July 2022.
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Extreme downpours caught people off guard from Las Vegas to Kentucky in July 2022.
A tropical storm’s rain overwhelmed a dam in Thailand and caused widespread flooding in late September. It was just one of 2021’s disasters.
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Kevin Trenberth, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
While surface temperatures were about the 6th warmest on record in 2021, the upper oceans were at their hottest – and they’re a stronger indicator of global warming. A top climate scientist explains.
Residents had to be rescued as Hurricane Ida flooded coastal Louisiana in August 2021.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
A hurricane that wreaked havoc from Louisiana to New York City, the Texas freeze and devastating western wildfires topped NOAA’s list of billion-dollar disasters in 2021.
Wildfires that swept through Sequoia National Forest in California in September 2021 were so severe they killed ancient trees that had adapted to survive fires.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
US disasters in 2021 told a tale of two climate extremes. A climate scientist explains why wet areas are getting wetter and dry areas drier.
The effects of climate change are heightened in urban areas and impose a high financial burden to the municipalities.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Shoreline communities are already faltering under the weight of billions of dollars in damages — and worrying that climate change will continue to make things even worse.
Six-year-old Makai'ryn Terrio, centre, cools off with his brothers as they play in water fountains in Montréal. The city had its hottest August on record.
The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes
Southern Québec is warming twice as rapidly as the rest of the world due to the progressive loss of snow cover. An average annual warming of 3 C to 6 C is expected by the end of the century.
Chief Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes; Chief Investigator, ARC Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future; Professor, Monash University