European Countries Have Warmest January on Record
January 31, 2007Many European countries had their warmest January since records began, weather offices said, bringing Dutch daffodils out early and triggering grassland fires in Hungary. (Reuters)
National Weather Service Boosts New Supercomputer
January 31, 2007The National Weather Service's parent agency, NOAA, announced today it turned on a new set of IBM machines that increase the computational power used for the nation's climate and weather forecasts by 320 percent. (LiveScience.com)
Alaska's Urban Moose Adjust to Heavy Snow
January 31, 2007Anchorage has already received 76 inches of snow midway through a season that normally totals 68 inches, forcing the city's moose to adjust their winter habits as they encounter new dangers. (Associated Press)
Australia's Temperatures to Soar in 65 Years
January 31, 2007Average temperatures in Sydney will rise by about 9 degrees during the next 65 years, with devastating consequences including 1,300 more heat-related deaths per year, according to a government study. (Associated Press)
Utah's Mountains, Valleys Under a 'Soup'
January 31, 2007Northern Utah's valleys have been smothered by an "inversion," a blanket of warm air that keeps cold air close to the ground and traps everything: car exhaust, factory emissions, even hard-to-see particles from furnaces or a cozy fireplace. (Associated Press)
Undersea Volcano May Have Caused Quakes
January 30, 2007A wave of small earthquakes that has caused alarm in southern Chile may be related to the birth of an undersea volcano, officials said. (Associated Press)
Earthquake Rocks Australian Island
January 30, 2007An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 rocked the coast of Australia's remote Macquarie Island, the U.S. Geological Survey said. (Associated Press)
Panel Warns on Great Barrier Reef
January 30, 2007Australia's famous Great Barrier Reef could be dead within decades because of the effects of global warming, according to the latest IPCC report. (BBC)
Corn Plants Reveal Carbon Dioxide Emissions
January 30, 2007A new study shows how North American corn leaves can be used to map how much of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is being emitted from local fossil fuel burning. (Discovery.com)
Geologists Watch as African Continent is Torn Apart
January 30, 2007Seismic activity is slowly tearing Africa apart and scientists are geared up to watch the ripping landscape in an unprecedented set of observations. (LiveScience.com)
Glaciers Melting at Increasing Speed: UN
January 29, 2007New data shows the melting of mountain glaciers worldwide is accelerating, a clear sign that climate change is also picking up, the UN environmental agency and scientists said. (Reuters)
Global Warming May Affect Indonesia Isles
January 29, 2007Rising sea levels because of global warming stand to inundate around 2,000 islands in Indonesia by 2030, the country's environment minister said. (Associated Press)
Colorado's Storm Peak Lab: Science in the Snow
January 29, 2007Up the mountain from the Steamboat Springs Ski Resort, at the Storm Peak Laboratory, atmospheric scientists have studied everything from snow crystals and pollution to the impact of ultraviolet radiation on vegetation, but climate change now tops their priorities. (CNN)
Antarctic Hill Surprises Experts
January 28, 2007For the first time, a drumlin - a mound of sediment and rock - has been observed mid-formation. (BBC)
Four Dead, Many Injured as Snow Blankets Germany, Spain
January 27, 2007Snow and ice caused havoc on roads in parts of Europe, killing four people and leaving 30,000 homes without electricity, officials said. (Agence France-Presse)
Warming to Raise Seas for 1,000 Years
January 26, 2007World sea levels will keep rising for more than 1,000 years even if governments manage to slow a projected surge in temperatures this century blamed on greenhouse gases, a draft U.N. climate report says. (Reuters)
Warming Makes Predicting Alpine Avalanches Harder
January 26, 2007Winter temperatures are rising steadily across the European Alps but snow volumes have varied wildly, making it harder to assess the risk of avalanches, a Swiss climate expert said. (Reuters)
Canada Worried by Plunging Caribou Population
January 26, 2007The caribou population in Canada's vast Northwest Territories is falling rapidly and the increasingly warm climate could slow the animals' chances of recovery, a wildlife specialist said. (Reuters)
Landowners Plant Trees to Consume Gases
January 26, 2007Some landowners in the Pacific Northwest are planting new forests of trees to consume greenhouse gases and potentially buffer climate change, in a business called carbon forestry. (Associated Press)
Researchers Use Corn to Measure Carbon Dioxide
January 25, 2007Researchers have come up with a novel way to measure carbon dioxide levels produced by fossil fuels using corn harvested from almost 70 locations around the country. (National Public Radio)
Heavy Rains Claim Lives in Angolan Capital
January 24, 2007Fifty-three people have died in Luanda, Angola's seaside capital, in torrential rains that have lashed the city for three days, a police spokesman said. (Agence France-Presse)
More Polar Bears Giving Birth on Land
January 24, 2007Pregnant polar bears in Alaska, which spend most of their lives on sea ice, are increasingly giving birth on land, according to researchers who say global warming is probably to blame. (Associated Press)
'Smoking Gun' Report to Say Global Warming Here
January 23, 2007Human-caused global warming is here and is destined to get much worse in the future, an authoritative global scientific report will warn next week. (Associated Press)
Weather Predicts Disease Outbreaks
January 23, 2007Health officials lessened the impact of an ongoing outbreak in Kenya of Rift Valley Fever, a deadly hemorrhagic fever, after NASA scientists noticed exceptionally warm sea temperatures and elevated rainfall in east Africa four months ago. (Associated Press)
World's Waterbirds in Steep Decline
January 23, 2007Nearly half of the world's waterbird species are in decline, mostly due to rapid economic development and the effects of climate change, according to a global survey. (Associated Press)
Winds Blew in Reverse During Last Ice Age
January 23, 2007A new study shows that about 14,000 to 36,000 years ago the prevailing wind across much of the mid-latitudes, including the United States, was easterly, and marine moisture came predominantly from the East Coast. (LiveScience.com)
Glaciers May Vanish from Alps by 2050
January 22, 2007Most glaciers will disappear from the Alps by 2050, scientists told a conference on climate change, basing their bleak outlook on evidence of slow but steady melting of the region's continental ice sheets. (Associated Press)
Frozen Ground Thawing in Himalayas
January 22, 2007Some of the perennially frozen ground high in the Himalayas has been shrinking, say Japanese scientists. (Discovery.com)
Earthquake in Indonesia Leaves Four Dead
January 21, 2007A powerful earthquake in northeastern Indonesia left four people dead and four injured when it rattled buildings, causing panicked residents to flee homes, churches and shopping malls, officials and witnesses said. (Associated Press)
Melting Arctic Draws Killer Whales, Threatening Inuit Fishing
January 20, 2007Killer whales are migrating farther north as the Arctic Ocean's ice cover melts, threatening the livelihood of the native Inuit who traditionally depend on fishing for their food, Canadian researchers said. (Agence France-Presse)
Torrential Rains in Mozambique Cause Havoc
January 19, 2007Four people have died and hundreds of homes have been destroyed by torrential rains in Mozambique over the last two days, officials said. (Agence France-Presse)
Scientist: Maybe Two Snowflakes Are Alike
January 19, 2007The old adage that "no two snowflakes are alike" might not hold true, at least for smaller crystals, new research suggests. (Associated Press)
Alaska to Get British-Style Temperatures
January 19, 2007Parts of the world could heat up by over 18 degrees Fahrenheit this century with large areas of land becoming uninhabitable, according to a climate prediction experiment. (Reuters)
U.N. Panel to Step-Up Warnings on Climate
January 19, 2007A U.N. climate panel is set to give its strongest warning yet that human use of fossil fuels is stoking global warming, informed sources said. (Reuters)
Decomposition of Plants Could Shed Light on Climate Change
January 19, 2007Nitrogen release by decomposing plants is surprisingly similar across the planet and could help shed light on the evolution of climate change, researchers said. (Agence France-Presse)
Severe Storms Batter Northern Europe
January 18, 2007Hurricane force winds battered parts of Europe, killing at least 27 people and triggering a dramatic air-sea rescue from a sinking cargo ship in the English Channel. (Agence France-Presse)
Mild Temperature Rise Can Endanger Species
January 18, 2007Subtle environmental change can interact with physiological needs to weaken the ability of a species to maintain a viable population even when the temperature rise is too mild to kill individual organisms. (Christian Science Monitor)
Your PCs Forecast Climate Future
January 18, 2007A computer model of climate run on home PCs in conjunction with the BBC has yielded its first results, suggesting the UK could be about 3 degrees Celsius warmer than now in 75 years' time, agreeing with other climate models. (BBC)
Indian Ocean Shift Seen Stoking Indonesian Droughts
January 17, 2007By studying climate records stored in coral reefs over the last 6,000 years, researchers found that stronger monsoons in Asia lead to greater cooling in the eastern Indian Ocean, which in turn causes droughts in Australia. (Reuters)
Snow in Southern California as Cold Grips U.S.
January 17, 2007A layer of snow blanketed hills in Malibu, Calif., as Americans coped with a deadly nationwide cold snap that has left hundreds of thousands in the dark and caused billions in crop damage. (Agence France-Presse)
2100: A World of Wild Weather
January 17, 2007A new index that maps the different ways that climate change will hit parts of the world reveals how much more frequent extreme climate events will be by 2100 compared with the late 20th century. (NewScientist.com)
El Nino Seen Fading, But Jury Still Out, Experts Say
January 16, 2007The current El Nino weather anomaly appears to be fading, and its impact has been muted in North America with normal weather conditions seen this year over the corn and soybean growing region of the Midwest, climate scientists said. (Reuters)
Winter Storm Blamed for 41 Deaths
January 16, 2007A winter storm that slathered the Midwest and Plains under a thick coat of ice crashed into the Northeast, downing power lines, and making roadways treacherous as the death toll rose to 41. (Associated Press)
The Warming of Greenland
January 16, 2007All over Greenland and the Arctic, rising temperatures are not simply melting ice, they are changing the very geography of coastlines as "lonely mountains" that were once encased in the margins of Greenland�s ice sheet are being freed, exposing a new chain of islands. (The New York Times)
Backyard Weather Network Set to Expand
January 16, 2007Satellites have not yet replaced the humble rain gauge when it comes to collecting weather data in the United States, and scientists said they intend to expand the network over the next few years. (Reuters)
Warm Spell in Russia Wakes Up the Bears
January 16, 2007Much of the European part of Russia has been gripped by an uncharacteristic warm spell this winter, with temperatures generally well above freezing and little if any snow and temperatures so warm that bears aren't hibernating. (Associated Press)
Severe Weather Warnings to Be More Precise
January 16, 2007Beginning Oct. 1, the National Weather Service will begin issuing severe-weather warnings that are more geographically specific rather than being county-wide. (LiveScience.com)
Earthquake Deaths Down in 2006
January 16, 2007Earthquakes killed 6,604 people worldwide in 2006, down significantly from the previous two years in a stark shift that illustrates the capricious nature of these events. (LiveScience.com)
Cold Snap Destroys Most California Citrus
January 15, 2007Three nights of freezing temperatures have destroyed up to three-quarters of California's $1 billion citrus crop, according to an estimate. (Associated Press)
Caves Hold Climate Clues
January 15, 2007Researchers are going 60 feet underground for a unique archive of California climate records in stalagmites and other cave formations found in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. (San Diego Union Tribune)
Rains Force Thousands to Flee
January 14, 2007More than 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes in southern Malaysia after heavy rains caused massive flooding, officials said. (Agence France-Presse)
Small Tsunami Waves Hit Japan After Quake
January 13, 2007Small tsunami waves hit northern and eastern Japan after a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake in the Pacific prompted tsunami warnings in Japan, Russia and Alaska. (Reuters)
Warmest December on Record in Italy
January 13, 2007Italy recorded its warmest December last month since records began in 1860, with an average temperature of 6.9 degrees Celsius (44.4 degrees Fahrenheit), Italian media said, quoting meteorologists at the university of Modena. (Agence France-Presse)
Sri Lanka Floods Displace 60,000
January 12, 2007Around 60,000 people have been displaced in Sri Lanka by flooding caused by torrential monsoon rains, the government said, while the death toll from landslides a day earlier rose to 13. (Reuters)
El Nino Should Last Through March
January 11, 2007The current El Nino weather anomaly that can create atmospheric havoc around the world should continue into the spring, extending unseasonably warm North American temperatures through March, the U.S. National Weather Service said. (Reuters)
Warm Europe Winter Has Pollen Lingering
January 10, 2007Experts warned Austrian allergy-sufferers that some species of trees are already flowering and about to release pollen � an annual phenomenon that's usually not a problem until well into spring. (Associated Press)
Scientists Urge Quake Preparedness
January 9, 2007California seismologists launched an earthquake-readiness campaign with the slogan "Shift Happens" on the 150th anniversary of the biggest quake in the state's recorded history. (Associated Press)
Plants That Grow Fast May Have Advantage
January 8, 2007The ability to grow like a weed may be advantageous when it comes to coping with climate change as plants with short life cycles can adapt more quickly than those that reproduce slowly, a new study finds. (Associated Press)
2006: Warmest Year on Record
January 8, 2007Last year was the warmest on record for the United States, with readings pushed higher than normal by the unusual and unseasonably warm weather during the last half of December, government scientists said. (Associated Press)
Montserrat Volcano Shoots Ash
January 8, 2007The volcano that destroyed Montserrat's capital in 1997 shot a cloud of ash more than five miles into the sky, and one of the island's chief scientists said the blast was "a warning call.'' (Associated Press)
Malaysia Flood Death Toll at 17
January 7, 2007The death toll from floods in Malaysia has risen to 17 as fresh heavy downpours forced hundreds to evacuate in the country's north and the eastern state of Sabah. (Reuters)
Downpours Kill Dozens in Brazil
January 6, 2007Firefighters recovered the body of a woman whose home was engulfed in a mudslide, as the death toll from days of heavy rains in southeast Brazil reached 31. (Associated Press)
Record Temperatures in Himalayas Spark Climate Fears
January 6, 2007Temperatures in rugged Tibet have hit record highs in recent days, China's state press said, as a scientific survey warned of the impact of global warming in the Himalayan region. (Agence France-Presse)
Warmer Seas Leave Fish Gasping
January 6, 2007Warming oceans, one of the major consequences of global climate change, are making another marine species feel like a fish out of water, scientists report. (Associated Press)
Global Warming and Warm Weather: Connected?
January 6, 2007Scientists say recent unseasonably warm winter in the United States fits the pattern of projections long predicted for manmade global warming of more and more frequent unseasonable warm spells. (ABC)
China's Largest Lake May Disappear in 200 Years
January 5, 2007China's largest lake, suffering from global warming and desertification, may vanish in two centuries even as the government pledges $870 million to stop it shrinking, Xinhua news agency said. (Reuters)
Scientists Look to South Pole for Answers to Drought
January 5, 2007Rainfall in the Southern Ocean, combined with Antarctic weather patterns, could hold the key to understanding drought in Australia, and researchers are planning to send remote-control aircraft into storms over the South Pole to find out more. (Australian Broadcasting Corp.)
Forecasters Expect Toasty 2007
January 4, 2007A resurgent El Nino and persistently high levels of greenhouse gases are likely to make 2007 the world's hottest year ever recorded, British climate scientists said. (Reuters)
Clean Air Pockets Echo Ancient Skies
January 4, 2007Air over some parts of the open southern oceans may be the last vestiges of almost pre-industrial skies. (Discovery.com)
Tang Dynasty Crippled by Weather Shift
January 4, 2007The Tang dynasty, seen by many historians as a glittering peak in China's history, was brought to its knees by shifts in the monsoon cycle, according to a study. (Agence France-Presse)
Climate Change Faster in Australia: Scientists
January 3, 2007Australia appears to be suffering an accelerated greenhouse effect, with the pace of global warming faster across the country than in other parts of the world, climatologists said. (Reuters)
Himalaya's Receding Glaciers Suffer Neglect
January 3, 2007Billions of people in China and the Indian subcontinent rely on South Asia's Himalayan glaciers for water supplies, but as global climate change slowly melts glaciers, scientists say the glaciers in the Himalayas are retreating faster than in any other part of the world. (Christian Science Monitor)
Louisiana Slipping Slowly Into Gulf of Mexico
January 1, 2007A new report by scientists studying Louisiana's sinking coast says the land is not just sinking, it's sliding slowly into the Gulf of Mexico, findings that may add a kink to plans to build bigger and better levees to protect New Orleans. (Associated Press)