News and Feature Articles
2016 News and Feature Articles
From Space, Earth Has an Elegant Atmosphere
Clouds can be a nuisance when scientists are trying to observe features on Earth's surface. But at other times, clouds are exactly what they want to see. These images highlight some unusual and beautiful clouds.
(2016-12-22)
Last Two Novembers were Warmest Novembers on Record
November 2016 was slightly cooler than November 2015, but the two months are the warmest Novembers in 136 years of modern record-keeping.
(2016-12-15)
From NYC to Rio: NASA Helps Cities Address Climate Risks
Researchers and city officials from two of the world's major metropolises, New York City and Rio de Janeiro, come together to share their insights and solutions to mitigate against climate risks afflicting both their cities.
(2016-11-16)
Last Three Octobers Are the Warmest Octobers On Record
With October 2016 registering as the second warmest October in 136 years of modern record-keeping, the top three October temperature anomalies have occurred the past three years.
(2016-11-15)
September 2016 was Warmest on Record By Narrow Margin
Last month was the warmest September in 136 years of modern record-keeping, but by a razor-thin margin, effectively tieing with September 2014.
(2016-10-17)
What If and So What? Climate Change and Crops
In June 2016, Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig presented the "Maniac Lecture" at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
(2016-10-12)
NASA Analysis Finds August 2016 Another Record Month
August 2016 was the warmest August in 136 years of modern record-keeping, according to an analysis of global temperatures by GISS scientists.
(2016-09-12)
El Niño a Key Player in Severe Indonesia Fires
In some locations, changes in ocean temperatures and atmospheric patterns brought about by El Niño lead to drier conditions, which increases the damage during "fire season".
(2016-09-09)
To Better Understand Mega-Eruptions, Just Add Water
Volcanic eruptions bring images of lava and ash, not water. A new NASA study has shown that to correctly model the climate effects of an eruption scientists need to include the atmospheric effects of erupted water vapor.
(2016-08-23)
NASA Analysis Finds July 2016 is Warmest on Record
July 2016 was the warmest July in 136 years of modern record-keeping according to a monthly analysis of global temperatures by scientists at NASA GISS.
(2016-08-16)
NASA Climate Modelers: Venus May Have Been Habitable
Venus may have had a shallow liquid-water ocean and habitable surface temperatures for up to 2 billion years of its early history.
(2016-08-11)
Extreme Heat for an Extreme Year
In the summer of 2016, extreme heat waves gripped Siberia, the Middle East, and North America.
(2016-08-11)
Severe 2015 Indonesian Fire Season Linked to El Niño Drought
An especially dry period from July to October in Indonesia, a result of the 2015-16 El Niño, contributed to a severe fire season and significant carbon and pollution emissions.
(2016-08-01)
2016 Climate Trends Continue to Break Records
Two key climate change indicators — global surface temperatures and Arctic sea ice extent — have broken numerous records through the first half of 2016.
(2016-07-19)
Cloud-Gazing: Gravity Waves off the Coast of Africa
Interaction of dry air off the Namibian desert with moist air over the ocean forms clouds that rise and fall due to gravity, forming wave patterns.
(2016-07-14)
GISS Scientists Select Best Institute Paper of 2015
Scientists at NASA/GISS have voted the article “The frequency and duration of U.S. hurricane droughts” by Timothy Hall & Kelly Hereid as the top work among over 170 research publications by institute staff published in 2015.
(2016-06-27)
Investigating Climate Effect on Vegetation, Carbon in Alaska
Peatlands store up to one-third of Earth's soil carbon and are sensitive to changes in climate. Studying peatland sediments offers understanding of past and future response to climate change.
(2016-06-07)
Farms Act as Major Source of Air Pollution
New study shows that emissions from farms outweigh all other human sources of fine-particulate air pollution in much of the United States, Europe, Russia and China.
(2016-05-16)
Heat Fuels Fire at Fort McMurray
In early May 2016, a destructive wildfire burned through Canada’s Fort McMurray in the Northern Alberta region. Windy, dry, and unseasonably hot conditions all set the stage for the fire.
(2016-05-07)
Expanding Tropics Push High-Altitude Clouds Towards Poles
A new NASA analysis of 30 years of satellite data suggests that a previously observed trend of high altitude clouds in the mid-latitudes shifting toward the poles is caused primarily by the expansion of the tropics.
(2016-05-05)
Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels Will Help and Hurt Crops
Elevated carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere may increase water-use efficiency in crops and considerably mitigate yield losses due to climate change, according to a new NASA study.
(2016-05-03)
Climate Change Shifting Wine Grape Harvests in France
In a study of wine grape harvests from 1600 to 2007, scientists at NASA and Harvard University found that climate change is diminishing an important link between droughts and grape harvest dates in France and Switzerland.
(2016-03-21)
Record Warmth in February
Almost all land surfaces on the planet experienced unusually warm temperatures during the month of February 2016, making it the warmest February in 136 years of modern temperature records.
(2016-03-17)
Drought in Eastern Mediterranean is Worst of Past 900 Years
Study finds that the drought that began in 1998 in the eastern Mediterranean Levant region — comprising Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey — is likely the worst drought of the past nine centuries.
(2016-03-01)
Improving Global Model Precipitation Patterns by Downscaling
The inability of global climate models to match the timing or placement of short-term or regional precipation patterns such as the West African monsoon may be alleviated by "downscaling" to use smaller scale climate models with increased area resolution.
(2016-02-17)
NASA, NOAA Reveal Record-Shattering Global Temperatures
Earth's 2015 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern record keeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.
(2016-01-20)