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Record Low Antarctic Sea Ice | Earth Wise

March 2, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Recent satellite observations of the sea ice in the Antarctic found the lowest level of ice cover ever seen in the forty years that these observations have been made. As of February 8th, there were only 849,000 square miles of the Southern Ocean covered with ice. The previous record low was measured last February 24th when the total coverage was 876,000 square miles. Ice melting was likely to continue as the month went on.

This past January had already set a new record for that month’s mean extent of ice coverage at 1.24 million square miles. This rapid decline in sea ice has been going on for the past six years and is very unusual. Average Antarctic ice cover hardly changed at all during the previous thirty-five years.

Antarctic sea ice generally reaches its maximum extent in September or October and its minimum extent in February. At its maximum, the sea ice cover in the Antarctic is generally between 6.9 and 7.7 million square miles. On the other hand, there are some places where the sea ice melts completely during the Southern Hemisphere summer. Sea ice varies much more in the Antarctic than in the Arctic where the ice is much thicker.

Climate warming at the poles is much higher than at lower latitudes. Nonetheless, it is not yet clear whether what we are seeing is the beginning of the end of summer sea ice in the Antarctic, or whether this is just a new phase characterized by low but still stable sea ice cover in the summer.

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Record low sea ice cover in the Antarctic

Photo, posted January 24, 2012, courtesy of Rob Oo via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Europe Is Warming Faster Than The Rest Of The Planet | Earth Wise

January 3, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A new study by researchers at Stockholm University has found that the warming during the summer months in Europe has been much faster than the global average. The findings, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, are that the climate across the European continent has become drier, particularly in southern Europe, leading to worse heat waves and an increased risk of fires.

Warming over land areas occurs much faster than over oceans. The global average warming to date is 1.6 degrees Celsius over land and 0.9 degrees over oceans. This means that the global emissions budget to keep warming below 1.5 degrees has already been used up over land. The new study in fact shows that the emissions budget to avoid 2 degrees of warming has already been exceeded over large parts of Europe during the summer half-year (April to September).

This accelerated warming in Europe has led to more frequent heat waves. These, in turn, increase the risk of fires, such as the devastating fires in southern Europe this past summer.

Southern Europe has been experiencing a positive feedback situation in which the ongoing warming has been amplified because of drier soil and decreased evaporation. Added to that, there has been less cloud coverage over large parts of Europe, probably as a result of less water vapor in the air.

The study also looked at the impact of aerosol particles on temperatures in Europe. As the amount of relatively short-lived aerosol particles has decreased with the reduction of coal-fired power plants, the temporary cooling effects of those particles partially masking the underlying warming trend have diminished. In contrast, carbon dioxide emissions stay in the atmosphere for centuries.

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Large parts of Europe are warming twice as fast as the planet on average

Photo, posted April 18, 2020, courtesy of Roman Ranniew via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Climate Change And Forest Loss | Earth Wise

May 23, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

India is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. An estimated 47,000 plant species and 89,000 animal species can be found in India, with more than 10% of each thought to be on the list of threatened species.

India is also among the top ten countries in the world in terms of total forest coverage. According to Indian government data, the total forest and tree cover in India is 312,000 square miles, which is 24.62% of the geographical area of the country.

However, forest loss in India has been a problem for many decades driven largely (researchers thought) by land use change. But it turns out that climate change may also have been contributing to forest loss, and its impact is projected to become an even bigger problem in the coming years.

In the first ever national-scale study of the relationship between forest loss and rainfall and temperature trends in India, researchers from the University of Reading in the U.K. found that climate change may have contributed to large declines in forest since the turn of the century.

The study, which was recently published in the journal Global Change Biology, found far greater forest losses were observed where and when the climate was changing most rapidly. Decreases in rainfall had the strongest impact on forest loss.

These findings exacerbate concerns about the already-worrying levels of deforestation in the country, and contradict official reports that have shown relatively small decreases in forest coverage in recent years.

The research team warns that rapid changes to the climate in some regions will require targeted preservation action to reduce the risk to biodiversity in India.

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Indian forest loss ‘worse than feared’ due to climate change

Photo, posted January 20, 2013, courtesy of Dicky Broadhurst / Frontier Official via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Coral Reefs And Ecosystem Services

October 18, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A new study led by the University of British Columbia provides the first comprehensive look at what climate change, overfishing, and habitat destruction of coral reefs mean for their ecosystem services. For humans, this means how the global decline in coral reefs has affected their ability to provide essential benefits including food, livelihoods, and protection from storms.

The study found that global coverage of living corals has declined by about half since the 1950s and the diversity of reef species has declined by more than 60%. So, it is no surprise that there has been a significant loss in the ability of reefs to provide ecosystem services.

The study analyzed data from coral reef surveys around the world, fisheries catches, indigenous consumption, and more. Apart from the declines in reef coverage and biodiversity, the study found that fish catches on coral reefs peaked in 2002 and has steadily declined since then, despite increased fishing efforts.

The findings of the study led the researchers to conclude that continued degradation of coral reefs in the years to come threaten the well-being and sustainable development of millions of people in communities on the coast that depend on coral reefs. Fish and fisheries provide essential nutrients in places with few alternative sources of nutrition. Coral reef biodiversity and fisheries have added importance for indigenous communities, where important cultural relationships exist with reefs.

The study’s authors say that the results are a call to action. The level of destruction happening all over the world’s coral reefs is threatening people’s culture, their daily food, and their history. It is not just an environmental issue; it is a human rights issue.

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Photo, posted September 22, 2010, courtesy of David Burdick / NOAA Photo Library via Flickr.

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The Hot Year Continues | Earth Wise

December 8, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s monthly global climate report for October reports yet another month of high temperatures. October 2020 was the fourth-hottest October on record, continuing the pace for the year to be the second hottest on record.

The 10 warmest Octobers have occurred since 2005 and the seven warmest have all occurred in the last seven years. Europe had its warmest October ever, surpassing the previous record set in 2001.

For the year to date, the global temperature was a full degree Celsius (or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 20th century average. This was just 0.03 Celsius degrees lower than the record set in 2016. Europe and Asia have had their warmest year-to-date period on record.

Other notable observations in the report included that Arctic sea ice coverage was almost 37% below the 1981-2010 average and was the smallest October coverage on record. The previous record was set last year.

Heat records were set around the world including parts of the northern and western Pacific Ocean, southern North America, South America, eastern Europe, the northern Middle East, the eastern Mediterranean Sea, southern Asia, and in small areas across the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

Despite the record global temperatures, the Northern Hemisphere’s snow coverage in October was the 10th largest over the past 53 years. The snow coverage in North America was the largest on record for October.

Adding in the extremely active hurricane season, with 12 hurricanes and 29 tropical depressions, weather around the world continues to be anything but typical.

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Remarkably warm October fuels march toward 2nd-hottest year

Photo, posted February 8, 2016, courtesy of Jasmin Toubi via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

The Changing Climate Is Changing Insurance

October 21, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

As the climate changes, wildfires get bigger and more destructive and hurricanes and powerful storms are more frequent and damaging. In places where these things are occurring, it is getting harder and more expensive for many homeowners to get insurance. The affordability of home insurance in the face of climate change has become a huge issue in many states.

In California, the number of homeowners who got non-renewal notices from their insurance companies rose by 6% between 2017 and 2018. In areas directly affected by wildfires between 2015 and 2017, that number jumped by 10%. Similar things have happened in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, where hurricanes and flooding have caused extensive damage. Because of this, many homeowners have been forced to turn to bare-bone plans such as the California Fair Access to Insurance Plan, which can cost two or three times as much as normal insurance policies.

According to a 2019 survey of insurance companies, more than half of insurance regulators said that climate change was likely to have a high impact or an extremely high impact on the availability of insurance coverage and the assumptions used for underwriting. In the past, governments have been able to mandate coverage in certain areas or even provide coverage themselves in some cases. As the occurrence of climate-related damage becomes increasingly frequent, homeowners have to face up to a grim reality.

The challenges of dealing with wildfires, floods, powerful storms, and the like are significant enough for people who live in high-risk areas. Increasingly, home insurance in these places is becoming much more expensive, harder to find, and is worth less.

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As Climate Impacts Worsen, Homeowners Struggle to Find Affordable Insurance

Photo, posted September 1, 2020, courtesy of The National Guard via Flickr.

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Another Hot November

January 3, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

This past fall saw yet more of the high temperatures the world has been experiencing in recent times. Both the season (September through November) and the year to date were the second hottest in recorded history. November itself was the second-hottest November in the 140-year global climate record.

The high temperatures were felt at both ends of the world. Sea ice coverage across both the Arctic and Antarctic oceans fell to near-record lows in November. Arctic sea ice coverage was nearly 13% below the 1981-2010 average, while Antarctic coverage was 6.35% below average.

The average global land and ocean surface temperature for November was 1.66 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20^th century average. The year-to-date global temperature was 1.69 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20^th century average. These numbers correspond to almost a 1-degree Celsius increase, which should be compared with the Paris Climate Accord goal of keeping that increase to no more than 1.5 degrees.

November was the hottest November on record for South America, Africa, and the Hawaiian Islands. The Caribbean had its second-hottest November, and Europe had its seventh hottest on record.

The world’s average sea surface temperature ranked second warmest for the year to date and was only 0.05 degrees cooler than the all-time record.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issues monthly global climate reports and for quite some time, these reports seem to all be the same. Another new record for heat or at least another near record. We have to expect that this trend will continue at least until the world starts making progress in dealing with its root cause.

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November 2019 was 2nd hottest on record for the planet

Photo, posted July 20, 2016, courtesy of Salehin Chowdhury via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Climate Change And Insurance

May 17, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

While there are still some people who remain dubious about the reality of climate change, insurance companies are not among them. And, in fact, insurers are warning that climate change could make coverage for ordinary people unaffordable.

Munich Reinsurance, the world’s largest reinsurance firm, blamed global warming for $24 billion in losses from California’s recent wildfires. Such costs could soon be widely felt as premium rises are already under discussion with insurance companies having clients in vulnerable parts of the state.

With the risk from wildfires, flooding, storms and hail increasing, the only sustainable option for the insurance industry is to adjust risk prices accordingly. Ultimately, this may become a social issue. Affordability of insurance is critical because if rates go up too much, many people on low and average incomes in some regions may no longer be able to buy insurance.

The great majority of California’s 20 worst forest fires since the 1930’s has occurred since the year 2000 driven by abnormally high summer temperatures and persistent drought. The reinsurance giant analyzed decades of data with climate models and concluded that the fires are likely driven by climate change.

It isn’t just wildfires. Insurance premiums are also being adjusted in regions facing an increased threat from severe convective storms whose energy and severity are driven by global warming. These include parts of Germany, Austria, France, southwest Italy, and the U.S. Midwest.

Linking extreme weather events to climate change is a bit like attributing the performance of a steroid-using athlete to drug use. The connections are clearer in patterns than in individual disasters. But the pattern these days is pretty clear.

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Climate Change Could Make Insurance Unaffordable for Most People

Photo, posted June 12, 2013, courtesy of Jeff Head via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.