A new study has revealed super cyclones, the most intense form of tropical storm, are likely to have a much more devastating impact on people in South Asia in future years.
The latest U.N. report on climate change documented researchers’ efforts that have shown some measures of global warming are now unavoidable, and current research efforts are focusing on mitigation and adaptation strategies.
New research, led by Dr Petra Holden from the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) at the University of Cape Town (UCT), has shown how catchment restoration – through the management of alien tree infestation in the mountains of the southwestern Cape – could have lessened the impact of climate change on low river flows during the Cape Town “Day Zero” drought.
Brianna Rick, a doctoral student in the Department of Geosciences at Colorado State University, has been conducting research in Alaska for several years.
Climate change could result in the financial toll of flooding rising by more than a quarter in the United States by 2050 – and disadvantaged communities will bear the biggest brunt, according to new research.
ASU News enlisted the state’s climatologist and a tourism expert to discuss this year’s cause and effects of snow, or lack thereof, and the impacts to our water supply and economy.
Flooding is the most expensive natural disaster in the United States, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), costing the country more than $1 trillion in inflation-adjusted dollars since 1980. Rising sea level and more intense storms could be devastating for the more than 40 percent of Americans who live in coastal areas.
Climate change and warmer conditions have altered snow-driven extremes and previous studies predict less and slower snowmelt in the northern United States and Canada. However, mixed-phase precipitation—shifting between snow and rain—is increasing, especially in higher elevations, making it more challenging to predict future snowmelt, a dominant driver of severe flooding. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire took a closer look at previous studies, and because geographical areas respond differently to climate change, they found future snowmelt incidences could vary greatly by the late 21st century. Snowmelt could decrease over the continental U.S. and southern Canada but increase in Alaska and northern Canada resulting in larger flooding vulnerabilities and possibly causing major societal and economic consequences including costly infrastructure failures.
Climate change is fueling more floods, droughts, wildfires, and extreme storms across the United States. As a result, aging power grids are being pushed beyond their limits, sometimes with deadly impacts. (In 2020, a series of unusual winter storms knocked the power out in Texas for days -- leading to shortages of water and heat and more than 100 deaths.)
Unless climate change is slowed significantly, more than three feet of sea level rise (SLR) is expected in California by the end of the century, potentially flooding communities that are currently home to more than 145,000 residents.
In addition to the threat to residential neighborhoods, new research suggests sea level rise will expose over 400 industrial facilities and contaminated sites in California, including power plants, refineries, and hazardous waste sites, to increased risk of flooding. Increased flooding can come with risks of contamination releases into nearby communities.
Rivers flowing from the Tibetan Plateau and the surrounding high Asian mountains which support one-third of the world’s population have experienced rapid increases in annual water and sediment runoff since the 1990s, and the volume of sediment washed downstream could more than double by 2050 under the worst-case scenario, a team of scientists has found.
A new study co-authored by the University of Delaware's A.R. Siders revealed growing evidence that people and organizations are responding to climate change with a wide range of actions, but noted far fewer studies explore whether these actions actually reduce risks associated with climate change.
Whether the result of tidal flooding, extreme events like Hurricanes Henri and Ida, or more frequent cloudbursts, flooding affects public health and safety, mobility, infrastructure, and the city’s economy.
Incorporating green infrastructure into flood protection plans alongside gray infrastructure can shield communities, reduce maintenance, and provide additional social and environmental benefits.
New Jersey’s tidal marshes aren’t keeping up with sea level rise and may disappear completely by the next century, according to a study led by Rutgers researchers. The findings, which include potential solutions for preserving the marshlands, appear in the journal Anthropocene Coasts.
IU professor Justin T. Maxwell's paper "Recent increases in tropical cyclone precipitation extremes of the U.S. East Coast" provides data on inland flooding that could help communities be more prepared for the high amounts of rainfall produced by storms such as Hurricane Ida in the United States.
On 14 July 2021, between 60 and 180 mm of rain fell in the Eifel region in just 22 hours - an amount that would otherwise have fallen in several months and which led to catastrophic flooding.
After a summer of high heat, steady sea level rise and devastating hurricanes, coastal roads have continued to take a severe beating resulting in endless wear and tear. Because these roadways have become increasingly vulnerable, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a $1.8 million grant to researchers at the University of New Hampshire to study how and why coastal hazards like excessive flooding are causing roads to crack and crumble and find ways to protect them.
In the months that follow, after the recovery crews have packed up and gone home, hopelessness and isolation set in for many disaster victims. These are the times when mental health support is needed most, according to a WVU researcher.
A research team led by Michael Biggerstaff, a professor of meteorology in the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences at the University of Oklahoma, successfully captured data with mobile radars and other weather instruments as Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana.
By: Bill Wellock | Published: August 31, 2021 | 12:21 pm | SHARE: For many people, choosing whether to evacuate in the face of an incoming hurricane or other natural disaster is not an easy decision.Hurricanes threaten people and property, but evacuation also carries risks and costs, especially if a would-be evacuee has difficulty moving or caring for themselves without help.
Nicolas Zegre and Jamie Shinn, experts in hydrology and adaptation to climate change, respectively, used flooding in the Greenbrier County, West Virginia, communities of Rainelle and White Sulphur Springs in 2016 to focus, not only on what the floods did and the damage they caused, but how residents reacted and adjusted how and where they live in relationship to the water.
Washington University in St. Louis research examined how personal exposure to natural disasters and policy knowledge affect voters’ support for long-term disaster preparedness.
Expert Q&A: Do breakthrough cases mean we will soon need COVID boosters? The extremely contagious Delta variant continues to spread, prompting mask mandates, proof of vaccination, and other measures. Media invited to ask the experts about these and related topics.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $11 million in funding for new research studying how critical ecosystems, such as forests, arid lands, and coastal environments, are impacted by extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, and heat waves.
In Japan, thousands of homes and businesses and hundreds of lives have been lost to typhoons. But now, researchers have revealed that a new flood forecasting system could provide earlier flood warnings, giving people more time to prepare or evacuate, and potentially saving lives.
Puerto Rico is not ready for another hurricane season, let alone the effects of climate change, according to a new study that shows the island’s outstanding capacity to produce record-breaking floods and trigger a large number of landslides.
Summer is just around the corner, and so is hurricane season. Weather experts are warning Americans to prepare for an active and potentially dangerous Atlantic season – which gets its official start on June 1. With the potential for heavy rain and strong winds, the threat of power loss, and dealing with potentially dangerous cleanup in the aftermath of a storm, experts at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) say preparing in advance is the best way to weather anything hurricane season may bring.
Coral reefs provide many services to coastal communities, including critical protection from flood damage. A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the U.S. Geological Survey reveals how valuable coral reefs are in protecting people, structures, and economic activity in the United States from coastal flooding during storms.
Whatever ultimately caused inhabitants to abandon Cahokia, it was not because they cut down too many trees, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis.