Polar bears living in the Hudson Bay region of Canada are threatened (more…)

As the devastating effects of climate change unfold, one of its most ominous manifestations is the accelerating melting of glaciers around the world. These icy monstrosities, once thought to be eternal, are now succumbing to the relentless onslaught of rising global temperatures. And that could spell trouble for the entire planet, according to an old study that is gaining traction again. It says the Gulf Stream could collapse as soon as 2025 due to melting glaciers, shutting down a vital ocean current. The Gulf Stream, a powerful ocean current originating in the Gulf of Mexico, plays a key role in regulating the climate in the North Atlantic region. Its warm waters act as a natural conveyor belt, carrying heat from the equator toward the poles and influencing weather along the way. ( Amit Chaturvedi, more at www.ndtv.com )

Far-right and nationalist parties are expected to make big gains in the June European Parliament elections, at the expense of Greens, liberals and left-wing parties. That much we already knew. But what could this mean for EU climate policies?

The EU got a foreshadowing last week when lawmakers in parliament debated the European Commission's recommended climate target for 2040 – a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels. Read Fred Simon's breakdown of what each side had to say.

Conservative rebellion . Hardline conservative and far-right groups spoke at the parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg, warning of the social consequences and risk of deindustrialisation linked to higher EU climate targets. (Frédéric Simon, more at euractiv.com)

The head of the United Nations warned on Tuesday that climate chaos and food crises are increasing threats to global peace, telling a high-level UN meeting that climate disasters threaten food production and "empty bellies fuel unrest".

A recent study by behavioral researchers at the University of Bonn, the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE in Frankfurt, and the University of Copenhagen demonstrates for the first time that a large majority of the world's population supports climate action and is willing to incur personal costs to combat climate change. The findings are published in Nature Climate Change are based on a globally representative survey conducted in 125 countries, in which approximately 130,000 individuals participated. According to the study, 69% of the world's population is willing to contribute 1% of their personal income to combat climate change, which is a significant contribution to the fight against climate change.

The vast majority of 86 % support pro-climate social norms and 89 % call for increased political action. In countries particularly affected by global warming, the willingness to fight climate change is significantly higher. In countries with high GDP per capita, the willingness is lower compared to other countries.

(University of Bonn, more at phys.org)

Ribbons of water vapor called atmospheric rivers wind through the troposphere, moving the planet's moisture from near the equator toward the poles. These airborne waterways are responsible for about 20 to 30 % of annual rain and snow in parts of Europe and the United States, and more than 40 % in East Asia during the region's warm season. Climate change is expected to alter the timing and distribution of atmospheric rivers, potentially redistributing global water supplies. In a study published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres , Zhang and others used a suite of climate models called the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) to examine how the prevalence of atmospheric rivers has already changed and will continue to change as a result of global warming from 1980 to 2099. (Saima May Sidik, American Geophysical Union, more at phys.org)

Given that the direct impacts of climate change are felt primarily at the local level, many have called for climate adaptation to become a local responsibility. Local authorities do indeed have a major influence on climate change adaptation – for example through land use and permitting decisions. Yet their actions are strongly determined by the national fiscal, regulatory and political context in which they are embedded. This policy paper provides an overview and discussion of the roles and responsibilities for climate change adaptation at different levels of government. It argues that collaboration between levels of government is needed to strengthen adaptation at the local level.

This strategy paper was prepared as part of the OECD Territorial Approach to Climate Action and Resilience Programme, which supports sub-national authorities in their efforts to accelerate the transition to net-zero and build systemic resilience. (More on oecd-ilibrary.org )

Comedian Stuart Goldsmith says stand-up offers strategies for those working every day to alleviate the climate crisis. There is a uniform facial expression when discussing the global state of climate: V-shaped eyebrows, straight lips, stretched neck, tilted head. Look at most images from the COP or Davos negotiations and you will see what I mean. Somber faces bring somber facts. 

But does climate work have to be like this? Does mimicking the physical stance of war strategists help make more progress in setting and achieving greenhouse gas emissions targets? Do you have to frown so your executive team can pursue a biodiversity strategy with purpose? 

Not according to stand-up superstar Stuart Goldsmith, who I'll be interviewing on GreenBiz 24 about the strategies comics offer those doing tough climate work. (Katie Ryan, more at www.greenbiz.com )

First 12 months above 1.5C threshold. World just had warmest January on record. Climate change, El Nino drive up temperatures. Scientists urge swift action to cut emissions. The world just experienced its warmest January on record, marking the first 12-month period in which temperatures averaged more than 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial times, the European Union's climate change monitoring service said Thursday.

2023 was already the warmest year on the planet in global records dating back to 1850, as human-caused climate change and El Nino, a weather pattern that warms surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, boosted temperatures.

"It is a significant milestone to see the global average temperature over a 12-month period exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures for the first time," said Matt Patterson, an atmospheric physicist at the University of Oxford. (Reuters London, more at en.prothomalo.com)

The Himalayas, also called the "Third Pole" because they hold more frozen water than anywhere else in the world, except for the Arctic and Antarctic polar ice caps, are experiencing a real suffocation: a lack of snow. The mountain peaks in the Hindu Kush region of the Himalayas, which are usually covered in a vast white blanket of snow in winter, are this year a different color than the rocks and boulders that form them. This fact has been proven throughout this vast mountain range, with a particular occurrence in this western region.

This winter has proven to be particularly atypical, with low precipitation and, of course, little to no snow across the region. But it has followed a pattern that has gradually become increasingly terrifying. (Jose Miguel Dias, yourweather.co.uk )

A sudden stop to currents in the Atlantic Ocean that could plunge large parts of Europe into a deep (more…)

Earlier this year, the UK's Met Office forecast that the average global temperature in 2023 would be 1.46°C above pre-industrial levels, making it the warmest year on record, 0.17°C above the previous record set in 2016.

The polar vortex extends high up through the different layers of the atmosphere. The lowest level is called the troposphere, where all the weather events occur. But above that, we have the stratosphere, a deeper, drier layer.

For this reason, we divide the polar vortex into an upper (stratospheric) and a lower (tropospheric) part. They both perform different roles, so we track them separately. But together, the two parts form the winter circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. To make it easier, just know that the upper and lower parts of the polar vortex are connected. Changes in the upper part can significantly affect weather anomalies in the lower parts of the atmosphere and the weather at the surface.

The reason we monitor the state of the polar vortex is because it can have a profound impact on our daily weather. We mainly divide the polar vortex into two different regimes:

Strong /stable polar vortex usually means a strong polar circulation and jet stream. This locks in colder air beyond the Arctic Circle, creating milder conditions for most of the United States.

On the contrary weak/disrupted polar vortex It creates a weak jet stream pattern. As a result, it has a harder time handling the cold air that can now escape from the polar regions into the United States. Image from NOAA. (Andrej Flis, more at north-weather.eu )

Farmers in Poland, Spain, Italy and Hungary demonstrated on Friday as part of ongoing protests against agricultural policy (more…)

A scientific web tool shows which formulations can support climate protection measures. (more…)

This is a new initiative to address the impact of a changing planet on mental health. The goal is to build an inclusive and actionable research agenda and a connected, supported and engaged community of practice with the right tools to enact that agenda. The Planetary Health Alliance leads efforts in North America and Europe by building the regional community, shaping the agenda through dialogue, supporting capacity building in research and advocacy, generating new knowledge, and identifying opportunities to ensure the long-term sustainability of the regional community. (More on planetaryhealthalliance.org )

The world temporarily reached 1.5 °C warming, which scientists have been warning for a long time that must not be exceeded. And more and more people are feeling the consequences directly – most recently in Chile, where more than 120 people have been killed forest fires , which was partly caused by climate change. Global warming has also contributed to the fact that atmospheric rivers they drowned California in torrential rains, created mudslides and caused that hundreds of thousands of people lost power . Scientists now say that climate change may lead them to added category 6 on the hurricane scale. January 2024 was the ninth warmest month in history and the next record month after 2023 was the warmest year in history .

You'd think all of this would finally make Americans prioritize climate protection. Instead, many stand behind a man who does not accept the scientific consensus on climate change, who mocks what he calls climate fanaticism , and promises to "drill, drill, drill" from day one in office. And American banks are changing their minds and they are again investing in fossil fuel infrastructure . Under these circumstances, it should be considered criminal. No wonder the rest of the world looks at us in disbelief. (SABINE VON MERING, more at commondreams.org )

PARIS - Massive wildfires exposing millions to toxic smoke, drought shrivelling crops and key waterways, devastating storms packed (more…)

Heat and extreme climate records from 2023 shocked scientists. So where are we headed? Given current trends, the world is moving closer to 2°C of warming and the Paris climate goal of limiting warming to 1.5-2°C.

Climate model scenarios similar to current policies assume warming of 2°C by 2050; if James Hansen is right (see Part 1) and warming accelerates sharply, it could be a decade sooner. These results will be driven by a high energy imbalance, persistently high emissions, accelerating ocean heat accumulation, and a decline in short-term aerosol cooling.

This is the second article in a two-part series. Read the first part  here .

(David Spratt, more at www.resilience.org )