Extreme weather

‘Weather Whiplash’ Is Fueling The Los Angeles Fires

January 10, 2025 Kate Yoder, Grist. Educate! California, climate crisis, Extreme weather, Fires, Los Angeles

It’s supposed to be the rainy season in Southern California, but the last time Los Angeles measured more than a tenth-inch of rain was eight months ago, after the city logged one of the soggiest periods in its recorded history. Since then, bone-dry conditions have set the stage for the catastrophic wildfires now descending upon the metropolis from multiple directions. This quick cycling between very wet and very dry periods — one example of what scientists have come to call “weather whiplash” — creates prime conditions for wildfires: The rain encourages an abundance of brush and grass, and once all that vegetation dries out, it only takes a spark and a gust of wind to fuel a deadly fire.

Most Costly Climate Disasters Of 2024 Killed 2,000 People

December 31, 2024 Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch. Educate! 2024, climate crisis, disaster relief, Extreme weather

The most financially costly climate disasters around the world in 2024 produced $229 billion in damages and killed 2,000 people, according to Counting the Cost 2024: A year of climate breakdown, the most recent analysis of insurance payouts by nonprofit Christian Aid. Three-quarters of these calamities occurred in the United States, reported The Guardian. “Behind the billion-dollar figures are countless lost lives and livelihoods,” said Dr. Mariam Zachariah, a researcher for World Weather Attribution at Imperial College London, in a press release from Christian Aid.

New York To Charge Biggest Emitters For Climate Damages Under New Law

December 28, 2024 Paige Bennett, EcoWatch. Create! climate crisis, Climate Justice, Extreme weather, New York (NY), Oil and Gas Industry

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed the Climate Change Superfund Act, which requires major emitters, such as fossil fuel companies, to compensate for damages by helping to fund climate-resilient infrastructure projects. “By signing the Climate Change Superfund Act, Gov. Hochul is addressing the financial burden placed on New Yorkers by the fossil fuel companies,” Richard Schrader, director of New York Government Affairs at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), said in a statement. “It’s a key example of what putting fiscal fairness and environmental justice front and center looks like.

What Mutual Aid Groups Are Doing To Help Hurricane Survivors

November 19, 2024 Damon Orion, Grassroots Economic Organizing. Educate! climate crisis, Extreme weather, Hurricane Helene, Hurricanes, Mutual Aid, North Carolina

Hurricane Helene, which was a Category 4 hurricane, hit on September 26 and claimed around 227 lives as of October 5, 2024. The hurricane is now considered one of the deadliest “of the modern era.” Besides destroying homes, businesses, roads, and bridges, it caused power outages for millions and left countless survivors without food and water. The hurricane has become a source of conflict and division, particularly concerning the federal government’s response to the catastrophe. Media outlets like PBS, U.S. News & World Report, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s Hurricane Rumor Response page have addressed what National Public Radio (NPR) called, “[r]umors, misinformation and lies” about this issue on October 7.

Climate Finance Is Central To COP29 Negotiations In Azerbaijan

November 14, 2024 Abdul Rahman, People's Dispatch. Educate! climate crisis, Climate finance, COP29, Donald Trump, Extreme weather, Flooding

This year’s Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) opened in Baku in Azerbaijan on Monday, November 11 amid the growing concerns of rising global temperatures and failures of the developed countries to fulfill their existing pledges to mitigate the climate crisis. The urgency of the COP29 discussions has not been determined by moving speeches and demands, but from the reality facing countries across the globe, such as Spain, Nepal, the US, and others, struggling to respond to floods, fires, hurricanes, and drought which have exacted devastating tolls in recent months.

Extreme Weather Events Have Cost $2 Trillion Over The Past Decade

November 12, 2024 Paige Bennett, EcoWatch. Educate! climate crisis, Climate finance, Extreme weather, Report

According to a new report by the International Chamber of Commerce and consultancy firm Oxera, extreme weather events over the past 10 years have cost a total of $2 trillion globally. The countries that have faced the biggest losses include the U.S., China and India. The report tracked nearly 4,000 extreme weather events from 2014 through 2023. In total, the results found that these events affected more than 1.6 billion people and cost around $2 trillion in economic losses. Over just the past two years, losses linked to extreme weather cost the world $451 billion.

Our Fragile Infrastructure: Lessons From Hurricane Helene

November 5, 2024 Ellen Brown, Scheer Post. Educate! climate crisis, Extreme weather, Hurricane Helene, Infrastructure, North Carolina, Public Banks

Asheville, North Carolina is known for its historic architecture, vibrant arts scene and as a gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was a favorite escape for “climate migrants” moving from California, Arizona, and other climate-challenged vicinities, until a “500 year flood” ravaged the city this fall. Hurricane Helene was a wakeup call not just for stricken North Carolina residents but for people across the country following their tragic stories in the media and in the podcasts now favored by young voters for news. “Preppers” well equipped with supplies watched in helpless disbelief as homes washed away in a wall of water and mud, taking emergency supplies in the storm.

Escalating Climate Impacts Threaten Health Worldwide

October 31, 2024 Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch. Educate! Carbon emissions, climate crisis, Extreme weather, Food Insecurity, health

Human-driven climate change is causing temperatures to rise to dangerous new heights, while worsening drought and impeding food security, according to the ninth Lancet Countdown report. The report by health experts and doctors warned that people all over the world are facing unparalleled health threats because of the climate crisis. “This year’s stocktake of the imminent health threats of climate inaction reveals the most concerning findings yet,” said Dr. Marina Romanello, executive director of the University College London-led Lancet Countdown, as The Guardian reported.

Waffle House Workers, At The Front Lines Of Disasters, Demand More

October 30, 2024 Kim Kelly, In These Times. Resist! climate crisis, Extreme weather, Hurricane Helene, Unions, Waffle House, Worker Rights and Jobs

Disaster preparedness is as much a part of the Waffle House brand as its all-day breakfast offerings. The 24-hour diner chain — home of a utilitarian menu of generously smothered, covered, scattered and peppered hash browns, among other quick-serve favorites — is omnipresent throughout the Midwest and Southeast. Its iconic butter-yellow letters have welcomed many a weary traveler since its founding in 1955, and its reputation for reliability is far more than a marketing tactic. In 2011, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Craig Fugate created the “Waffle House Index” — a metric for measuring the severity of an oncoming storm.

Resilience And Regeneration, Disaster After Disaster

October 22, 2024 Oscar Perry Abello, Next City. Create! climate crisis, Disaster Recovery, Extreme weather, Hurricanes, Resilience

Long before the winds and the rain and the flooding, there was already so much healing work that needed doing, and some of it was already happening. That’s not really in question. Like the fungi beneath our feet, the work of regenerating, reconstituting and rebuilding never really stops, even in the aftermath of a hurricane or other disaster. But with every tragic deluge, the open wounds of carnage and destruction also open up new lines of sight for others to see who has been doing that work in their community — and then to either join them or bulldoze right over them.

Why All Hurricanes Should Be Named ‘Jim’

October 20, 2024 Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright, Black Agenda Report. Educate! Appalachia, Class Struggle, climate crisis, Environmental Justice, Environmental racism, Extreme weather, Florida, Georgia, Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton, Systemic Racism

The devastation effectuated by Hurricane Helene represents yet another elucidation of a quintessential climate crisis that is right here and right now. It demonstrates that climate change is not a conclusion that awaits us, but a set of present day precarities taking and altering lives right now. According to initial assessments, Helene could cost U.S. taxpayers upwards of $175 billion , and of course, there is no way to quantify the estimated 230 lives that were taken, thus far, with the death toll expected to rise. Meanwhile, Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm, continued this season of carnage and calamity with a death toll of approximately 20 people and an estimated $50 billion in damages.

How Climate Change Threatens Workers

October 12, 2024 Jordan Barab, Portside. Strategize! climate crisis, Extreme weather, Worker Rights, Workplace Safety

At least six workers in a Tennessee plastics factory are dead or missing after managers allegedly told them not to evacuate despite urgent warnings of severe flash flooding. What does this tragedy say about the unique threat that workers face from climate change and related adverse weather events? Climate change is not a hoax, as some politicians continue to argue. It is very real as we witnessed most recently the past several days as a climate change-fueled hurricane wreaked havoc and death from Florida's far north as eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. Hundreds are confirmed dead and many more are still missing.

Hurricane Milton Wreaks Havoc As FEMA Begs For More Assistance

October 11, 2024 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. Educate! Cuba, Evacuation, Extreme weather, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Hurricane Milton, Hurricanes, United States

Only one week after Hurricane Helene left a trail of destruction in the Southeastern region of the United States, which the US government was wholly unprepared and unwilling to contend with, Hurricane Milton is expected to launch a new path of devastation across the state of Florida, primarily. As of Thursday morning, over three million Florida residents are without power, with some counties having as many as 80% of residents lacking in electricity. At least nine are dead following the storm as crews rescue stranded residents. Residents Blamed Amid Evacuation Orders As the storm was barreling towards Florida, some media outlets seemed to follow a narrative of blaming residents themselves for not evacuating before the storm hit

25 Of 35 Vital Signs For Earth Have Reached Record Extremes

October 10, 2024 Paige Bennett, EcoWatch. Educate! climate crisis, Environment, Extreme weather, Report

A new report from a team of international scientists has revealed harsh realities on Earth, with 25 of 35 planetary vital signs reaching record extremes. Without immediate action, scientists warn that these extremes could threaten life on Earth. In the new study, published in the journal BioScience, scientists presented a stark look at the state of the climate crisis. “We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster. This is a global emergency beyond any doubt. Much of the very fabric of life on Earth is imperiled. We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis,” the scientists wrote.

Capitalism Facilitates Firestorms, Floods And Tornadoes

August 24, 2024 Zoe Johnson, Workers' World. Educate! Capitalism, climate crisis, Climate Justice, Extreme weather, Socialism

Summer 2024 has been host to severe and persistent wildfires and tornadoes throughout the United States. Long before the summer, just from January through March alone, more than 2,669 square miles were charred in the United States. That’s larger than the area of Delaware and was already half of the total area impacted in 2023. Moreover, the National Weather Service confirmed 180 tornadoes in July, the most the country has had since 1997, when there were 190. Most of these tornadoes resulted from two storm systems: Hurricane Beryl and the July 15 Derecho — a very long-lived and damaging thunderstorm that can itself be as damaging as a tornado — that impacted Chicago.

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