Planting trees and preventing deforestation can store carbon in nature, but the effect may only be temporary. If we also eliminate emissions from fossil fuels, even this temporary effect is important.
The ocean retains heat for much longer than land does.
Aliraza Khatri's Photography via Getty Images
If fossil fuel burning stopped, emerging research suggests air temperatures could level off sooner than expected. But that doesn’t mean the damage stops.
Paul Hardisty, Australian Institute of Marine Science; David Mead, Australian Institute of Marine Science, and Rob Vertessy, The University of Melbourne
Coral in the Great Barrier Reef is once again bleaching, with water temperatures up to 3°C higher than normal in some places.
The heart of U.S. tornado activity, once Tornado Alley, has shifted eastward.
Brent Koops/NOAA Weather in Focus Photo Contest 2015
Mark Howden, Australian National University; Joy Pereira, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia), and Roberto Sánchez, Colegio de la Frontera Norte
The IPCC is the global authority on climate change. Their new report paints a worrying picture of climate impacts already affecting billions of people, economies and the environment.
Weather and climate extremes are already here, and communities will have to adapt.
Michael Hall via Getty Images
As temperatures warm, ski and snowboard resorts are investing more in snowmaking and seeing their seasons shrink. Those costs roll down to customers in an already expensive sport.
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.
Tidal flooding is creeping farther into coastal towns like Alexandria, Virginia.
Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images