After a year of dominance, El Niño’s rampage is over; But its climate-wrecking counterpart, La Niña, is immediately warming and could signal a return to dryness for California. El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, sometimes called ENSO. The climate pattern in the tropical Pacific is the largest driver of… Read More »
The summer of 2023 will be the hottest summer in the non-tropical regions of the northern hemisphere in 2000 years, a new study has shown. Surface air temperatures in June, July and August 2023 across this vast tract spanning Europe, Asia and North America were 2°C higher than the average summer temperature between AD 1… Read More »
A few weeks ago the Australian Bureau of Meteorology announced that the Pacific Ocean was no longer in El Niño condition and had returned to “neutral”. American scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were more hesitant, but they estimate there is an 85% chance that the Pacific will enter a neutral state within… Read More »
Extreme ocean heat is causing a mass bleaching event in coral reefs worldwide, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA announced Monday that “4. global coral bleaching event” and that bleaching has been documented in every major ocean basin in the past 14 months, including off Florida in the United States, Australia’s Great… Read More »
The sun sets over Huntington Beach at the end of a warm December day in 2023. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) Deadly heat in the Southwest. Hot tub temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean. Sweltering conditions in Europe, Asia and South America. In some ways, it’s no surprise that 2023 will be Earth’s hottest year… Read More »
World sea surface temperatures have broken records every day for the last 12 months. Oceanographers are increasingly worried. “Not only is this a record-breaking year for ocean temperatures, but the margin that breaks them is not even close to the previous record,” said Brian McNoldy, a senior research fellow at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel… Read More »
Coastal California is currently grappling with heavy rains from atmospheric rivers, particularly rivers in the sky that collect moisture from the tropics and redistribute water to higher latitudes. Forecasts show that the current El Niño pattern is also leading to lots of heavy rain and generally unstable, wet weather. Incessant humidity is causing life-threatening flooding… Read More »
Recent calculations from various scientific organizations showing that Earth destroyed global heat records last year may seem frightening. But scientists worry that what lies behind these numbers could be even worse. The Associated Press asked more than three dozen scientists in interviews and emails what the shredded records meant. Most said they fear an acceleration… Read More »
Recent calculations from various scientific organizations showing that Earth destroyed global heat records last year may seem frightening. But scientists worry that what lies behind these numbers could be even worse. The Associated Press asked more than three dozen scientists in interviews and emails what the shredded records meant. Most said they fear an acceleration… Read More »