Climate & Agriculture 2: African net agricultural productivity to decline for 5 major food staples

The impact of 21st century climate change on African agriculture deserves special attention, considering rapid population growth and the fact that the continent is currently already a net importer of agricultural products, while several sub-Saharan countries still depend for a … Continue reading

Real Global Temperature Trend, p20 – Combining thermal inertia & carbon cycle inertia: 1 decade extra warming after emissions stop

Apart of course from the amount of greenhouse gases we keep pumping into the atmosphere, there are mainly three factors that determine the amount of warming we will experience in the near future: CO2 climate sensitivity, ocean thermal inertia, and … Continue reading

Brightening rooftops and pavements can cool the Earth by 0.07 degrees

Imagine a world where the rooftops and pavements of every urban area are resurfaced to increase the reflection of the Sun’s light rays. Well, this is exactly what a group of Canadian researchers have simulated in an attempt to measure the potential effects against global warming. Continue reading

Sea level rise brings millions of Americans at risk of storm surge flooding

Nearly four million Americans, occupying a combined area larger than the state of Maryland, find themselves at risk of severe flooding as sea levels rise in the coming century, new research suggests.

Sea level rise flooding

Figure 4 - 2nd of two Environmental Research Letters SLR publications. Sea level rise storm surge flooding risk along US coast. For the ensemble average estimate of relative SLR at each gauge, projected return periods, by 2050, for floods currently qualifying as 100 yr events.

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Today´s paradox: European cold winters associated with Arctic warming – and positive(!) AO

Warming in the Arctic would increase the chance of cold winters in Europe and parts of North America and Asia. There have now been three consecutive studies that reach this conclusion in as many years. That means it is about … Continue reading

Geoengineering can save Greenland, model suggests

We recently witnessed a new Greenland melting record. And according to a new paleoclimate comparison by James Hansen we could be in for meters of sea level rise within this century, due to expected non-linearity of the melting process.

Geoengineering La Niña

According to the WMO the current La Niña episode will continue to exist for at least another 2-4 months. Other sources state it may last until 2012. This La Niña could be the strongest in decades and is likely to … Continue reading