el nino
The Hottest Month (Again)
NASA data show that the Earth’s temperature in July was the highest recorded since record-keeping began 136 years ago. It was also the 10th straight month of record-breaking temperatures and was .18 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the previous hottest July in 2011.
Some Good News For Coral Reefs
Most recent news about coral reefs around the world has been bad news. There has been unprecedented coral bleaching in places like Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The effects of climate change – including warming temperatures and rising seas – as well as the recent El Niño event have led to damaged reefs across the globe.
Coral Bleaching On The Great Barrier Reef
It was already well-known that coral bleaching was a serious problem in the Great Barrier Reef, but extensive aerial surveys and underwater dives have now revealed the shocking extent of the problem.
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Bolivia’s Disappearing Lake
Bolivia’s second largest lake has nearly disappeared. Lake Poopó, a saltwater lake located in a shallow depression in the Altiplano Mountains, used to cover an area about the size of Los Angeles. While it’s not the first time the lake has dried out, scientists believe its recovery hangs in the balance due to the combined stress of drought, climate change, and water diversion.
The Hottest Year
2015 was the hottest year in the historical record, easily breaking the mark set only one year earlier. The unusually large El Niño weather pattern is releasing enormous amounts of heat from the Pacific Ocean into the atmosphere, but climate scientists say that the bulk of the record-setting heat is due to the long-term warming effects of greenhouse gas emissions. The global land surface temperature was 1.6°F above the 20th century historical average. That’s a huge jump from 2014, which was 1.3° above average. That may sound like very little, but for the planet as a whole, it is extremely large.
Beware The Blob
There has been plenty of discussion of El Niño, the periodic weather phenomenon in which prevailing easterly winds in the Pacific Ocean weaken, allowing warm water to move eastward and wreak havoc with the weather in North and South America. The current El Niño is a particularly strong one; some say it may be one of the strongest ever and are calling it the “Godzilla El Niño.”
The Second Hottest Year On Record
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – or NOAA – 2015 was the second hottest year ever recorded in the contiguous United States.
El Niño On The Way
