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☆ Hurricane Helene was supercharged by ultra-warm water made up to 500 times more likely by global warming, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-09 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The exceptionally warm water of the Gulf of Mexico that supercharged deadly Helene last month was made up to 500 times more likely by human-caused climate change, which also ramped up the hurricane’s wind and rain, according to a new scientific analysis. These ultra-warm ocean temperatures were made between 200 and 500 times more likely by climate change, driven by humans burning fossil fuels, according to the World Weather Attribution, a network of scientists that calculates the role of climate change in extreme weather events using real world data and climate models. Hurricanes as intense as Helene are now about 2.5 times more likely in the region, the study found. Baker Jarvis, a resident of Keaton Beach, Florida, works to recover his belongings from his home after Hurricane Helene on September 29, 2024. Rapid intensification, when a hurricane’s wind speed increases by at least 35 mph within 24 hours, has now become more common due to climate change.

Persons: Helene, Ben Clarke, ” Clarke, Milton, Helene . Baker Jarvis, Hurricane Helene, Octavio Jones, ”, Bernadette Woods Placky, Hurricane Milton, “ Helene, Gabriel Vecchi, Friederike Otto, ” Otto Organizations: CNN, Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute, Hurricanes, Reuters, Climate, Hurricane, geosciences, Princeton University, WWA, Imperial College London Locations: Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Southern, Gulf, Keaton Beach , Florida, Bend, North Carolina

☆ A deadly heat wave worsened Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. It was fueled by climate change, new data shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The WWA report divided the heat waves into three areas: West Asia, the Philippines and a region spanning South and Southeast Asia. However, the impact of climate change there was greater, increasing temperatures by about 1.2 degrees. Climate change also played a pronounced role in this region, according to the analysis, making the heat 45 times more likely and 0.85 degrees Celsius hotter. “Many cities have seen extreme losses of green space,” Pereira said, increasing the impacts of extreme heat on residents. If not, she added, “extreme heat will lead to even greater suffering in Asia.”

Persons: Jehad, ” Friederike Otto, El, Idrees Mohammed, Otto said, ” Otto, Carolina Pereira Marghidan, ” Pereira, ”, Mariam Zachariah Organizations: CNN, WWA, Getty, Grantham Institute, Climate, Environment Locations: Gaza, West Asia, Philippines, South, Southeast Asia, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Rafah, Anadolu, Delhi, Manila, Asia, West, Raipur, India, AFP, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, , Bangladesh, Thailand

☆ Planet warming pollution made Libya flooding up to 50 times more likely, scientists find
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The World Weather Attribution initiative – a team of scientists that analyze the role of climate change in the aftermath of extreme weather events – found planet-warming pollution made the deadly rainfall in Libya up to 50 times more likely to occur and 50% worse. They also found the extreme rainfall that hit Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria was made up to 10 times more likely. Extreme rainfall has swept across large parts of the Mediterranean region since the start of the month. They found in Libya, not only did climate change make the extreme rainfall up to 50 times more likely, it also made it up to 50% more intense. The kind of extreme rainfall this region experienced is likely to happen around once every 10 years, according to the report.

Persons: Storm Daniel, Palamas, Angelos Tzortzinis, Konstantinos Tsakalidis, Zohra Bensemra, Maja Vahlberg, ” Friederike Otto, Karsten Haustein, ”, Jasper Knight Organizations: CNN, Getty, WWA, Reuters, Climate, Grantham Institute, Imperial College London, Leipzig University, University of Locations: Libya, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Spain, Karditsa, AFP, Larissa, Derna, Germany, Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

☆ Quebec, Canada wildfires made twice as likely through climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The severity of Quebec’s fire season up to the end of July was also made 50% more intense by climate change, according to the report. French firefighters try to extinguish wildfires at Lac Larouche in Quebec, Canada, on June 28, 2023. It is by far the worst wildfire season Canada has ever experienced, and there are still more than two months left to go. They then used climate models to understand the role climate change played. Climate change also made the peak fire weather in Quebec during the same period at least twice as likely and 20% more intense, according to the report.

Persons: Friederike Otto, It’s, ”, Clair Barnes, Emma UIISC7, David Dee Delgado, “, James MacDonald, Kira Hoffman, ” Hoffman, Michael Flannigan, Otto Organizations: CNN, WWA, Grantham Institute, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Canada, Bloomberg, University of British, Research, “, Predictive Services, Emergency Management, Thompson Rivers University Locations: Canada, Quebec, Illinois, Canadian, Western Europe, Bronx, New York City, Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, British Columbia, Cameron, Port Alberni , British Columbia, University of British Columbia

☆ Heat waves in US and Europe would have been ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change, new report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The “heat hell” searing parts of the United States and southern Europe would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change, while climate change made China’s heat wave at least 50 times more likely, according to a rapid attribution analysis from the World Weather Attribution initiative. They found that “the role of climate change is absolutely overwhelming,” said Friederike Otto, a senior lecturer in climate science at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London. The scientists found that climate change not only drastically increased the likelihood of these heat waves happening, but it is also making them hotter. Planet-heating pollution made Europe’s heat wave 2.5 degrees Celsius hotter, the North American heat wave 2 degrees Celsius hotter and China’s heatwave 1 degree Celsius hotter, according to the report. More than 61,000 people died of heat-related deaths during Europe’s record-breaking heat wave last year, according to a recent study.

Persons: Greg Baker, ”, Friederike Otto, Otto, Lefty Damian, ” Otto, Richard Allan Organizations: CNN, Northern Hemisphere, WWA, Getty, Grantham Institute, Climate, Environment, Imperial College London, Anadolu Agency, University of Reading Locations: United States, Europe, Death, Phoenix, China, Spain, Italy, Beijing, AFP, Mexico, Southern Europe, Greece's Rhodes, Greece

The average May temperature in Hanoi is 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit). “Which is why a humid heat wave is more dangerous than a dry heat wave,” she told CNN. This is above a threshold considered dangerous, especially for people with health problems or those not used to extreme heat. In Thailand, 20 days in April and at least 10 days in May reached feels-like temperatures above 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit). Throughout April and May, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia all had several days with potential to cause extreme heat stress.

Persons: ”, ” Phong, Dinh Van Hung, ” Dinh, Nhac Nguyen, Maximiliano Herrera, Herrera, Mariam Zachariah, Cyclone Mocha, ” Zachariah, Chaya Vaddhanaphuti, ” Emmanuel Raju, ” Raju, Madaree Tohlala, “ Nui, “, ” Nui, Andre Malerba, Chaya, –, Chintanaphone, Boua Seng, Lobia Yaw, Thongsouk, hasn’t Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, CNN, Getty, ” Workers, Imperial College London, WWA, Chiang Mai University, Copenhagen Center for Disaster Research, Labour Organization, Farmers, Weather, Lao Farmer Network Locations: Hong Kong, Hanoi, Vietnam, Dong Da district, “, Hanoi , Vietnam, AFP, Dinh, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Asia, Thai, Narathiwat, Bangkok, ”

Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have endured five failed consecutive rainy seasons since October 2020, with aid groups labeling it 'the worst drought in 40 years'. "Climate change has made this drought exceptional," said Joyce Kimutai, a climate scientist with the Kenya Meteorological Department who worked with WWA to tease out climate change's role. Unlike with extreme heat and heavy rainfall, scientists have a harder time pinning down climate change's contribution to droughts around the world. Using computer models and climate observations, the WWA team determined climate change had made the Horn of Africa's long rains from March through May twice as likely to underdeliver, and the short rains from October through December wetter. In addition to less rain falling on the Horn, a warming climate means more water is evaporating from soil and transpiring from plants into the atmosphere.

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