A heatwave in 2022 redefined scientific expectations of the Antarctic climate. Now the global community must prepare for what a warmer world may bring.
Satellite data illustrates the heat signature of Hurricane Maria above warm surface water in 2017.
NASA
Kevin Trenberth, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
2016 was the world’s warmest year on record, due in part to a very strong El Niño event. But 2023 (and 2024) could beat that record – what should we expect?
Climate change is making oceans more acidic globally. Now, scientists are finding that large storms can send pulses of acidic water into bays and estuaries, further stressing fish and shellfish.
Hurricane Nicole was a Category 1 storm, but it caused extensive damage to Florida in 2022.
Lauren Dauphin/NASA Earth Observatory
Evacuations can save lives, as in the case of post-tropical cyclone Fiona. As more frequent extreme weather events are set to occur, it is important to have evacuation plans in place.
A reconstructed record of cyclone activity going as far back as 1850 has revealed interesting trends, both around Australia and globally.
Southern Africa’s summer rainfall regions currently experiencing the wet-season will likely continue having wetter than normal conditions.
SimpleImages/Getty Images
Obadiah Mulder, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and Ida Kubiszewski, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Wetlands bear the brunt of much storm damage to the coast. But over the past 300 years, 85% of the world’s wetland area has been destroyed.
At the start of the cyclone season in the Pacific, weather forecasters are changing their warnings to focus less on weather information and more on the damage expected from an impending storm.
When Hurricane Dorian, seen here from the International Space Station, stalled over the Bahamas in September 2019, its winds, rain and storm surge devastated the islands.
NASA