Hurricane Ian likely caused $53 billion to $74 billion in insured losses from Florida to the Carolinas, with a "best estimate" of $67 billion, according to new data released today from modeling firm RMS.
The big picture: These preliminary damage totals would make Hurricane Ian the costliest storm in Florida history and second nationally to Hurricane Katrina when adjusted for inflation.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released a new plan to tackle a mysterious, plague-like affliction that is decimating coral reef populations off the Florida Keys and throughout the wider Caribbean.
Why it matters: Some say not enough is being done to address the impacts of stony coral tissue loss disease — which is made worse by climate change — on coral reefs in the Caribbean, where local economy depends on their continued survival.
Tesla is starting production of its Semi truck and the electric vehicle maker will deliver to PepsiCo on Dec. 1, CEO Elon Musk announced in a tweet Thursday evening.
The big picture: PepsiCo was among the firms lined up for deliveries of the battery-powered Class 8 truck after Musk announced in 2017 that production would begin two years later.
The death toll from Hurricane Ian surpassed 100 on Thursday, as Floridians continued to return home to the devastation left behind.
The big picture: The storm-related death count reached at least 101, eight days after Ian pummeled Florida's western coast before barreling through the Carolinas.
The Treasury Department said it's moving quickly to transform new and expanded tax credits in the big climate law into formal guidance that's important for spurring use of the incentives.
Driving the news: Treasury yesterday solicited public comment within 30 days on a slew of areas like subsidies for renewable power, manufacturing and more.
As Sydney experiences its wettest year since records began in 1858, widespread heavy rains left much of eastern Australia on flood alert Thursday.
The big picture: At least 20 people have died in Australia this year because of widespread flooding driven by climate change and the La Niña conditions present for a third-straight year in the Pacific, according to climate scientists.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced Wednesday that the U.S. will expand the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site dedicated to commemorating the Native Americans slaughtered by U.S. troops in 1864.
Flashback: In November that year, U.S. soldiers attacked an encampment of roughly 750 Native people along the high banks of Sand Creek in what is now southeastern Colorado. They wounded and killed about 230 people, half of whom were women and children.
Human-caused climate change made the drought conditions that gripped large portions of the Northern Hemisphere this past summer far more likely to occur, a new study found.
Why it matters: The study, published Wednesday, found human-caused global warming dramatically upped the odds of drought throughout the hemisphere outside of the tropics — making them at least 20 times more likely compared to the preindustrial era.
President Biden has tried to convince the Saudis to pump more oil with honey. Now he's trying vinegar.
Why it matters: With a new warning that the White House might support legislation targeting OPEC+ in Congress, Biden crossed a symbolic threshold — and sent a clear signal to the Saudis that he’s prepared to escalate.
