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Archive for November 5th, 2015
There have been more than 11,000 fires in just one region of the Brazilian Amazon this year
Posted by Mongabay: Mike Gaworecki on November 5th, 2015
Mongabay: On October 4, 2015, satellite images revealed that there were over 900 fires burning in the Brazilian Amazon. That figure was reported by Brazil’s Institute for Space Research, known as INPE, which said that the region most affected by the fires was the northern state of Amazonas. Some 11,114 forest fires have already been observed in Amazonas this year, a 47 percent increase over the same period last year, according to INPE. Amazonas is not alone in dealing with increased incidence of forest fires....
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Bitterly Cold Winters Less Likely for East Coast
Posted by Climate Central: Andrea Thompson on November 5th, 2015
Climate Central: The relentless bitter cold the U.S. East Coast faced during the winter of 2013-2014 is becoming increasingly rare -- possibly 20 to 100 times less likely to occur because of warming, a study released Thursday said.
But no warming connection could be found to the repeated snowstorms that painted the East Coast white during that same winter, another study concluded. Instead, changes in Pacific Ocean winds that have also been linked to the so-called "hiatus' in steeply rising temperatures, upped...
Some extreme weather made worse by climate change: study
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 5th, 2015
Agence France-Presse: A killer snowstorm in the Himalayas, a scorching heat wave in Argentina and lashing rainfall in southern France last year were all made worse by climate change, international scientists said Thursday.
But other major events, like Hurricane Gonzalo over Europe and drought in Brazil were not influenced by global warming, according to the peer-reviewed study called "Explaining Extreme Events of 2014 from a Climate Perspective."
The scientific team included 32 research groups from around the world,...
Half of Weather Disasters Linked to Climate Change
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 5th, 2015
National Geographic: From a deadly snowstorm in Nepal to a heat wave in Argentina that crashed power supplies, at least 14 extreme weather events last year bore the fingerprints of human-induced climate change, an international team of scientists reported Thursday.
Researchers examined 28 weather extremes on all seven continents to see if they were influenced by climate change or were just normal weather. Their conclusion: Half of them showed some role of climate change.
"We hope that this will help people see...
40-country survey: Majority support for cutting emissions
Posted by Associated Press: Angela Charlton on November 5th, 2015
Associated Press: A survey across 40 countries around the world found most people see global warming as a serious problem, and most of them want their governments to limit emissions as part of a global agreement being negotiated in Paris in a month.
Respondents in the United States and China -- the two biggest emitters of the gases that heat the planet -- were least likely to be worried about climate change, according to the study by the Washington-based Pew Research Center released Thursday.
Those in Latin...
Photos confirm Indonesia being burned for palm oil
Posted by Mongabay: None Given on November 5th, 2015
Mongabay: New photos released today by Greenpeace show that palm oil developers are quickly planting burned peatlands with oil palm seedlings in Indonesian Borneo.
The findings strongly refute a statement made by GAPKI, Indonesia's palm oil trade association, which claimed that the country's palm oil industry is the victim of a smear campaign.
Greenpeace noted that there is no way to know who burned the land because the Indonesian government hasn't released concession maps for the area in years. That...
Warming Is Increasing Wildfire Risks in California
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 5th, 2015
Climate Central: Extreme wildfire seasons have been afflicting drought-parched California in recent years, and new computer modeling indicates that the state will continue to become more susceptible to ruinous fires as the world continues to warm.
But the scientists behind an ambitious new study, which combined historical fire records and data with projections for a warming world, say they couldn't directly connect climate change with last year's extreme season of conflagrations up and down the Golden State. ...
Gov. Brown takes heat for asking state officials to research oil and gas on family ranch
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on November 5th, 2015
LA Times: Gov. Jerry Brown is defending himself after an Associated Press article raised questions about his decision to ask state officials to help research his family's property.
Gov. Jerry Brown is defending himself after an Associated Press article raised questions about his decision to ask state officials to help research his family's property.
Gov. Jerry Brown was only interested in "the history and geology of his family ranch" in Colusa County when he asked state officials about the potential...
14 wild weather events last year influenced by climate change
Posted by Chicago Tribune: None Given on November 5th, 2015
Chicago Tribune: New scientific analysis shows the fingerprints of man-made climate change on 14 extreme weather events in 2014, hitting every continent but Antarctica.
Dozens of scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and across the world examined 28 strange weather conditions last year to see if global warming partly increased their likelihood or their strength. In a series of papers in a 180-page, peer-reviewed report, the scientists spotted some effects of climate change in half...
Climate change made some extreme weather more likely in 2014, feds say
Posted by Hill: Timothy Cama on November 5th, 2015
Hill: A new federal study stopped short of directly linking extreme weather last year to climate change, but said that it made certain weather events much more likely. In North America, that included extreme wildfires in California, tropical cyclones in Hawaii and mild winter in the Midwest, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Other weather events, like California’s drought, extreme cold in the eastern United States and the heavy winter storm season of 2013-2104 were...