Climate in the News Archive

Diseases

Extreme Weather

Ice

Oceans

Plants and Animals

Precipitation Patterns

Records

Seasonal Patterns

Other Topics

 

Diseases

Brown, Colin. “Farmers braced for second virus crisis.” The Independent, September 24, 2007.
The bluetongue virus, a livestock disease that has been spreading northward from Africa over the last decade, has been documented for the first time in Britain. Winds blowing across the English channel from the Continent are suspected to have transmitted the disease.

“Deadly Dengue Fever Surging in Mexico.” Associated Press, March 20, 2007.
The incidence of deadly dengue fever is increasing in Mexico, with experts predicting an increase in cases throughout Latin America due to climate change, migration, and poor mosquito control.

Santana, Rebecca. “Winter No Relief for Allergy Sufferers.” The Washington Post, January 7, 2007.
Most mold spores die during cold snaps. This winter’s current lack of such cold snaps has precluded allergists and allergy sufferers from having their usual off-season.

Extreme Weather

“Early and Intense Tornado Season Could be Record.” Science Daily, June 14, 2008
A particularly active storm track stretching from the Rockies to the East Coast has helped make this year’s tornado season the most active since 1998.

Drye, William. “Winter Tornadoes Can Be Faster, Deadlier, Experts Say.” National Geographic News, February 6, 2008.
Winter tornadoes tend to move faster than those that develop in the summer months, and this year’s La Niña may have some connection to the recent rash of tornadoes in the Southeast.

Thompson, Andrea. “Study: Cities Make Storms More Fierce.” LiveScience.com, August 10, 2007.
A new study demonstrates how cities can experience more intense storms than surrounding rural areas. The heightened intensity is attributed to the Urban Heat Island Effect, tall buildings, and high concentrations of aerosols.

Rincon, Paul. “European heat waves ‘have doubled.’” BBC News, August 4, 2007.
A study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, states that European? temperature records have consistently over-reported the actual temperature. Trends in extreme heat calculated using corrected data show that the frequency of extremely hot days nearly tripled during the past Century while the duration of heat waves doubled.

Hecht, Jeff. “Tropical storms stepping up with climate change.” New Scientist, July 30, 2007.
A new study links rises in sea-surface temperatures and increases in tropical storm frequency in the Atlantic. Other researchers attribute increases in tropical storm numbers to better monitoring.

“China warns of floods, mudslides in west.” Reuters, June 17, 2007.
Heavy rains have arrived in China’s drought stricken west. These rains are causing floods and mudslides, however, and scientists are warning that global warming is likely to intensify extreme precipitation, thus making both droughts and floods more likely.

Ice

“Arctic Saw Fastest August Sea Ice Retreat on Record, NASA Data Show,” Science Daily, September 28, 2008.
While the 2008 Arctic melt season did not breat the 2007 melt record, sea ice melted faster than ever before during a four-week period in August 2008.

Lydersen, Kari. “Sea-Ice Melt Imperils Walruses, and Economy Based on Them.” The Washington Post, August 29, 2008.
Melting sea-ice is causing walrus ranges to shift and limiting the hunting season for Alaska Natives.

“Antarctic Climate: Short-term Spikes, Long-term Warming Linked To Tropical Pacific.” Science Daily, August 15, 2008.
Recent analysesof ice core samples reveal connections between weather conditions in the Pacific Ocean and West Antarctica.

“Patagonian Glacier Yields Clues For Improved Understanding of Global Climate Change.” Science Daily, August 4, 2008.
Ice core samples from Patagonian glaciers show how global climate change affects Southern Hemisphere weather systems.

“Intensified Ice Sheet Movements Do Not Affect Rising Sea Levels.” Science Daily, July 11, 2008.
While meltwater is rapidly increasing the pace of ice sheet movement in Greenland, new research suggests that this process is not likely to be a major contributing factor to rising sea levels.

“Scientists Head to Warming Alaska on Ice Core Expedition.” Science Daily, May 1, 2008.
A team of scientists are travelling to Alaska to find the perfect “layer cake” ice core, which will hopefully provide insights on the last 2,000 years of Alaska’s climate.

“Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, Largest in Northern Hemisphere, Has Fractured into Three Main Pieces.” Science Daily, April 16, 2008.
In 2002, the Arctic’s Ward Hunt Ice Shelf cracked into two pieces, and a recent expedition has confirmed that the Shelf is now in three pieces, which Satellite data had indicated.

Allen-Mills, T. “Global warming scientists eagerly await first Nenana ice cracks” Times Online, March 23, 2008.
For the past 91 years, the exact minute when the Ice breaks on Alaska’s Tanana River has been recorded.

Calamai, P. “Vanished “bridge” jolts ice pack sleuths.” The Toronto Star, March 17, 2008.
Attempts to study the Arctic are being impaired by the rapid melting of the Region’s ice cover.

Leifert, Harvey. “Southern Snowmelt.” Nature Reports Climate Change, October 11, 2007.
In Antarctica, snow is melting at higher elevations and farther from the Ocean than at any other point on record.

Joling, Dan. “Walruses Abandon Sea Ice for Alaska Shore.” USA Today, October 4, 2007.
The loss of their usual sea ice habitat is forcing unprecedented numbers of walruses to seek shelter on the shores of Alaska and Russia.

“Warming ‘opens Northwest Passage.’” BBC News, September 14, 2007.
A faster than predicted retreat of the Arctic Sea Ice means that it is now possible during the summer to sail between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans through areas that have previously been clogged with sea ice.

Boswell, Randy. “25 years of Arctic ice left.” Vancouver Sun, August 18, 2007.
The Arctic Sea Ice Cover is at its smallest extent ever recorded, and the melting is expected to continue to accelerate.

Wynn, Gerard. “Climate change threatens Latam water supply.” Reuters, July 20, 2007.
Climate change is altering precipitation regimes and melting glaciers in the Andes Region, and mountain lakes and wetlands are drying-up as a result. This trend is threatening the region’s water security.

Phuyal, Surendra. “Mountaineers’ fear of global warming.” BBC News, May 21, 2007.
Rising temperatures in Nepal are changing snowfall patterns and making glaciers less stable. This trend is making mountaineering more dangerous and creating more glacial meltwater lakes.

Oceans

“Climate Change Brings Jellyfish Plague to Europe’s Beaches.” Deutsche Welle, July 5, 2008.
Warming waters, which have lengthened jellyfish reproductive cycles, and overfishing? have allowed jellyfish populations to increase along Europe’s coastlines.

“Fish Fade Away, Crabs Take Over.” LiveScience, June 27, 2008.
A warming of Narragansett Bay over the last fifty years has corresponded to changes in the structure of the bay’s ecosystem.

Milstein, Michael. “Researchers scramble to deal with dying oysters.” OregonLive, June 9 2008.
Changing ocean conditions off the Pacific Northwest coast have led to a population explosion of Vibrio tubiashii, a bacteria that? in large enough concentrations is fatal to oysters and other shellfish.

“Scientists Reveal Presence of Ocean Current ‘Stripes.’” Science Daily, April 26, 2008.
Several decades of data appear to confirm the existence of subtle crisscrossing patterns of ocean currents, or striations, that run perpendicular to major ocean currents.

“Coral Reefs and Climate Change: Microbes Could be the Key to Coral Death.” Science Daily, April 5, 2008.
Changes in ocean temperature alter the composition of bacterial communities that affect coral reefs.

“Invasion of the giant oysters.” The Independent, March 8, 2008.
A string of mild winters and a general trend of warming waters have enabled the Pacific Oyster to escape from oyster farms and dominate the floor of the North Sea.

“Study: Sea’s Thermostat Protects Reefs.” MSNBC, February 14, 2008.
While 40 percent of the World’s coral reefs have been hit by bleaching since 1980, a negative feedback cycle seems to prevent already warm ocean waters from exceeding a certain temperature threshold.

Ryall, Julian. “Crustacean ‘Swarm’ Destroying Small Hiroshima Island.” National Geographic News, January 3, 2008.
A warming of the waters around the uninhabited Japanese Island of Hoboro has led to an explosion of plankton and a species of crustacean that feeds on them. The crustacean population is promoting high rates of erosion on the island.

Weiss, Kenneth R. “A Giant of the Sea Finds Slimmer Pickings.” LA Times, July 6, 2007.
Scientists from Mexico to the Pacific Northwest are noticing higher numbers of thin gray whales this year, possibly due to warming Arctic waters where the whales typically feed.

“Changing Ocean Conditions Led to Decline in Alaska’s Sea Lion Population.” Science Daily, March 25, 2007.
A natural event in the ocean’s climatic cycle may be responsible for a decline in Alaska’s Steller sea lion population.

Hopkin, Michael. “Sea levels ‘rising faster than predicted.” Nature News, February 1, 2007.
The 2001 IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Report predicted average annual sea level rises of 2 mm. Satellite data, however, shows that since 1990, this rate has been closer to 3.3 mm per year. Some have expressed skepticism that 16 years of data is enough time to accurately assess this trend.

Doyle, Alister. “Indian Ocean Shift Seen Stoking Indonesia Droughts.” Reuters, January 18, 2007.
A shift in the temperature of the Indian Ocean has been linked to stronger Asiatic Monsoons. New evidence indicates that this temperature shift also may be linked to the current droughts in Indonesia and Australia.

Bornstein, Seth. “Warmed-Up Oceans Reduce Key Food Link.” Washington Post, December 6, 2006.
NASA satellite data, which has been compiled over the past 9 years, shows that less phytoplankton are produced in warmer oceans than cooler ones. This trend is particularly troublesome as phytoplankton are the base of marine ecosystems and ocean waters are 0.6°C warmer today than they were at the beginning of the 20th century.

Plants and Animals

“Explosion In Marine Biodiversity Explained By Climate Change.”- Science Daily, July 28, 2008
The first appearance of complex living organisms occurred during a period when Earth’s oceans were cooling.

“Brown Argus Butterfly Sees Positive Effects of Climate Change.” Science Daily, June 2, 2008.
Over the last 30 years, there has been a northward range expansion of Britain’s Brown Argus butterfly. This move has helped the species escape its traditional parasites.

Fleming, Nic. “Alien Parasite Fear for UK Butterfly.” UK Telegraph, March 29, 2008.
A northward range expansion of a fly is believed to be at least partially responsible for the decline of UK’s Tortoiseshell Butterfly.

Bouma, Katherine. “More migratory birds flocking to northern Alabama.” The Birmingham News, March 3, 2008.
Northern Alabama’s winter bird populations are changing. This change includes and influx of birds that have traditionally wintered in Florida and the Gulf Coast.

“Drought Length Influences Survival of Fish in Stream Ponds.” Science Daily, January 18, 2008.
Researchers from the University of Arkansas found that diversity of fish species in stream ponds varied from year to year, depending on water depth, volume, and other factors.

Johnson, Andrew. “Where have all the birds gone?” The Independent, January 29, 2007.
For almost 30 years, Great Britain’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has led the annual Big Garden Birdwatch. This year’s results suggest that there has been a shift in seasonal bird behavior.

“Mountain Summits In the Alps Becoming Increasingly Similar.” TerraDaily, December 3, 2007.
An “upward” shift in the distribution of Europe’s flora has resulted in increased species diversity in individual areas but decreased diversity across ecosystems.

“Top five of the UK species affected by climate change.” icwales, November 10, 2007.
The United Kingdom’s marine ecosystems are changing along with the climate. Five examples are highlighted in this article.

Lyall. Sarah. “Warming Revives Flora and Fauna of Greenland.” New York Times, October 28, 2007.
Life is becoming more lucrative for Greenland’s population as warming temperatures are stimulating crop production and causing influxes of animal species.

Schmid, Randolph E. “Rising Temperatures Said Endanger Arctic.” San Francisco Gate, October 17, 2007.
A temperature rise is permeating the Arctic. This rise is affecting Caribou, vegetation, and water fowl.

O’Connor, Kevin. “Global swarming: Is climate change bringing the state more bugs” Times Argus, August 27, 2007.
Growing numbers of ticks, mosquitoes, and hemlock woolly adelgids are being documented in Vermont. Warmer temperatures, especially during winter, are likely contributing to this trend.

Loeterman, Dan. “Insects Spreading to More Hemlocks.” Metrowest Daily News, July 14, 2007
A recent string of warm winters in New England has allowed the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid to thrive throughout the region.

“Scientists discuss warming’s effect on boreal forests.” Anchorage Daily News, June 1, 2007.
Recent changes in the world’s boreal forests have been observed in recent years, particularly in Alaska. Researchers are worried that plants and animals may not be able to adapt to these rapid changes.

Clarke Jeremy. “Kenyans Plant Trees to Coax Back Flamingos.” Reuters, April 23, 2007.
After populations of the famous flamingos at Kenya’s Lake Nakuru declined due to deforestation, climate change, and pollution, communities are planting saplings around the lake to bring the birds back.

“Fewer Leaves Behind Frog Demise.” BBC News, April 17, 2007.
Changes in Costa Rica’s weather have resulted in a reduction in the amount of leaf litter present on the forest floor. A new report by the National Academy of Sciences says that this could be responsible for the region’s decline in frog numbers.

“Wolves, Moose Struggling on Isle Royal National Park, USA.” Science Daily, March 12, 2007.
Moose populations in Isle Royal National Park are at their lowest level in 50 years, with warm summers, tick populations, and pressure from wolves contributing to the problem.

Zabarenko, Deborah. “Exotic animals seen where Antarctic ice used to be.” Planet Ark, February 16, 2007.
Exotic creatures and new species have been found off the coast of the Antarctic, in an area formerly covered by ice.

Precipitation Patterns

Bowe, Christopher. “Finger pointed at La Niña in search for clues.” Financial Times, February 2, 2008.
The recent snowstorms and heavy rains in China, which have slowed the Nation’s transportation network, are being linked to La Niña.

“Smaller Storms Drop Larger Overall Rainfall In Hurricane Season.” Terra Daily, December 10, 2007.
A study of rainfall trends in the drought-stricken Southeastern U.S. show that the most extreme rainfall days occur in September and October, and that a series of smaller tropical storms and depressions brings more cumulative rainfall to the region than the more powerful but shorter lived hurricane.

Wahlquist, Asa. “Hot spring ices hopes for a cereal crop.” The Australian, October 31, 2007
Old rules of thumb for Australia’s grain farmers are no longer relevant as back to back drought years are crippling the industry.

Lam, Tina and Schmitt, Ben. “Superior free fall struck so fast: No end in sight, drought blamed.” The Detroit Free Press, August 29, 2007.
Increased evaporation due to higher temperatures and drought conditions in Lake Superior’s Watershed are pushing water levels towards record lows.

“NASA Detects Trends in Rainfall Traits from Drizzles to Downpours.” TerraDaily, March 5, 2007.
NASA Scientists find new ways to measure changes in rainfall patterns.

Records

Medred, Craig. “Summer has been one of Alaska’s coldest.” Anchorage Daily News, September 7, 2008.
Due to prolonged and extensive cloud cover over Alaska, this summer featured the coolest average high temperatures since the early 1970’s.

“Great Lakes water levels see increase.” The Times Herald, August 7, 2008.
Great Lakes water levels are up from previous years but still below average for August.

“NOAA: Eighth Warmest June on Record for Globe.” Science Daily, July 21. 2008.
The combined ocean and land surface temperature in June was 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 20th century average. It was also the wettest June on record in parts of southern China, including Hong Kong.

“Global Land Temperature Warmest on Record In March 2008.” Science Daily, April 19, 2008.
This March featured the Planet’s warmest average land temperature on record and the 13th warmest average ocean surface temperature. U.S. temperatures were around average.

Antczak, John. “L.A. Set to Log Driest Year in More Than a Century.” The Washington Post, June 30, 2007.
The last 12 months has been the driest that the Los Angeles Area has seen in over 130 years. The recent behavior of the jet stream has helped to keep rain out of Southern California while simultaneously bringing near record amounts of rain to Texas.

Clarke, Jeremy. “Overheating Britain: April Temperatures Break All Records.” The Independent, April 28, 2007.
With record-breaking April temperatures, Britain may experience record summer temperatures, as well.

Bornstein, Seth. “Record for Hottest January Isn’t Broken….It’s Smashed.” Seattle Times, February 16, 2007.
This past January was the hottest on record. It broke the previous record by .81° Fahrenheit.

“Tokyo Sets Snowless Record.” TerraDaily, February 11, 2007.
This winter has featured the longest snowless stretch in Tokyo’s recorded meteorological history. According to meteorologists in Japan, Tokyo has never had a winter without snow.

“2006 Poised to be the Third Warmest Year on Record.” USA Today,  December 14, 2006.
Officials at NOAA reported that 2006 is on track to be the contiguous United States’ third warmest year on record. NOAA began keeping temperature records in 1895. The ten warmest years in this data series have occurred since 1995.

Seasonal Patterns

“‘Citizen scientists’ record warming data.” USA Today, April 7, 2008.
All across the Nation, citizens are observing budbursts and sending data to scientists in order to build a better understanding of changes in plant life-cycles.

Hill, Michael. “Study: Northeast winters warming fast.” ABC News, January 13, 2008.
A new study reinforces numerous observations that winters in the Northeast have become warmer and less snowy.

Brown, Susan. “Polar bears dying in years of early ice melt.” Nature News, November 23, 2007.
The oldest and youngest members of the Polar Bear populations experience higher mortality rates during years when the Arctic Ice melts earlier than average.

Warm Spring ‘Affecting Wildlife.’” BBC News, May 25, 2007.
During the 2007 Springwatch, a wildlife observation program run by BBC and the Woodland Trust, butterflies, frogspawn, and other wildlife are showing up earlier than expected.

McCarthy, Michael. “Chelsea Flower Show growers hit by climate change as warm spring accelerates growth.” The Independent, May 12, 2007.
April’s record warmth has prompted flowers in Britain to bloom much earlier than usual, a phenomenon that has forced gardeners at Chelsea’s Flower Show to adapt both to this early bloom and to unusually large insect populations.

 

Other Topics

“New Clues To Air Circulation in the Atmosphere.” Science Daily, August 22, 2008.
A new study suggests that Earth has four major atmospheric circulation cells. Most older theories recognized only two.

“El Niño May Have Been Factor in Magellan’s Pacific Voyage.” Science Daily, May 16, 2008.
Magellan’s 16th Century journey around the world coincided with an El Niño event, which helped his passage through the Pacific.

Lövgren, Stefan. “Climate Change Driving Mongolians from Steppes to Cities.” National Geographic News, February 21, 2008.
The last few decades of rising temperatures in Mongolia? have been linked to increased rates of evapotranspiration, more severe winter storms, and heavier but less frequent rains, trends which are making life harder for the nation’s herders.

Jensen, Adam. “Tahoe rapidly warming: Lecture looks at climate change.” Nevada County Local News, June 9, 2007.
Lake Tahoe is warming at a rate faster than the world’s oceans. This warming is likely to change the composition of the Lake’s living communities, and possibly impair its water’s famous visibility.