Epic Texas Drought Claims up to Half Billion Trees

2011-12-22T00:00:00Z

The massive drought that has dried out Texas over the past year has killed as many as half a billion trees, according to new estimates from the Texas Forest Service. Between 100 million and 500 million trees were lost. That fig

Flash Floods Leave At Least 1,000 People Dead in Philippines

2011-12-21T00:00:00Z

Aerosol Cooling Would Trigger Global Drought

2011-12-14T00:00:00Z

A controversial theory proposes mimicking volcanoes to fight global warming. But throwing sulfur particles into the sky may do more harm than good, a new study says. As well as cooling the planet, the sulfur particles would reduce rainfa

IEA: Durban Time Frame Could Mean Climate Disaster

2011-12-13T00:00:00Z

The absence of a global legally binding agreement on climate change, along with a rethink on nuclear energy, risks a failure to arrest catastrophic temperature rises, the International Energy Authority's chief economist says. IEA chief economist Fatih Birol said the pact agreed in Durban on the weekend was good news because it was supported by and signed by a

Greenland Shed 100 Billions Tons of Ice in 2010

2011-12-13T00:00:00Z

A network of GPS stations across southern Greenland has detected that the area lost 100 billion tons of ice due to an unusually warm summer in 2010, researchers report. What's more, removing that much weight has raised parts of the bedrock by a quarter inch more than in recent years. Greenland's ice sheet has been s

Canada Pulls Out of Kyoto Protocol

2011-12-12T00:00:00Z

Canada is formally withdrawing from the Kyoto accord, Environment Minister Peter Kent said. The decision to do so will save the government an estimated $14 billion in penalties, Kent said. The Conservative government says it

Warming is "Tearing The Heart Out" of Coral Reefs

2011-12-12T00:00:00Z

The world's coral reefs could be badly damaged by global warming unless drastic intervention measures are introduced. Warming is harming coral reefs in at least three ways. Changes of just 1 or 2 °C can stifle the life-giving algae. Spiralling levels of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, dissolve in sea water, creating an acidic cocktail that stops polyps oozing their skeleton. And warmer water makes the reef more

Tighter Polar Winds Linked to Australian Drought

2011-12-12T00:00:00Z

Australia may be facing a permanent drought because of an accelerating vortex of winds whipping around the Antarctic that threatens to disrupt rainfall, scientists. Spinning faster and tighter, the 100 mile an hour jetstream is pulling climate bands south and dragging rain from Australia into the Southern Ocean, they say. They attribute the phenomenon to global warming and loss of the ozone layer over Antarctica. <

Extreme Downpours Could Trigger Earthquakes

2011-12-12T00:00:00Z

Monsoons, hurricanes and other extreme weather events may trigger earthquakes when faults are ready to rumble. Thomas Ader works in Nepal's Himalaya Mountains, where the monsoon season often brings a meter (3.3 feet) or

Acidification Found to Threaten Survival of Young Fish

2011-12-12T00:00:00Z

Ocean acidification — caused by climate change — looks likely to damage crucial fish stocks. Two studies published today in Nature Climate Change reveal that high carbon dioxide concentrations can cause death and organ damage in very young fish.

Climate negotiators agreed a pact on Sunday that would for the first time force all the biggest polluters to take action on greenhouse gas emissions, but critics said the action plan was not aggressive enough to slow the pace of global warming. "It's certainly not the deal the planet needs -- such a deal would have delivered much greater ambition on bo

Scotland Battered by Winds Exceeding 100 miles per hour

2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

Motorists warned not to drive as hurricane-force winds lash Scotland

Winds of up to 100mph are likely to close bridges, blow over vehicles and damage property, say police

Warming is Driving Polar Bears to Cannibalism

2011-12-08T00:00:00Z

The photographer had approached the adult bear in a boat. She could see through her telephoto lens that the animal had a meal, but it was only when she got up close that she realised it was a juvenile bear. The kill method used by the adult was exactly the same as polar bears use on seals - sharp bites to the head.

US Hit by 12 Weather Events Exceeding $1 Billion in Losses

2011-12-07T00:00:00Z

America smashed the record for billion-dollar weather disasters this year with a deadly dozen — and counting. With an almost biblical onslaught of twisters, floods, snow, drought and wildfire, the U.S. in 2011 has seen more weather catastrophes that caused at least $1 billion in damage than it did in all of the 1980s, even after the dollar figures f

Long time Target of 2*C Now Seen as "prescription for disaster"

2011-12-07T00:00:00Z

Amounts of warming previously thought to be safe may instead trigger widespread melting of the world's ice sheets and other catastrophic impacts, scientists said Tuesday. "The dangerous level of globa

Nations Punt Again on Climate Treaty at Durban Meeting

2011-12-07T00:00:00Z

An all-encompassing climate deal "may be beyond our reach for now," the U.N. chief said Tuesday as China and India delivered a setback to European plans to negotiate a new treaty that would bind all parties to their pledges on greenhouse gas emissions.Global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels have increased by 49 per cent in the last two decades, according to researchers at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of East Anglia. Fossil fuel emissions increased by 5.9 per cent in 2010 and by 49 per cent since 1990 -- the reference year for the Kyoto protocol.

Record Drought Causes "Disaster" for the Balkans

2011-12-03T00:00:00Z

Unusual drought triggers alarm across Balkans

The Associated Press, Dec. 2, 2011

<

Ferocious Winds Leave 300,000 Without Power in California

2011-12-02T00:00:00Z

Worst Santa Ana winds in years to move cross-country

The Associated Press and NBC News, Dec. 2, 2011

Warming Drives Up Food Prices Around the World

2011-12-02T00:00:00Z

Over the last few decades, global warming has hindered the world's food production causing prices to rise, new research reveals. The study not only tracks the link between rising temperatures and its effect on food production, but highlights the importance of finding new ways to adapt farming methods to the changing clima

Warming Creates New "Normal" in the Arctic

2011-12-02T00:00:00Z

Global warming has brought a "new normal" to the Arctic, with warmer air and ocean temperatures, thinner and less expansive summer sea ice, and greener vegetation in coastal regions abutting the open water. In addition, longer periods of open water during the annual sea-ice melt season is allowing the ocean to take up more carbon dioxide from the at

Permafrost Emissions Will Accelerate Warming Beyond Previous Projections

2011-12-01T00:00:00Z

Massive amounts of greenhouse gases trapped below thawing permafrost will likely seep into the air over the next several decades, accelerating and amplifying global warming, scientists warn. Those heat-trapping gases unde

Growing Losses Make Insurers Allies in the Climate Fight

2011-11-30T00:00:00Z

Environmentalists are not the only ones who worry as projections about climate change keep getting worse and worse. So do insurance companies, which feel the effects financially as the pace of climate-related disasters accelerates. It is telling that, even as some business groups oppose climate-change legislation in Washington, many of the companies with the most to

WMO: 2011 Hottest La Nina Year on Record

2011-11-29T00:00:00Z

The world is getting hotter, with 2011 one of the warmest years on record, and humans are to blame, a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said. "Global temperatures in 2011 are currently the tenth highest on record and are higher than any previous year with a La Nina event, which has a relative cooling influence," the WMO report said

Big Emitters Seek Big Stall in Durban

2011-11-27T00:00:00Z

Some of the developing world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters are bidding to delay talks on a new climate agreement. To the anger of small islands and other vulnerable countries, India and Brazil are joining rich nations such as the US and Japan in wanting to start talks on a legal deal no earlier than 2015. The EU and climate-vulnerable blocs want to start as soon as

Mexico Parched by Worst Drought in 70 Years

2011-11-25T00:00:00Z

Mexico battered by worst drought in 70 years

About 450,000 cattle have died and thousands of acres of crops have been lost

Swedish Winter On Track to Be One of Warmest on Record

2011-11-25T00:00:00Z

Snowless Scandinavians wonder 'where's winter?'

Weather experts say this fall is on track to become one of the warmest on record

US, Saudis Block Climate Fund on Eve of Conference

2011-11-25T00:00:00Z

The US is refusing to sign off on a flagship global climate fund, as already fraught negotiations intensify ahead of next week’s UN climate summit and carbon prices plummet to new lows. It was already feared that souring economic conditions and next year’s US presidential election would make it difficult for the UN summit – which opens o

Climate Changes Are Displacing Populations

2011-11-23T00:00:00Z

Of the 20 fastest growing cities in the world, eight are at “extreme risk” from climate change, including Kolkata, Manila, Kabul and Karachi, the group says. A further 11 are at “high risk” and just one – Cairo – is at “medium risk”.

Report: Small Group of Multinationals Block Government Action on Climate

2011-11-23T00:00:00Z

A handful of multinational corporations are "exerting undue influence" on the political process in Canada, the U.S. and other key nations to delay international action on climate change, a report released by Greenpeace International says. The report documents a series of alleged lobbying and marketing efforts led by major corporations and industry a

Desperate Skeptics Behind a New Batch of Emails on the Eve of Durban Talks

2011-11-22T00:00:00Z

The university said the emails appeared to have been stolen two years ago and held back until now "to cause maximum disruption" to the imminent U.N. climate talks next week in Durban, South Africa. If that is confirmed, the timing and nature of the leak would follow the pattern set by the so-called "Climategate" emails. Those hostile

GHG Emissions See Biggest Rise Ever, Will Linger for Decades

2011-11-21T00:00:00Z

The global output of heat-trapping carbon dioxide jumped by the biggest amount on record, the U.S. Department of Energy calculated, a sign of how feeble the world's efforts are at slowing man-made global warming. The new figures for 2010 mean that levels of greenhouse gases are higher than the worst case scenario outlined by climate experts just four years ago. Moreover the record high levels of greenhouse gases cau

Fairbanks Sees Coldest November Day in History

2011-11-18T00:00:00Z

Heat Is Online

Half the authors of Wall Street Journal climate slam are on the take from carbon industry

History Shows Climate Change Destabilizes Civilizations

Extreme Weather Profile: January -- June, 2012

SCIENCE

British Panel Details Coming Risks of Climate Change

Intense Storms Leave 2 Dead, 100 injured in Alabama

2 dead, 100 hurt in Ala. as storms pound South

Warming is Outpacing Bird Migrations in Europe

Freshwater Pool in Arctic Ocean Could Chill Europe

Thai Flood Creates Global Shortage of Hard Drives

NOAA Lists Record of 14 Billion-Dollar Loss Events in US

Ice Storm Paralyzes Seattle, Cuts Power to 200,000 People

200,000 lose power in Seattle ice storm; flights disrupted

2011 Weighs In As 11th Warmest on Record

Near-Record Snowstorm Buries Pacific Northwest

Widespread snowstorm wallops Pacific Northwest

Warmer Arctic Summers Trigger Colder Winters Further South

Tanzania Swamped by Heaviest Rains in Modern History

Drought-stricken Tanzania reels under extreme rainfall

Melting Tundra Yields Treasure of Prehistoric Bones

Midwestern US Basks in January "Heat Wave"

'Heat wave' in Midwest shifts east

Extreme Weather Events

Epic Texas Drought Claims up to Half Billion Trees

Flash Floods Leave At Least 1,000 People Dead in Philippines

Aerosol Cooling Would Trigger Global Drought

IEA: Durban Time Frame Could Mean Climate Disaster

Greenland Shed 100 Billions Tons of Ice in 2010

Canada Pulls Out of Kyoto Protocol

Warming is "Tearing The Heart Out" of Coral Reefs

Tighter Polar Winds Linked to Australian Drought

Extreme Downpours Could Trigger Earthquakes

Acidification Found to Threaten Survival of Young Fish

Scotland Battered by Winds Exceeding 100 miles per hour

Motorists warned not to drive as hurricane-force winds lash Scotland

Winds of up to 100mph are likely to close bridges, blow over vehicles and damage property, say police

Warming is Driving Polar Bears to Cannibalism

US Hit by 12 Weather Events Exceeding $1 Billion in Losses

Long time Target of 2*C Now Seen as "prescription for disaster"

Nations Punt Again on Climate Treaty at Durban Meeting

Record Drought Causes "Disaster" for the Balkans

Unusual drought triggers alarm across Balkans

Ferocious Winds Leave 300,000 Without Power in California

Worst Santa Ana winds in years to move cross-country

Warming Drives Up Food Prices Around the World

Warming Creates New "Normal" in the Arctic

Permafrost Emissions Will Accelerate Warming Beyond Previous Projections

Growing Losses Make Insurers Allies in the Climate Fight

WMO: 2011 Hottest La Nina Year on Record

Big Emitters Seek Big Stall in Durban

Mexico Parched by Worst Drought in 70 Years

Mexico battered by worst drought in 70 years

About 450,000 cattle have died and thousands of acres of crops have been lost

Swedish Winter On Track to Be One of Warmest on Record

Snowless Scandinavians wonder 'where's winter?'

Weather experts say this fall is on track to become one of the warmest on record

US, Saudis Block Climate Fund on Eve of Conference

Climate Changes Are Displacing Populations

Report: Small Group of Multinationals Block Government Action on Climate

Desperate Skeptics Behind a New Batch of Emails on the Eve of Durban Talks

GHG Emissions See Biggest Rise Ever, Will Linger for Decades

Fairbanks Sees Coldest November Day in History