Extreme Heat

Sarah Sanbar Iraq Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division ( Human Rights Watch ) – By any metric, Iraq’s environment is under severe pressure. Lakes, rivers, and marshlands are shrinking, and in some cases entirely disappearing. Sandstorms are increasing in frequency and severity, resulting in hospitalizations and the grounding of flights. Decades of conflict-related […]

CO2

CO2 in Atmosphere Higher than in 2 Million Years, with 2024 the Hottest Year Ever Recorded

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The annual report of the World Meteorological Organization concludes that in 2023, the latest year for which a complete analysis has been carried out, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere reached its highest level ever recorded —- about 420 parts per million (ppm). That’s 151% higher than […]

Climate Crisis

The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence

Marc Martorell Junyent

Review of Peter Schwartzstein, The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence (London: Footnote Press, 2024). Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– Although climate change does not directly cause conflict, it makes violence more likely to occur and to be more intense. The effects of climate change act as ‘threat […]

Climate Crisis

2024’s extreme Ocean Heat breaks Records again, leaving 2 Mysteries to solve

The Conversation

By Annalisa Bracco, Georgia Institute of Technology (The Conversation) – The oceans are heating up as the planet warms. This past year, 2024, was the warmest ever measured for the global ocean, following a record-breaking 2023. In fact, every decade since 1984, when satellite recordkeeping of ocean temperatures started, has been warmer than the previous […]

Climate Crisis

As Los Angeles combusts, 2024 is declared Earth’s Hottest on Record

The Conversation

By Andrew King, The University of Melbourne and David Karoly, The University of Melbourne (The Conversation) – The year 2024 was the world’s warmest on record globally, and the first calendar year in which global temperatures exceeded 1.5°C above its pre-industrial levels. The official declaration was made on Friday by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, […]

Climate Crisis

As COP 29 convenes, Human-Caused Climate Change Menaces the Middle East Across Borders

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The European Centre for Development Policy Management has issued a new report on the threats of human-caused climate change to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, concentrating on cross-border dangers that affect more than one country. Heat and drought would rank high on this list. The Middle East […]

Climate Crisis

Is Climate Change Sucking the Caspian Sea Dry?

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Tarique Niazi ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Azerbaijan is making the most of its hosting of the UN climate summit (COP29) in November this year. Its president, Ilham Aliyev, has been on a whirlwind tour of the world to court major nations for a climate finance pact that will feature Baku’s initiative […]

Climate Crisis

CO2-Driven Global Heating is a Silent Killer, Stalking the Vulnerable

The Conversation

By Myles David Sergeant, McMaster University | – (The Conversation) – Extreme heat is a silent killer. From time to time, we hear about shocking cases of football players and other athletes who die suddenly while exerting themselves on hot days. Those deaths are certainly tragic, but statistically they are very rare. Most deaths from […]

Climate Crisis

The Rate of Global Heating varies, but Temperatures will rise over Time until we Halt CO2 Emissions

The Conversation

By Christopher Merchant, University of Reading | – A 13-month streak of record-breaking global warmth has ended. From June 2023 until June 2024, air and ocean surface water temperatures averaged a quarter of a degree Celsius higher than records set only a few years previously. Air temperatures in July 2024 were slightly cooler than the […]