The El Niño pattern stands out in the warm sea surface temperature anomalies in the Pacific in 2023.
NOAA Climate.gov
An atmospheric scientist explains how El Niño works, this year’s oddities and why this phenomenon doesn’t last long.
Extreme rainfall in the Himalayas caused extensive damage in 2022 and 2023.
AP Photo/ Aqil Khan
There’s a rule of thumb that rainfall intensity increases by about 7% per degree Celsius as temperatures rise. But the increase is much higher in the mountains, scientists found.
Spectators wait in the rain for the start of King Charles III’s coronation ceremony.
EPA-EFE/Neil Hall
March 2023 was the wettest for 40 years in England and Wales.
Jack-Sooksan/Shutterstock
Calling the Amazon “the lungs of the world” overlooks the forest’s vital role in the water cycle.
Parts of the Buffalo area saw more than 6 feet of snow over three days in November 2022.
AP Photo/Joshua Bessex
Snowstorms that sweep across the Great Lakes can dump several feet of snow on the other side. A climate scientists explains why.
Mount Kenya.
WanderingNomad / Getty IMages
Mountain systems are sensitive to climate change. Loss of snow and ice sets off effects which have wide ranging consequences.
Flooding from hurricanes like Irma in Florida can overwhelm sewer systems and spread pathogens in other ways.
Brian Blanco/Getty Images
It’s not just mosquitos. Flooding, extreme heat and other climate-related hazards are bringing people into contact with pathogens more often, and affecting people’s ability to fight off disease.
Algorithm can help farmers and governments make smart farming decisions.
Photo by Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images.
from www,gettyimages.com
Algorithms can help determine what farm inputs and policies can boost food production.
Fast-moving floodwater obliterated sections of major roads through Yellowstone National Park in 2022.
Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service
Extreme downpours brought deadly flooding to the Appalachian region, just a few weeks after the destructive Yellowstone River flood.
Jason O'Brien / AAP
One weather configuration has been responsible for record-breaking downpours in Australia, South America, and South Africa this year.
Portugal has seen little rain since October 2021. By the end of January, 45 per cent of the country was enduring ‘severe’ or ‘extreme’ drought conditions.
(AP Photo/Sergio Azenha)
If the world overshoots its climate targets, drought could cause dryland areas to expand by a quarter and encompass half the Earth’s land area, threatening lives and livelihoods.
Snowfall in the Sahara desert.
derdour rachid/Shutterstock
In order for snow to form, two distinctive weather properties are needed: cold temperatures and moist air. The Sahara can tick these boxes.
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.
Some places rarely see the sun.
Donat Photography / EyeEm
Extended periods of rain are most likely found in locations where mountains are near oceans.
Several of California’s reservoirs were at less than one-third of their capacity in early December 2021.
Martha Conklin
The State Water Project cut its initial allocations for water agencies to 0% for 2022. A California water expert explains why.
Rain falls in Sarek National Park, in Sweden.
(Shutterstock)
New climate simulations show that there will be more rain and less snow falling in the Arctic by the end of the century, particularly in the fall and winter.
A rainy day in Baffin Island, northern Canada.
Petr Kahanek / shutterstock
Some Arctic regions will see more rain than snow decades earlier than previously thought, say scientists.
Members of the RCMP return from a boat patrol of a flooded neighbourhood in High River, Alta., on July 4, 2013.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Many cities continue to allow developers to build homes in areas that have a high risk of flooding.
Activists hold placards during a climate change protest in Kenya.
James Wakibia/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
African countries cannot be ignored, or just listened to. Their needs should shape the agenda.
The Little Ice Age brought some bitter extremes.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565
Globally, the temperature changed by half a degree Celsius, but it dramatically altered the likelihood of extreme local weather.