Engineers, architects and builders can design and construct affordable new buildings that can resist tornadoes, floods and wildfires, but do not. We have that opportunity now.
When trees burn, all the carbon they have stored goes back into the atmosphere.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
More carbon dioxide in the air doesn’t necessarily mean more growth for trees, and the increasing risk of wildfires and drought has major consequences, as an interactive map shows.
Sea lions, otters and birds were some of the many wildlife species that were hit hard by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. Oil spills like these expose the wildlife to new contaminants and can be fatal.
(AP Photo/Jack Smith, File)
Fire season is getting longer, and the result is transforming iconic desert ecosystems. The start to 2022 has been so dire, one governor called for a federal disaster declaration.
A water chopper hovers over University of Cape Town on April 18, 2021 as a wildfire spread across the mountain.
Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images
Dry, windy conditions have fueled destructive wildfires in Texas, Florida and other states in 2022. Understanding these terms can help people in fire-risk areas prepare.
Satellites captured the tree loss from Hurricane Michael in 2018. This is where fires were burning in 2022.
Forwarn/USDA Forest Service
Hurricane Michael left a jumbled mess of downed trees. Cleaning it up is even harder than it sounds, and now dead trees are burning.
A burned ‘Caution: Children at play’ sign remained after a wildfire devastated the town of Berry Creek, Calif., in 2020.
Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The author’s 9-year-old son will likely face about four times as many extreme events in his lifetime as older adults today. An international report explains the impacts already being felt.
A mother and son watch as firefighters battle wildfires in Shoresh, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, on Aug. 16, 2021.
(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
For the first time, an IPCC climate report has assessed evidence that weather and climate extremes are already affecting mental health — and are likely to worsen.
Judy Lawrence, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Alistair Woodward, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Anita Wreford, Lincoln University, New Zealand, and Mark John Costello, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
As the impacts and costs of climate change increase over time, New Zealand’s financial systems could become less stable and the government less able to support those affected.
Disaster-affected communities form the backbone of any disaster response. But survivors are often underutilised in shaping plans for their community’s longer-term recovery and preparedness efforts.
Homes overlook a forest in the wildland-urban interface in Arizona.
Marius von Essen
Ryan E. Tompkins, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Susan Kocher, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
After another devastating wildfire year in the West, the Biden administration has a plan to ramp up forest thinning and prescribed burns. Two foresters explain why these projects are so important.
Wetlands created by beavers, like this one in Amherst, Massachusetts, store floodwaters and provide habitat for animals and birds.
Christine Hatch
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.
Animals are surprisingly good at avoiding fire - but can they survive the unprecedented megafires we now face?
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
Professor of Civil, Environmental & Ecological Engineering, Director of the Healthy Plumbing Consortium and Center for Plumbing Safety, Purdue University
Wildfire Specialist at the University of California Cooperative Extension; Adjunct Professor Bren School of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara