Jan 3, 2020

Study: Climate change effects apparent in daily global weather data

Ben Geman

Concrete blocks are placed along the shoreline to try and prevent further coastal erosion, on December 2019 in Mahibadhoo, Maldives.

The imprint of climate change is now apparent in global weather data at a daily level, according to a new paper in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change.

Why it matters: "If verified by subsequent work, the findings ... would upend the long-established narrative that daily weather is distinct from long-term climate change," the Washington Post reports.

What they found: "The fingerprint of climate change is detected from any single day in the observed global record since early 2012, and since 1999 on the basis of a year of data," the study states.

What they're saying: "The study’s results also imply that research aimed at assessing the human role in contributing to extreme weather events such as heat waves and floods may be underestimating the contribution," the WashPost's Andrew Freedman reports.

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Rashaan Ayesh

Mnuchin jabs Greta Thunberg at Davos: "Is she the chief economist?"

Photos: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin took aim Thursday at teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg during a press conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, questioning if she is even qualified to talk about economic challenges, Bloomberg reports.

"Is she the chief economist? Who is she? I'm confused ... After she goes and studies economics in college, she can come back and explain that to us."
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Rebecca Falconer

The 2010s were officially the hottest decade on record

Residents defend a property from a bushfire at Hillsville near Taree, north of Sydney in Australia on Nov. 12. Photo: Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

It's official: Last year was the world's second hottest on record, and 2010-2019 was the hottest decade ever recorded.

Why it matters: The findings, published in two separate reports by NOAA and the British weather service the Met Office Wednesday, are in line with those of research group Berkeley Earth, revealed at the start of the year. It's yet more evidence of the long-term warming trend that stems from human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.

Go deeperArrowJan 16, 2020 - Energy & Environment
Amy Harder

Climate change’s surprise twist

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The economics, politics and science of climate change are converging and catapulting this problem from a joke among critics to a prominent concern.

Driving the news: Shifts across Washington, D.C., among corporate leaders and within financial institutions are creating a foundation that could produce big movement on this problem for the first time since, well, forever.

Go deeperArrowJan 27, 2020