The unpredictability of hurricanes makes it hard to say for sure whether climate change is making them worse. But we do know that sea-level rise and increased evaporation will worsen the impacts.
Major hurricanes threaten millions of people and billions of dollars in property along the Atlantic coast. Here experts advise on preparing, understanding forecasts and recovering after a storm.
Conflicts over coastal areas have largely been between development and preserving what makes these attractive places to live. Rising sea levels are now complicating our relationship with the coast.
Many Australians live on the coast, but how much do we know about the risks? While average sea levels are relatively easy to gauge, the risk of flooding also depends on weather, landscape, and climate.
Coastal communities include 24 federal seats held by margins of 5% or less, and their local councils are pressing the Australian government to show more urgency about the impacts of climate change.
Managing the impacts of rising seas for some communities is being made more difficult by the actions of governments, homeowners – and even some well-intentioned climate adaptation experts.
One of the Australian government’s new research priorities is “environmental change”. But can be hard to know how to tackle such huge and interlinked issues as climate change and species extinctions.
Who cares more about environmental issues: people in rich countries, or not-so-rich countries? A survey suggests it’s those in poorer places who are more vulnerable to issues like climate change.
Human activity is driving sea levels higher. Australia’s seas are likely to rise by around 70 centimetres by 2100 if nothing is done to combat climate change. But 2100 can seem a long way off. At the moment…
It is amazing for me to see the very aggressive building boom underway in south Florida; on the beaches and barrier islands, throughout downtown and in the low western areas bordering the Everglades. They…
Michael Beck, University of California, Santa Cruz
Coral reefs: fragile, delicate, and in danger? Actually coral reefs can be the first line in defence against incoming storms, reducing the power of incoming waves by 97%, even during hurricane-force winds…
Change at the British coastline is a reality we have always lived with. A thousand years ago, King Canute showed his courtiers how absurd it was to seek to command the waves. Later, others built sea walls…
Jemma Bezant, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
It is said that if you listen carefully on the shores of Aberdyfi in northwest Wales you can hear the bells of the drowned church of Maes Gwyddno ringing a sad lament beneath the waves. Such tales suggest…
Instead of costly levees and seawalls, coastal ecosystems could offer an alternative way to protect Australia’s coastal communities from rising seas, saving money and storing carbon along the way. Sea…
Australia’s coral reefs and mountain-top ecosystems are set to suffer from climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest summary of the research. The threats to these…