RSS Feed
Author Archive
Climate Change Is Altering the Global Heat Engine
Posted by Smithsonian: None Given on January 30th, 2015
Smithsonian: Climate scientists have been warning for a while that as the planet heats up, storms will become fewer but stronger. This trend has been seen in a variety of historical data tracking wind speed, rain and snow over the past century or so. Now a team of researchers has figured out why, and the explanation is firmly rooted in atmospheric thermodynamics. Global warming is intensifying the world’s water cycle, and that drains energy from the air circulation that drives stormy weather, say Frederic Laliberté...
Posted in 
How the insurance industry is dealing with climate change
Posted by Smithsonian: None Given on September 25th, 2013
Smithsonian: Risk analysis groups have detected an increased frequency of Atlantic hurricanes due to climate change, forcing insurance companies to rethink their models. Photo by Flickr user Brian Birke
When it comes to the calculating the likelihood of catastrophic weather, one group has an obvious and immediate financial stake in the game: the insurance industry. And in recent years, the industry researchers who attempt to determine the annual odds of catastrophic weather-related disasters--including floods...