Green Group discussion
Climate Change
>
Climate Change Acceleration Breaking the Scales - Part II
date
newest »
newest »
https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2025/08...
""Erin's already large size and intensity are acting like a giant plunger on the sea surface," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said in a report.
Mr Sosnowski said Erin was among the fastest-strengthening storms on record after it intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane, the highest level of the Saffir-Simpson scale, in just over 27 hours.
It makes 2025 the fourth straight Atlantic season with at least one Category 5 storm.
The US National Hurricane Center said Erin, now a Category 4 storm, was likely to maintain its force as a dangerous major hurricane through the middle of the week, but avoid contact with Bermuda or the US coast."
""Erin's already large size and intensity are acting like a giant plunger on the sea surface," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said in a report.
Mr Sosnowski said Erin was among the fastest-strengthening storms on record after it intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane, the highest level of the Saffir-Simpson scale, in just over 27 hours.
It makes 2025 the fourth straight Atlantic season with at least one Category 5 storm.
The US National Hurricane Center said Erin, now a Category 4 storm, was likely to maintain its force as a dangerous major hurricane through the middle of the week, but avoid contact with Bermuda or the US coast."
Candidly, geoengineering to mitigate climate change impacts makes me squeamish... feels like a high-risk experiment using our biosphere as the test subject. But this potential approach — seeding the oceans to stimulate phytoplankton growth and atmospheric carbon draw-down — certainly sounds intriguing.
The tiny ocean organisms that could help the climate in a big way — https://grist.org/climate/the-tiny-oc...
The tiny ocean organisms that could help the climate in a big way — https://grist.org/climate/the-tiny-oc...
As humanity lags far behind where it should be in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, researchers are turning to phytoplankton for help. They’re exploring how to fertilize the oceans like farmers fertilize crops, helping more of these microscopic organisms grow and eventually sink into the depths, taking carbon with them. But scientists are still exploring the many unknowns swirling around this sort of ocean fertilization, like where best to apply nutrients and in what forms, amounts, and proportions. And then they have to consider what unintended side effects might ripple through ecosystems.
The ocean is already being fertilized by artificial means on a global scale. Several avenues in fact, the Sahara dust that ends up over wide areas in the ocean has minerals in it, and the air has excess nitrogen. The world's largest rivers, and small rivers, dump commercial fertilizer carried off by runoff, natural and manufactured nutrients, phosphorous, nitrogen, and anything else in the water.
It does seem to have its downsides. We are fertilizing the sargassum which people really need to harvest the enormous crops of seaweed because it lands on the beaches, physically clogging up coastal waters and the the shoreline and then rotting in big piles.
https://www.epa.gov/habs/origin-and-d...
Very interesting and informative video from PBS Terra explaining new economic modeling that resolves the major disparities between climate scientists vs. economists with regard to the future cost of climate change:
Economists and Scientists DEEPLY DISAGREE About the Cost of Climate Change — https://youtu.be/GMf32qo7CHk?si=grVnZ...
Economists and Scientists DEEPLY DISAGREE About the Cost of Climate Change — https://youtu.be/GMf32qo7CHk?si=grVnZ...
Interesting charts that show a lot. There are a lot of economists who think climate change is going to have a big negative effect on the economy. Figuring the exact cost has the same pitfalls that modelling the climate does. While it is possible that the overall global economy could suffer less of an impact, the cost to the global population would be enormous. There would still be plenty of stuff, but only a minority would truly benefit from it. The rest of the population would be paying more for less. A millionaire wouldn't care if the price of a gallon of gas went to $50 a gallon, they could still afford it.
We're all on a titanic voyage and the course can be changed anytime to avoid the iceberg that everyone knows is out there. But the addiction to short term gains is too addictive to change the course early on. Ironically the ship is big enough now to run aground and still remain upright. This also prevents the course being changed early on.
One solution is food made from chemicals. This would require a lot of artificially produced energy to replace the natural sources of energy like water and sunlight and the natural ability to grow naturally that would be lost. Because of the energy cost, the cost would be more, which could be reduced by making less energy available in other forms that are freely available now. This could keep the level of business at current levels, there would just be less available. Food can be made in vats biologically or chemically or a mixture of both but it is a lot more expensive.
Private ownership of a dwelling could be come a lot more expensive because a more robust structure would be needed to withstand the weather. The solution to that is massive apartment buildings that are built to withstand the new weather patterns.
Robert wrote: "Interesting charts that show a lot. There are a lot of economists who think climate change is going to have a big negative effect on the economy. Figuring the exact cost has the same pitfalls that ..."
"One solution is food made from chemicals."
"The solution to that is massive apartment buildings"
"One solution is food made from chemicals."
"The solution to that is massive apartment buildings"
I was thinking chemical food made in vats and bioreactors. Possibly from oil and natural gas. That could eliminate greenhouse emissions from the use of hydrocarbons as a fuel. Garbage would be the next source of carbon as a means of turning a bad situation into a better one.
With a population of 8 billion and growing, the situation of what to do after people pass on is a very complex subject.
Plants could be used to provide bulk matter as well as harvested products. The weather might determine what gets grown and where and how it gets grown.
Food from chemicals would require a lot of energy to start with. As processes evolve it could become more efficient.
The oceans are changing and many products we use are growing short in supply. But there might still be products that will be growing in abundance, such as sea weed.
Big apartment complexes were usually present in P K Dick's stories. This was because he believed evolving society was heading in an oppressive and authoritarian direction and the massive housing structures were a means of controlling people.
He recognized early on that progress was going to change people's lives in ways that people weren't thinking about. He wrote a lot about how the evolving job market was not going to make life easier for most people.
The weather is changing the way power can be distributed, stored, and generated. Regardless of the short sighted and ignorant policies of some countries, some parts of the energy sector are progressing in a positive manner. The energy market can be another place where there could be a lot of growth and jobs.
It would be an economy based in a negative climate situation where the weather would have a controlling factor, but not in a beneficial way. The job market would be in a state of change for a long time, the same way the weather is undergoing a path of changes that will take a lot of time to stabilize.
In the past it was unpredictable weather that caused problems. We are now in a situation where we know what the weather is bringing, but that information isn't very helpful. At the same time, the extremely rapid escalations into disastrous situations happens so fast that even with all the advanced technology at our disposal we still can't avoid the consequences.
Climate change doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon. The best approach is limiting the rate of increase. This includes using new procedures as well as regulating established practices to meet the global power, agricultural, economic, and social needs.US coal use is decreasing while it is increasing in China and India. Solar use is increasing in all three countries although the implementation is the US for overall alternative power sources is slowing down.
Coal Use
1 China 50.46% increasing to meet demands of both growth and response to climate change.
2 India 11.29% increasing to meet demands of both growth and response to climate change.
3 United States 8.54% steadily decreasing
4 Germany 3.01%
The next 10 countries use less than 3 percent down to 1 percent.
After that the next 120 countries use less than 1 percent down to a fraction of 1 percent.
Once considered to be a clean source of energy, globally natural gas use is increasing, which has it's own polluting and climate changing problems.
The same way that manufacturing was outsourced from the major consuming countries to countries willing to endure the localized pollution, the agricultural industry is expanding its operating space from the major agricultural producing countries to countries located around the world. These countries are turning to farming because of the jobs it will create, as a source of income, the agricultural industries efforts to expand into new regions with less regulations, and for some, changing climate conditions.
As less chemicals are indiscriminately used and more regulations are put in place for the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and pharmaceutical products. As the use of these products is decreasing in the original production countries, the overall sales of these products is still increasing globally.
Manufacturing locations and disposal sites for consumer products are also expanding globally. This is done for economic reasons that range from cheap manufacturing prices, growing needs for more consumer products, job creation, and social stability.
All of this expansion is an increase over past production numbers, not a decrease. The reduction in established countries is more than offset by the needs of the developing markets as the standard of living is increased for the billions who do not have the same services and products as the rest of the world. This situation exists within countries as well as other countries.
The lack of regulations in regions with new opportunities will eventually be addressed but as countries are first setting up the expanding manufacturing, agricultural, mining and transportation, the lack of regulations will be a big driver.
In the electronics environment, the Ai industry is mostly concentrated in 3 regions, the US, China, and Europe. Followed by India, Singapore, Canada, and United Arab Emirates. The rest of the world is lagging so far behind that their only role in Ai use is as a consumer. One of the problems with Ai use is the enormous amount of power that is needed to run it. If the excessive power use of Ai is not solved this will become another problem that would impact climate change.
The coal power you mention leads directly to: air pollution.
who.int/health-topics/air-pollution
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/09/...
AI Overview from Google:
"United Nations reports highlight that air pollution causes 8.1 million premature deaths annually and nearly 99% of the global population exceeds WHO air quality guidelines, with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from burning fossil fuels being the most significant threat. Reports from the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Bank emphasize the link between air pollution and health issues like strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory diseases. Key sources include household energy use, transportation, energy generation, and industry, with solutions focusing on policies that promote clean energy, sustainable land use, and better waste management.
Key Findings and Impacts
Health Risks: Air pollution is a major global health hazard, leading to millions of premature deaths each year from conditions such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases.
Exceeding Guidelines: Nearly all people worldwide are exposed to air pollution levels above the WHO's recommended safety limits.
Significant Pollutants: Outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5), largely from burning fossil fuels, is a primary cause of air pollution deaths and a key indicator of poor health outcomes.
Household Pollution: Around 2.4 billion people are exposed to dangerous levels of indoor air pollution from cooking and heating with polluting fuels.
Major Sources of Air Pollution
Energy Use: Residential energy use (cooking and heating) and power generation are major sources of air pollution.
Transportation: Vehicle emissions contribute significantly to outdoor air pollution.
Industry and Agriculture: Industrial processes, waste incineration, and agricultural practices release pollutants into the air.
Recommendations and Actions
Policy Changes: Governments and international bodies advocate for policies that reduce emissions from key sectors like urban transport, energy generation, industry, and residential energy use.
Sustainable Practices: Investments in sustainable land use, clean household energy, energy-efficient housing, and improved municipal waste management can effectively lower air pollution levels.
Global Cooperation: Addressing the cross-border nature of air pollution requires collaborative efforts through regional and global partnerships.
UN Agencies Leading the Efforts
The World Health Organization (WHO) monitors the health impacts of air pollution and sets air quality guidelines.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) supports governments in understanding and reducing air pollution by enhancing capacity, promoting clean air legislation, and fostering global advocacy efforts.
The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), hosted by UNEP, works with various partners to reduce short-lived climate pollutants linked to air pollution."
who.int/health-topics/air-pollution
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/09/...
AI Overview from Google:
"United Nations reports highlight that air pollution causes 8.1 million premature deaths annually and nearly 99% of the global population exceeds WHO air quality guidelines, with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from burning fossil fuels being the most significant threat. Reports from the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Bank emphasize the link between air pollution and health issues like strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory diseases. Key sources include household energy use, transportation, energy generation, and industry, with solutions focusing on policies that promote clean energy, sustainable land use, and better waste management.
Key Findings and Impacts
Health Risks: Air pollution is a major global health hazard, leading to millions of premature deaths each year from conditions such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases.
Exceeding Guidelines: Nearly all people worldwide are exposed to air pollution levels above the WHO's recommended safety limits.
Significant Pollutants: Outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5), largely from burning fossil fuels, is a primary cause of air pollution deaths and a key indicator of poor health outcomes.
Household Pollution: Around 2.4 billion people are exposed to dangerous levels of indoor air pollution from cooking and heating with polluting fuels.
Major Sources of Air Pollution
Energy Use: Residential energy use (cooking and heating) and power generation are major sources of air pollution.
Transportation: Vehicle emissions contribute significantly to outdoor air pollution.
Industry and Agriculture: Industrial processes, waste incineration, and agricultural practices release pollutants into the air.
Recommendations and Actions
Policy Changes: Governments and international bodies advocate for policies that reduce emissions from key sectors like urban transport, energy generation, industry, and residential energy use.
Sustainable Practices: Investments in sustainable land use, clean household energy, energy-efficient housing, and improved municipal waste management can effectively lower air pollution levels.
Global Cooperation: Addressing the cross-border nature of air pollution requires collaborative efforts through regional and global partnerships.
UN Agencies Leading the Efforts
The World Health Organization (WHO) monitors the health impacts of air pollution and sets air quality guidelines.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) supports governments in understanding and reducing air pollution by enhancing capacity, promoting clean air legislation, and fostering global advocacy efforts.
The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), hosted by UNEP, works with various partners to reduce short-lived climate pollutants linked to air pollution."
Those explosive craters in Siberian permafrost.
https://phys.org/news/2025-09-explana...
"According to their model, GECs form when gas and heat rise from deep underground. The heat melts the permafrost seal (a layer of permanently frozen ground that acts as a lid), making it thinner. Meanwhile, the gas builds up underneath it, and with nowhere to go, the pressure rises. As the climate warms, the permafrost thaws even more, making the lid thinner. Eventually, pressure becomes too great and causes an explosive collapse that creates a large crater.
Dr. Hellevang and his colleagues say their model is just a first step. The next stage will be fieldwork and computer simulations to test their model. The team also believes that there may be many more of these craters in Siberia hiding in plain sight. The reason is that they quickly fill up with water and dirt, making them look like lakes that form from thawing ice. So while GECs are a relatively recent discovery, they could have been a feature of the landscape for much longer."
More information: Helge Hellevang et al, Formation of giant Siberian gas emission craters (GECs), Science of The Total Environment (2025).
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
Journal information: Science of the Total Environment
https://phys.org/news/2025-09-explana...
"According to their model, GECs form when gas and heat rise from deep underground. The heat melts the permafrost seal (a layer of permanently frozen ground that acts as a lid), making it thinner. Meanwhile, the gas builds up underneath it, and with nowhere to go, the pressure rises. As the climate warms, the permafrost thaws even more, making the lid thinner. Eventually, pressure becomes too great and causes an explosive collapse that creates a large crater.
Dr. Hellevang and his colleagues say their model is just a first step. The next stage will be fieldwork and computer simulations to test their model. The team also believes that there may be many more of these craters in Siberia hiding in plain sight. The reason is that they quickly fill up with water and dirt, making them look like lakes that form from thawing ice. So while GECs are a relatively recent discovery, they could have been a feature of the landscape for much longer."
More information: Helge Hellevang et al, Formation of giant Siberian gas emission craters (GECs), Science of The Total Environment (2025).
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...
Journal information: Science of the Total Environment
The Philippines, southern China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southwest Asia are in the line of the latest super typhoon. We know typhoons have always been natural occurrences, but of late there seem to be more super typhoons, charged up by extra heat perhaps.
https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/0922/153...
"China is to evacuate 400,000 people from the city of Shenzhen ahead of an incoming super typhoon, authorities have said.
...
The Philippines is the first major landmass facing the Pacific cyclone belt, and the archipelago is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, putting millions of people in disaster-prone areas in a state of constant poverty.
Scientists warn that storms are becoming more powerful as the world warms due to the effects of human-driven climate change."
https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/0922/153...
"China is to evacuate 400,000 people from the city of Shenzhen ahead of an incoming super typhoon, authorities have said.
...
The Philippines is the first major landmass facing the Pacific cyclone belt, and the archipelago is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, putting millions of people in disaster-prone areas in a state of constant poverty.
Scientists warn that storms are becoming more powerful as the world warms due to the effects of human-driven climate change."
A survey in France: for commune, read locality. Original article is in French, lined at the end.
https://rte.social.ebu.io/K0RTIEJS3S
"Three out of ten French people say they are prepared to move home because of climate risks in their commune, according to the results of an Odoxa* poll conducted for ICI, published on Wednesday September 24. This survey is the first in a series of thematic consultations launched by Odoxa and ICI to find out more about French people's aspirations in the run-up to the municipal elections.
First of all, the study shows that the majority of French people are convinced of the reality of climate disruption and its impact on our daily lives: nine out of ten respondents say that climate change is having an impact on their daily lives.
Odoxa assures us that the overwhelming majority of French people are not climate skeptics, "even if social networks provide climate skeptics with an important sounding board that could lead them to believe that they carry weight among the national population". Only 8% of those polled believe that climate change is not linked to human activity.
For 35% of respondents, it is too late to act
Among those questioned, a tiny proportion (4%) believe that the impact of climate change will remain acceptable. On the other hand, 35% of those polled think it's already too late to act. This figure has risen by five points in three years.
Odoxa believes that this resignation "must be taken seriously: it poses a real risk of demobilization among those who believe that the fight against climate change is already lost. In the years to come, we will have to rely on the 52% of French people who believe that it is still possible to avoid the worst", the institute adds.
According to the survey, more than a quarter of French people say they could, in the coming years, move to a commune less exposed to natural hazards. This proportion is higher among residents of Ile-de-France, Paca, Occitanie and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes than in Normandy and Brittany.
On a national scale, the under-35s "are more aware of environmental issues and more geographically mobile", as Odoxa points out. This is also the segment of the population that is most willing to move for this reason. The figure is 43%, versus 11% for the over 75s."
https://www.franceinfo.fr/environneme...
https://rte.social.ebu.io/K0RTIEJS3S
"Three out of ten French people say they are prepared to move home because of climate risks in their commune, according to the results of an Odoxa* poll conducted for ICI, published on Wednesday September 24. This survey is the first in a series of thematic consultations launched by Odoxa and ICI to find out more about French people's aspirations in the run-up to the municipal elections.
First of all, the study shows that the majority of French people are convinced of the reality of climate disruption and its impact on our daily lives: nine out of ten respondents say that climate change is having an impact on their daily lives.
Odoxa assures us that the overwhelming majority of French people are not climate skeptics, "even if social networks provide climate skeptics with an important sounding board that could lead them to believe that they carry weight among the national population". Only 8% of those polled believe that climate change is not linked to human activity.
For 35% of respondents, it is too late to act
Among those questioned, a tiny proportion (4%) believe that the impact of climate change will remain acceptable. On the other hand, 35% of those polled think it's already too late to act. This figure has risen by five points in three years.
Odoxa believes that this resignation "must be taken seriously: it poses a real risk of demobilization among those who believe that the fight against climate change is already lost. In the years to come, we will have to rely on the 52% of French people who believe that it is still possible to avoid the worst", the institute adds.
According to the survey, more than a quarter of French people say they could, in the coming years, move to a commune less exposed to natural hazards. This proportion is higher among residents of Ile-de-France, Paca, Occitanie and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes than in Normandy and Brittany.
On a national scale, the under-35s "are more aware of environmental issues and more geographically mobile", as Odoxa points out. This is also the segment of the population that is most willing to move for this reason. The figure is 43%, versus 11% for the over 75s."
https://www.franceinfo.fr/environneme...
https://phys.org/news/2025-09-ganges-...
"In their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers first reconstructed the river's flow for the last 1,300 years (700 to 2012 C.E.) by analyzing tree rings from the Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas (MADA) dataset. Then they used powerful computer programs to combine this tree-ring data with modern records to create a timeline of the river's flow. To ensure its accuracy, they double-checked it against documented historical droughts and famines.
The scientists found that the recent drying of the Ganges River from 1991 to 2020 is 76% worse than the previous worst recorded drought, which occurred during the 16th century. Not only is the river drier overall, but droughts are now more frequent and last longer. The main reason, according to the researchers, is human activity. While some natural climate patterns are at play, the primary driver is the weakening of the summer monsoon.
This weakening is linked to human-driven factors such as the warming of the Indian Ocean and air pollution from anthropogenic aerosols. "
More information: Dipesh Singh Chuphal et al, Recent drying of the Ganga River is unprecedented in the last 1,300 years, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025).
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas...
Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
"In their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers first reconstructed the river's flow for the last 1,300 years (700 to 2012 C.E.) by analyzing tree rings from the Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas (MADA) dataset. Then they used powerful computer programs to combine this tree-ring data with modern records to create a timeline of the river's flow. To ensure its accuracy, they double-checked it against documented historical droughts and famines.
The scientists found that the recent drying of the Ganges River from 1991 to 2020 is 76% worse than the previous worst recorded drought, which occurred during the 16th century. Not only is the river drier overall, but droughts are now more frequent and last longer. The main reason, according to the researchers, is human activity. While some natural climate patterns are at play, the primary driver is the weakening of the summer monsoon.
This weakening is linked to human-driven factors such as the warming of the Indian Ocean and air pollution from anthropogenic aerosols. "
More information: Dipesh Singh Chuphal et al, Recent drying of the Ganga River is unprecedented in the last 1,300 years, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025).
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas...
Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
This one is for weather fans, an array of storms in the North Atlantic. Tropical Storm Humberto may get company.
https://gizmodo.com/forecasters-are-m...
"As Invest 94L moves into the Bahamas, it will encounter conditions that are more conducive to organization. If it does organize, that will most likely occur by late Saturday or Sunday, according to Texas-based meteorologist Matt Lanza.
At that point, what happens next with this system will largely depend on the proximity, strength, size, and timing of it and Humberto, CNN meteorologists Briana Waxman and Chris Dolce report.
If Invest 94L is relatively weak and slow-moving, Humberto could tug it out to sea, keeping serious impacts offshore. On the other hand, a strong, fast-moving storm could resist Humberto’s pull and track toward the Southeast coast. And if the storms get close enough to interact, this could trigger the Fujiwhara effect, a phenomenon in which two nearby tropical cyclones rotate around a common center point. This would either cause Humberto to fling Invest 94L out to sea or closer to land."
https://gizmodo.com/forecasters-are-m...
"As Invest 94L moves into the Bahamas, it will encounter conditions that are more conducive to organization. If it does organize, that will most likely occur by late Saturday or Sunday, according to Texas-based meteorologist Matt Lanza.
At that point, what happens next with this system will largely depend on the proximity, strength, size, and timing of it and Humberto, CNN meteorologists Briana Waxman and Chris Dolce report.
If Invest 94L is relatively weak and slow-moving, Humberto could tug it out to sea, keeping serious impacts offshore. On the other hand, a strong, fast-moving storm could resist Humberto’s pull and track toward the Southeast coast. And if the storms get close enough to interact, this could trigger the Fujiwhara effect, a phenomenon in which two nearby tropical cyclones rotate around a common center point. This would either cause Humberto to fling Invest 94L out to sea or closer to land."
This article condenses and links to many strong articles and photosets on the vanishing glacier ice, particularly in Switzerland.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/climate-...
"That glaciers are melting is nothing new: since 1850, the volume of Alpine glaciers has decreased by about 60%. What is surprising, however, is the rate at which the Alpine “giants” and glaciers in all regions of the planet are shrinking.
“The retreat of glaciers is accelerating,” says Daniel Farinotti, a glaciologist at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich and member of the steering committee of GLAMOSExternal link, the Swiss glacier monitoring network.
2025 is the International Year for the Preservation of Glaciers, a UN initiative to promote concrete actions to slow the melting of ice."
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/climate-...
"That glaciers are melting is nothing new: since 1850, the volume of Alpine glaciers has decreased by about 60%. What is surprising, however, is the rate at which the Alpine “giants” and glaciers in all regions of the planet are shrinking.
“The retreat of glaciers is accelerating,” says Daniel Farinotti, a glaciologist at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich and member of the steering committee of GLAMOSExternal link, the Swiss glacier monitoring network.
2025 is the International Year for the Preservation of Glaciers, a UN initiative to promote concrete actions to slow the melting of ice."
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
"As Arctic sea ice vanishes, seals are losing the very platforms they rely on to rest, raise pups, and survive.
Norway has introduced an innovative lifeline: floating ice pods. Built from biodegradable, non-toxic materials, these pods are:
✨ Insulated to stay cool
✨ Grooved to prevent slipping
✨ Equipped with sensors to track populations & behavior
For seal pups, these pods can mean survival instead of drowning. For adults, they provide safe havens in a rapidly warming ocean.
This is human creativity at its best—where design becomes protection, and innovation becomes a lifeline for fragile ecosystems. 🌍"
"As Arctic sea ice vanishes, seals are losing the very platforms they rely on to rest, raise pups, and survive.
Norway has introduced an innovative lifeline: floating ice pods. Built from biodegradable, non-toxic materials, these pods are:
✨ Insulated to stay cool
✨ Grooved to prevent slipping
✨ Equipped with sensors to track populations & behavior
For seal pups, these pods can mean survival instead of drowning. For adults, they provide safe havens in a rapidly warming ocean.
This is human creativity at its best—where design becomes protection, and innovation becomes a lifeline for fragile ecosystems. 🌍"
https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/1006/153...
"Visitors to the remote valley of Karma, which leads to the eastern Kangshung face of Everest, were in the hundreds this week, taking advantage of an eight-day National Day holiday in China.
"It was so wet and cold in the mountains, and hypothermia was a real risk," said Chen Geshuang, who was part of an 18-strong trekking team that made it to Qudang.
"The weather this year is not normal. The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly."
Ms Chen's party descended from the mountains yesterday and was greeted by villagers after enduring a harrowing evening of heavy snowfall combined with thunder and lightning.
...
"His trekking party of 18 had decided on Saturday night to make their way back from their fifth and final campsite, concerned by the continuous snowfall.
"We only had a few tents. More than 10 of us were in the large tent and hardly slept," Mr Wen said. "It was snowing too hard."
Mr Wen said his group had to clear the snow every 10 minutes.
"Otherwise our tents would have collapsed," he said.
Two men and a woman in the group fell victim to hypothermia when the temperature slipped below freezing, even though they were sufficiently attired, Mr Wen said.
But his expedition party emerged largely unscathed, including eight other expedition guides and several others who tended the yaks transporting their equipment and kit.
Karma valley, first explored by Western travellers a century ago, is a relatively pristine part of the Everest region.
Unlike the peak's arid north face, it boasts lush vegetation and untouched alpine forests, fed by meltwaters from the Kangshung glacier at the foot of the world's highest mountain."
"Visitors to the remote valley of Karma, which leads to the eastern Kangshung face of Everest, were in the hundreds this week, taking advantage of an eight-day National Day holiday in China.
"It was so wet and cold in the mountains, and hypothermia was a real risk," said Chen Geshuang, who was part of an 18-strong trekking team that made it to Qudang.
"The weather this year is not normal. The guide said he had never encountered such weather in October. And it happened all too suddenly."
Ms Chen's party descended from the mountains yesterday and was greeted by villagers after enduring a harrowing evening of heavy snowfall combined with thunder and lightning.
...
"His trekking party of 18 had decided on Saturday night to make their way back from their fifth and final campsite, concerned by the continuous snowfall.
"We only had a few tents. More than 10 of us were in the large tent and hardly slept," Mr Wen said. "It was snowing too hard."
Mr Wen said his group had to clear the snow every 10 minutes.
"Otherwise our tents would have collapsed," he said.
Two men and a woman in the group fell victim to hypothermia when the temperature slipped below freezing, even though they were sufficiently attired, Mr Wen said.
But his expedition party emerged largely unscathed, including eight other expedition guides and several others who tended the yaks transporting their equipment and kit.
Karma valley, first explored by Western travellers a century ago, is a relatively pristine part of the Everest region.
Unlike the peak's arid north face, it boasts lush vegetation and untouched alpine forests, fed by meltwaters from the Kangshung glacier at the foot of the world's highest mountain."
https://phys.org/news/2025-10-earth-c...
"Since the Industrial Revolution, Earth has warmed by around 1.4°C as greenhouse gas emissions have trapped more of the planet's heat. Without urgent changes, our planet will soon breach the 1.5°C limit that countries around the world pledged to try and limit global warming to back in 2015.
A new report, released ahead of the COP30 climate conference in Brazil next month, shows that breaking this limit is anything but symbolic. The ever-hotter climate is likely to start triggering more tipping points around the world and causing changes that are very difficult to come back from.
Glaciers will melt, rainforests will vanish and ocean currents will collapse if climate change continues unabated. Some of these tipping points may already have been crossed, with coral reefs likely to almost entirely disappear by 2100 if nothing is done to cool the world back towards 1.2°C.
While the challenges we face are significant, the researchers behind the report also found reason for hope. Renewable energy and electric vehicles are rapidly rolling out across the world and growing increasingly cheap, even as some countries try to renege on their climate promises."
Provided by Natural History Museum
"Since the Industrial Revolution, Earth has warmed by around 1.4°C as greenhouse gas emissions have trapped more of the planet's heat. Without urgent changes, our planet will soon breach the 1.5°C limit that countries around the world pledged to try and limit global warming to back in 2015.
A new report, released ahead of the COP30 climate conference in Brazil next month, shows that breaking this limit is anything but symbolic. The ever-hotter climate is likely to start triggering more tipping points around the world and causing changes that are very difficult to come back from.
Glaciers will melt, rainforests will vanish and ocean currents will collapse if climate change continues unabated. Some of these tipping points may already have been crossed, with coral reefs likely to almost entirely disappear by 2100 if nothing is done to cool the world back towards 1.2°C.
While the challenges we face are significant, the researchers behind the report also found reason for hope. Renewable energy and electric vehicles are rapidly rolling out across the world and growing increasingly cheap, even as some countries try to renege on their climate promises."
Provided by Natural History Museum
https://phys.org/news/2025-10-warmer-...
"Standing on the ice at the edge of Lake Superior, just after an early January snowstorm, everything was white and still, except for the lake. The wind had swept across it revealing ice cracked along thunderous fractures.
Usually by Christmas, Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay would be locked in—thick enough for trucks, ice shanties dotting the horizon like little wooden cities. People hauled augers and bait out before dawn, thermoses of black coffee steaming in the cold.
But in 2019–20, the ice never came.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ima...
"Winters in the Great Lakes region are trending warmer and wetter, and annual maximum ice cover is significantly declining. Winter conditions are getting much shorter—by about two weeks fewer each decade since 1995.
In the Great Lakes region, businesses, visitors and more than 35 million residents see winter warming symptoms year-round. Shifting seasons increase nutrient runoff, fueling algal blooms that foul summer beach days.
Changing food webs affect commercially and culturally important species like lake whitefish. Shrinking ice cover makes recreation and transportation less safe, altering the region's identity and culture."
Provided by The Conversation
"Standing on the ice at the edge of Lake Superior, just after an early January snowstorm, everything was white and still, except for the lake. The wind had swept across it revealing ice cracked along thunderous fractures.
Usually by Christmas, Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay would be locked in—thick enough for trucks, ice shanties dotting the horizon like little wooden cities. People hauled augers and bait out before dawn, thermoses of black coffee steaming in the cold.
But in 2019–20, the ice never came.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ima...
"Winters in the Great Lakes region are trending warmer and wetter, and annual maximum ice cover is significantly declining. Winter conditions are getting much shorter—by about two weeks fewer each decade since 1995.
In the Great Lakes region, businesses, visitors and more than 35 million residents see winter warming symptoms year-round. Shifting seasons increase nutrient runoff, fueling algal blooms that foul summer beach days.
Changing food webs affect commercially and culturally important species like lake whitefish. Shrinking ice cover makes recreation and transportation less safe, altering the region's identity and culture."
Provided by The Conversation
Ugh. This is worrisome.
Scientists Warn About the ‘Greenlandification’ of Antarctica — https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16...
The Antarctic ice sheet covers about 5.4 million square miles, an area larger than Europe. On average, it is more than 1 mile thick and holds 61 percent of all the fresh water on Earth, enough to raise the global average sea level by about 190 feet if it all melts. The smaller, western portion of the ice sheet is especially vulnerable, with enough ice to raise sea level more than 10 feet.
Thirty years ago, undergraduate students were told that the Antarctic ice sheets were going to be stable and that they weren’t going to melt much, said Ruth Mottram, an ice researcher with the Danish Meteorological Institute and lead author of a new paper in Nature Geoscience that examined the accelerating ice melt and other similarities between changes in northern and southern polar regions.
“We thought it was just going to take ages for any kind of climate impacts to be seen in Antarctica. And that’s really not true,” said Mottram, adding that some of the earliest warnings came from scientists who saw collapsing ice shelves, retreating glaciers and increased surface melting in satellite data.
Scientists Warn About the ‘Greenlandification’ of Antarctica — https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16...
Melting water coming off the ice is only part of the situation. One thing about ice is that it has no real structural strength. It is solid when the temperature is below freezing. Above freezing temperatures the weight of large ice structures can cause the solid ice to severely crack. The solid ice also becomes porous in places and water flowing through it erodes it from the inside out. Everything about ice is different above freezing. Water collects underneath the ice and lubricates it so that it takes much less effort for it to move.
It didn't take ages for the extra water to show up or for the melting ice to become apparent. The next question is how long will the warming ice maintain it's structural integrity. Reducing the structural integrity of the ice reduces it's life span.
https://thwaitesglacier.org/news/thwa...
In the new climate, the problem with hurricanes is not that they will develop winds over 215 miles per hour but that a hurricane will stall out and stay in an area for a couple of days instead of passing through in less than a day.The extremely warm waters over which hurricane Melissa is parked over will probably allow the it to become a category 5 storm.
It could rain over 40 inches in some locations.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/w...
Robert wrote: "In the new climate, the problem with hurricanes is not that they will develop winds over 215 miles per hour but that a hurricane will stall out and stay in an area for a couple of days instead of p..."
Please, anyone in a flood threat zone, heed the official warnings.
From the story you linked to about Jamaica:
"Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management issued a warning on Oct. 26 for high-risk communities, saying that 13 parishes were at risk of flooding, storm surges, and/or landslides.
"Many of these communities will not survive the flooding," Desmond McKenzie, minister of local government, said at the news conference. "Kingston is extremely low. No community in Kingston is immune.""
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/we...
Please, anyone in a flood threat zone, heed the official warnings.
From the story you linked to about Jamaica:
"Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management issued a warning on Oct. 26 for high-risk communities, saying that 13 parishes were at risk of flooding, storm surges, and/or landslides.
"Many of these communities will not survive the flooding," Desmond McKenzie, minister of local government, said at the news conference. "Kingston is extremely low. No community in Kingston is immune.""
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/we...
Its a drastic situation, some of these islands are relatively small physical locations. Its possible that the airports may not be operational immediately after the storm so help by air could be delayed. Arrival by ships is usually reserved for larger items and things not needed right away. There is always the problem of people getting their medications in a timely manner after a bad weather event. Jamaica is only 60 miles wide and 160 miles long. You can only hope that the storm continues its erratic movements and moves away from Jamaica, although that might make it worse for Cuba.
Jamaica, Cuba and Hispaniola (the island is divided between Haiti and Dominican Republic) are all in the path of the massive storm. This article includes a helpful graphic on how hurricanes form.
https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/1028/154...
"Jamaican officials have urged people to get to higher ground and shelters ahead of Hurricane Melissa's expected landfall, with the prime minister warning it could bring massive devastation.
The Category 5 storm - which could be the island's most violent on record - is charting a painstakingly slow path through the Caribbean,
...
"Part of Melissa's punch stems from its slow pace: it is lumbering along slower than most people walk, at just 4km/h.
That means areas in its path could endure punishing conditions for far longer than during most hurricanes.
The NHC warned of "catastrophic" flash flooding, landslides and destructive winds that could cause lengthy power and communications outages, along with "extensive infrastructural damage".
Up to 100cm of rainfall is forecast, with flash flooding and landslides expected in Jamaica as well as Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
A storm surge is likely along Jamaica's southern coast, with waters potentially rising four metres, along with "destructive waves"."
https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/1028/154...
"Jamaican officials have urged people to get to higher ground and shelters ahead of Hurricane Melissa's expected landfall, with the prime minister warning it could bring massive devastation.
The Category 5 storm - which could be the island's most violent on record - is charting a painstakingly slow path through the Caribbean,
...
"Part of Melissa's punch stems from its slow pace: it is lumbering along slower than most people walk, at just 4km/h.
That means areas in its path could endure punishing conditions for far longer than during most hurricanes.
The NHC warned of "catastrophic" flash flooding, landslides and destructive winds that could cause lengthy power and communications outages, along with "extensive infrastructural damage".
Up to 100cm of rainfall is forecast, with flash flooding and landslides expected in Jamaica as well as Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
A storm surge is likely along Jamaica's southern coast, with waters potentially rising four metres, along with "destructive waves"."
Update on Hurricane Melissa, which is moving on to Cuba.
https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/1029/154...
"Hurricane Melissa has made landfall in eastern Cuba as a Category 3 storm after pummelling Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Authorities have designated Jamaica a "disaster area".
"Extremely dangerous hurricane Melissa makes landfall on southern coast of eastern Cuba," the NHC said in an updated advisory.
Around 735,000 people were evacuated from their homes in eastern Cuba as the storm approached, authorities said.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel warned that the storm would cause "significant damage" and urged people to heed evacuation orders.
Melissa had weakened to a still dangerous Category 3 hurricane after roaring ashore near Jamaica's southwestern town of New Hope yesterday, packing sustained winds of up to 297km/h, according to the Miami-based forecaster.
Category 5 storms, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, carry winds of 252km/h and over.
In southwestern Jamaica, the parish of St Elizabeth was left "underwater", an official said, with more than 500,000 residents without power.
...
"Scientists warn that storms are intensifying faster with greater frequency as a result of warming ocean waters. Many Caribbean leaders have called on wealthy, heavy-polluting nations to provide reparations in the form of aid or debt relief to tropical island countries.
Melissa's size and strength ballooned as it churned over unusually tepid Caribbean waters, but forecasters warned that its slow movement could prove particularly destructive.
"Human-caused climate change is making all of the worst aspects of Hurricane Melissa even worse," said climate scientist Daniel Gilford."
https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/1029/154...
"Hurricane Melissa has made landfall in eastern Cuba as a Category 3 storm after pummelling Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
Authorities have designated Jamaica a "disaster area".
"Extremely dangerous hurricane Melissa makes landfall on southern coast of eastern Cuba," the NHC said in an updated advisory.
Around 735,000 people were evacuated from their homes in eastern Cuba as the storm approached, authorities said.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel warned that the storm would cause "significant damage" and urged people to heed evacuation orders.
Melissa had weakened to a still dangerous Category 3 hurricane after roaring ashore near Jamaica's southwestern town of New Hope yesterday, packing sustained winds of up to 297km/h, according to the Miami-based forecaster.
Category 5 storms, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, carry winds of 252km/h and over.
In southwestern Jamaica, the parish of St Elizabeth was left "underwater", an official said, with more than 500,000 residents without power.
...
"Scientists warn that storms are intensifying faster with greater frequency as a result of warming ocean waters. Many Caribbean leaders have called on wealthy, heavy-polluting nations to provide reparations in the form of aid or debt relief to tropical island countries.
Melissa's size and strength ballooned as it churned over unusually tepid Caribbean waters, but forecasters warned that its slow movement could prove particularly destructive.
"Human-caused climate change is making all of the worst aspects of Hurricane Melissa even worse," said climate scientist Daniel Gilford."
https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/1104/154...
"Leaders called on the European Commission to further develop "the necessary enabling conditions" to support European industries and citizens in meeting the 2040 target, and to adopt a "revision clause" - in light of fresh scientific evidence, technological advances and emerging challenges to the global economy and EU competitiveness.
Environmental groups have said such qualifications amount to the watering down of the EU’s binding goals.
In order to secure consensus at the meeting, the European Commission has suggested outsourcing up to three percentage points of the 90% target, essentially allowing member states to pay other countries to reduce pollution on their behalf by buying so-called carbon credits.
Such a move would make it easier for European companies and households to meet the 2040 target; critics say this defeats the purpose of steering Europe to greater climate action and effort, while some have argued that paying other countries to reduce carbon can be a waste of money if there is no strict verification."
"Leaders called on the European Commission to further develop "the necessary enabling conditions" to support European industries and citizens in meeting the 2040 target, and to adopt a "revision clause" - in light of fresh scientific evidence, technological advances and emerging challenges to the global economy and EU competitiveness.
Environmental groups have said such qualifications amount to the watering down of the EU’s binding goals.
In order to secure consensus at the meeting, the European Commission has suggested outsourcing up to three percentage points of the 90% target, essentially allowing member states to pay other countries to reduce pollution on their behalf by buying so-called carbon credits.
Such a move would make it easier for European companies and households to meet the 2040 target; critics say this defeats the purpose of steering Europe to greater climate action and effort, while some have argued that paying other countries to reduce carbon can be a waste of money if there is no strict verification."
There is no reason why if they reach the reduced goals and can get additional reductions that they don't do that as well.
COP30 is upon us.
https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/1105/154...
"The annual United Nations climate change conference, COP30, starts this week in Belém, Brazil.
World leaders, scientists, NGOs and members of civic society will come together to talk about climate change and how to tackle it.
Ahead of the summit, scientists have warned that several climate tipping points are approaching, as global temperatures continue to rise."
https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/1105/154...
"The annual United Nations climate change conference, COP30, starts this week in Belém, Brazil.
World leaders, scientists, NGOs and members of civic society will come together to talk about climate change and how to tackle it.
Ahead of the summit, scientists have warned that several climate tipping points are approaching, as global temperatures continue to rise."
On the top right of this page, you can set the language of the text.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/emission...
"Series 10 years Paris Agreement, Episode 1:
Ten years after the Paris Agreement, a survey of climate scientists in Switzerland shows they no longer expect the world to limit warming to 1.5°C. On average, they expect warming of 2.5°C by 2100.
More than 80 researchers in Switzerland took part in Swissinfo’s survey about climate research and the state of the climate. Nearly all the respondents – 95% – do not believe it is realistic that the planet will meet the Paris Agreement’s ideal target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
On October 22, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also stated that the 1.5°C threshold will inevitably be exceeded in the coming years."
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/emission...
"Series 10 years Paris Agreement, Episode 1:
Ten years after the Paris Agreement, a survey of climate scientists in Switzerland shows they no longer expect the world to limit warming to 1.5°C. On average, they expect warming of 2.5°C by 2100.
More than 80 researchers in Switzerland took part in Swissinfo’s survey about climate research and the state of the climate. Nearly all the respondents – 95% – do not believe it is realistic that the planet will meet the Paris Agreement’s ideal target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
On October 22, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres also stated that the 1.5°C threshold will inevitably be exceeded in the coming years."
https://phys.org/news/2025-11-climate...
"In a paper published in Communications Psychology, a global team of researchers led by the University of Birmingham have found that motivational interventions to successfully make climate action more important to people include showing how climate change is happening now and affecting them or others like them.
The research team worked with participants from six countries around the world: the UK, U.S., Bulgaria, Greece, Sweden and Nigeria. People who didn't experience one of the interventions were less motivated to exert physical effort to help climate causes than when effort helped tackle starvation. However, some interventions presented before measuring motivation removed this bias, increasing relative motivation to benefit the environment.
The most effective idea presented to participants was to address psychological distance—the feeling that climate change doesn't personally affect them or those around them."
More information: Psychological interventions that decrease psychological distance or challenge system justification increase motivation to exert effort to mitigate climate change, Communications Psychology (2025).
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4427...
Journal information: Communications Psychology
Provided by University of Birmingham
"In a paper published in Communications Psychology, a global team of researchers led by the University of Birmingham have found that motivational interventions to successfully make climate action more important to people include showing how climate change is happening now and affecting them or others like them.
The research team worked with participants from six countries around the world: the UK, U.S., Bulgaria, Greece, Sweden and Nigeria. People who didn't experience one of the interventions were less motivated to exert physical effort to help climate causes than when effort helped tackle starvation. However, some interventions presented before measuring motivation removed this bias, increasing relative motivation to benefit the environment.
The most effective idea presented to participants was to address psychological distance—the feeling that climate change doesn't personally affect them or those around them."
More information: Psychological interventions that decrease psychological distance or challenge system justification increase motivation to exert effort to mitigate climate change, Communications Psychology (2025).
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4427...
Journal information: Communications Psychology
Provided by University of Birmingham
This story following Typhoon Kalmaegi across Philippines and towards Vietnam contains distressing content.
https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2025/11...
"Ten typhoons or tropical storms usually affect Vietnam, directly or offshore, in a given year, but Typhoon Kalmaegi is set to be the 13th of 2025.
The Philippines has already reached its average of 20 such storms with Kalmaegi, state weather specialist Charmagne Varilla told AFP, adding at least "three to five more" storms could be expected by December's end.
Storm number 21 is already on its way, according to the state weather service.
More than 1,500 kilometres to the country's east, tropical storm Fung-wong is slowly building strength as it heads towards the Philippine's main island of Luzon.
It could reach super typhoon status before it makes landfall on Monday."
https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2025/11...
"Ten typhoons or tropical storms usually affect Vietnam, directly or offshore, in a given year, but Typhoon Kalmaegi is set to be the 13th of 2025.
The Philippines has already reached its average of 20 such storms with Kalmaegi, state weather specialist Charmagne Varilla told AFP, adding at least "three to five more" storms could be expected by December's end.
Storm number 21 is already on its way, according to the state weather service.
More than 1,500 kilometres to the country's east, tropical storm Fung-wong is slowly building strength as it heads towards the Philippine's main island of Luzon.
It could reach super typhoon status before it makes landfall on Monday."
Given the above, I'm wondering if communities living in these islands may have to abandon the area in the future, just on account of repeated storms. If they got twenty-five storms in a year, that is one every two weeks, and some would be immediately concurrent so there would be no time to plant or pick crops, rebuild homes or civic structures, repair roads or handle shipping. I don't see how an advanced economy could cope, let alone a crowded island nation with large areas of basic housing.
This is clearly a dreadful situation for everyone concerned and it seems to be worsening.
This is clearly a dreadful situation for everyone concerned and it seems to be worsening.
The people in areas known to be repeatedly adversely impacted by the weather will need to move. The weather is not going to improve for a long time. These people are refugees in their own country regardless of their economic status. One question that needs to be answered is how much is the property worth. Right now the value of shore land is not completely dependent on the negative impacts of climate change. There are still government subsidies for some of the property and there is still a need for shore land property based purely on the desirability of living on the coast.
The high cost or lack of insurance can limit the occupation of the shore lands but it can't prevent it. When the land is lost to the water that does prevent construction.
Books mentioned in this topic
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (other topics)The Caves of Steel (other topics)
Soylent Green (other topics)
One Sweet Christmas (other topics)
A Groom For Ruby (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Laura Ashwood (other topics)Carolyn Haines (other topics)
Stella Perrott (other topics)
Cynthia Terelst (other topics)
Eiren Caffall (other topics)
More...




"The Mediterranean Sea is particularly susceptible to marine heat waves—such as the record-breaking 2022 heat wave, which was characterized by anomalously high sea surface temperatures—due to the interplay of air-sea heat fluxes and local oceanographic processes, leading to significant impacts on marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
A new study, led by CMCC, brings the scientific community one step closer to identifying the driving forces behind these events.
Analyzing over hundreds of marine heat wave events identified through advanced satellite data and clustering analysis, the study, appearing in Nature Geoscience, shows that persistent subtropical ridges—intrusions of warm air from over the African continent into Europe, often informally referred to as African anticyclones—do far more than simply raise air temperatures.
While subtropical ridges occur frequently in summer, roughly every two days, their persistence is what creates the critical conditions for marine heat wave formation. During marine heat wave onset, ridge occurrence becomes persistent—the high-pressure system associated with the ridge becomes stationary, disrupting the normal eastward movement of weather systems.
When these ridges settle over the Mediterranean basin for five consecutive days or more, they cause the prevailing winds to still, which then leads the sea to stop shedding heat and surface waters warm rapidly."
More information: Mediterranean summer marine heatwaves triggered by weaker winds under subtropical ridges, Nature Geoscience (2025).
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4156...
Journal information: Nature Geoscience
Provided by Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change