Officials prep for impacts to vulnerable populations
Michigan residents are likely to face a growing range of climate-related threats in coming decades, including respiratory diseases, heat-related illnesses and water- and vector-borne diseases, according to a new report from university researchers and state health officials.
Overall, the experts said that changing climate conditions like warmer temperatures and more frequent big rainstorms are an emerging public health threat in the state, where the average temperature has increased by anywhere from 0.6 to 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit since 1951. Average annual precipitation has increased by 4.5 percent during that period. Continue reading “Michigan eyes climate-related public health threats”→
Flooding, droughts and wildfires all expected to increase
New European climate modeling doesn’t paint a pretty picture for the decades ahead. With global warming, Europe is facing a progressively stronger increase in multiple climate hazards, according to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.
Destructive floods that raged through parts of the Balkan region in 2014 are part of a global trend toward more extreme rainfall events — a pattern increasingly linked with changes in atmospheric circulation.
Local flood protection efforts inadequate to meet growing climate change threat
As extreme rain events become more frequent, European efforts to address the threat of river flooding should focus on adapting to impacts rather than trying to avoid them, according to a new study published in the journal Climatic Change.
Study finds 2013-2014 winter was stormiest since 1940s
Fierce Atlantic storms that surged toward Europe’s western coastlines during the winter of 2013-2014 were the strongest in nearly 70 years — and such storms may become more frequent and even more powerful due to global warming.
The trend toward more storminess has implications for land-use planners and emergency management agencies in Europe, with the potential to dramatically change the equilibrium state of beaches, including permanent changes in beach gradient, coastal alignment and nearshore bar position.
“The extreme winter of 2013-2014 is in line with historical trends in wave conditions and is also predicted to increasingly occur due to climate change according to some of the climate models,” said Tim Scott, a lecturer in ocean exploration at Plymouth University and a co-author of the study. “Whether due to more intense and … or more frequent storms, it should undoubtedly be considered in future coastal and sea defense planning along the Atlantic coast of Europe.” Continue reading “Are West European beaches under a global warming siege?”→
Research suggests extreme rain events more likely in dry regions
Extreme rainfall events in desert areas — like recent storms in Death Valley and Chile’s Atacama Desert — may be partly driven by cyclical climate phenomena like El Niño, but such storms could also become more common in coming decades as the global climate warms.
A new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change suggests global warming will boost rainfall in some of the world’s driest regions. Flash flooding in deserts could become commonplace, according to the researchers with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science.
“We found a strong relationship between global warming and an increase in rainfall, particularly in areas outside of the tropics,” said lead author Dr Markus Donat. “Within the tropics we saw an increase in rainfall responding to global warming but the actual rate of this increase was less clear.” Continue reading “Global warming could boost rainfall in world’s deserts”→
In one recent 10 year period, tornadoes in the United States resulted in an average of 110 deaths per year and annual losses ranging from $500 million to $9.6 billion, so trying to establish patterns and improve forecasting models is not just an idle mathematical exercise.
A new examination of tornado records during the past 60 years indicates that tornado outbreaks (six or more tornadoes during a limited time) have become more frequent. Such outbreaks result in the largest numbers of deaths and injuries, as well as the most property destruction. The study, published recently in Nature Communications, also shows that mathematical models show the chance of such extreme events is growing over time. Continue reading “Climate: Are tornado outbreaks becoming more frequent?”→