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☆ Panama Canal says shipping rebound is underway after record drought
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

watch nowAfter two years of record drought conditions amid a challenging El Nino weather system which decimated vessel transits, the Panama Canal is experiencing a trade rebound. The U.S. is the largest user of the Panama Canal, with total U.S. commodity export and import containers representing about 73% of Panama Canal traffic, and 40% of all U.S. container traffic traveling through the Panama Canal every year. Despite competition from the Suez Canal, Vásquez predicts that the Panama Canal will recover to pre-drought volumes, with a focus on larger vessels and energy-related trade. The Panama Canal drought began in late 2022 and was described as the worst in the canal's history by January 2024. The Panama Canal Authority reported a 29% drop in vessel transits during fiscal year 2024.

Persons: Ricaurte Vásquez, Vásquez Organizations: Panama Canal Authority, CNBC, Panama Canal, Maersk, Port, International Longshoremen's Association Locations: Nino, Panama, U.S, Gatun, Suez, Port of Panama, Asia, Gulf Coasts

Tracking Hurricane Rafael Leer en españolRafael was a Category 2 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday evening Eastern time, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. The hurricane had sustained wind speeds of 105 miles per hour. By The New York TimesRafael is the 17th named storm to form in the Atlantic in 2024. In late May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that there would be 17 to 25 named storms this year, an above-normal amount. Without El Niño this year, clouds are more likely to tower to the tall heights needed to sustain a powerful cyclone.

Persons: Leer, Rafael, The New York Times Rafael Organizations: National Hurricane Center, The New York Times, NOAA, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Hurricanes Locations: Gulf, Mexico, United States

☆ Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji has yet to see snow this winter, breaking a 130-year record
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-29 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —November is just a few days away, but Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji remains snowless, marking the latest date without a snowcap since records began 130 years ago. The lack of snow as of October 29, beats the previous record of October 26, set in 1955 and 2016, he said. This aerial view shows climbers lining up to take a photo on the Kengamine summit of Mount Fuji on August 10, 2024. The unusual October heat Japan experienced was made three times more likely because of the climate crisis, Climate Central found. Straddling Japan’s Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures, the 3,776-meter Mount Fuji is a UNESCO World Heritage site and an icon of Japan.

Persons: Snowcaps, Shinichi Yanagi, Stringer Organizations: CNN, Mount, Fuji, NHK, Meteorological Office, Meteorological Agency, Mount Fuji, Kyodo, Climate, Northern, UNESCO Locations: Kofu, Japan, Mount, Central, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, overtourism

☆ Halloween could taste different this year thanks to soaring cocoa prices
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-20 | by ( Erika Tulfo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

That’s because cocoa prices have more than doubled since the start of the year and have remained at record highs, according to Wells Fargo data shared with CNN. The surging prices have caused grief for confectioners during prime chocolate sales seasons like Valentine’s Day and Easter. The company’s president, Michele Buck, said in a call in August with analysts that cocoa prices are “not sustainable,” and pointed toward higher prices. Though hope is on the horizon, experts project cocoa prices will remain high until at least September 2025. A customer shops for Halloween candy at a Walmart Supercenter on October 16, 2024 in Austin, Texas.

Persons: it’s, ”, David Branch, Francis Kokoroko, Reuters El, Michele Buck, Hershey, Joseph , Missouri Nick Ingram, Sally Lyons Wyatt, Mars, Brandon Bell, ” Lyons Wyatt Organizations: CNN, Wells, Food Institute, Reuters, International Cocoa Organization, Hershey, Walmart, Getty, ’ Association, NCA, “ Locations: Wells Fargo, West Africa, Osino, Eastern Region, Ghana, St, Joseph , Missouri, Austin , Texas

Tracking Tropical Storm Oscar Leer en españolOscar was a tropical storm in the North Atlantic Ocean Monday evening Eastern time, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. The tropical storm had sustained wind speeds of 40 miles per hour. By The New York TimesOscar is the 15th named storm to form in the Atlantic in 2024. In late May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that there would be 17 to 25 named storms this year, an above-normal amount. Without El Niño this year, clouds are more likely to tower to the tall heights needed to sustain a powerful cyclone.

Persons: Oscar Leer, Oscar, The New York Times Oscar Organizations: National Hurricane Center, The New York Times, NOAA, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Hurricanes Locations: United States

☆ Over a year of astonishing ocean heat has given way to the largest coral bleaching on record
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-18 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The previous record from the 2014 to 2017 mass bleaching affected just below 66% of the world’s reef area. Triggered by heat stress in warm oceans, coral bleaching occurs when corals expel the colourful algae living in their tissues. A bleached coral is not dead, but ocean temperatures need to cool off for any hope of recovery. “We’ve never had a coral bleaching event this big before.”In just the last six weeks, bleaching has been confirmed in the waters of Palau, Guam and Israel. What are we going to do about it?” said Emily Darling, who leads the Wildlife Conservation Society’s global coral reef conservation programme.

Persons: Derek Manzello, Sirachai Arunrugstichai, Lillian Suwanrumpha, Manzello, “ We’ve, ”, Emily Darling, El Niño Organizations: CNN, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Reuters, NOAA, Reef, Getty, ”, United Nations, Wildlife Conservation Locations: Trat, Thailand, Raja Ampat, Indonesia's West Papua, AFP, Palau, Guam, Israel, Caribbean, South China, Colombia

☆ A La Niña winter is coming. Here’s what that could mean for the US
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-15 | by ( Mary Gilbert | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

La Niña isn’t here yet, but has a 60% chance of emerging through November, according to the Climate Prediction Center. While it’s still unclear just how strong La Niña will get, current forecasts favor a weaker one. That outlook could be change when the center releases its latest forecast on Thursday based on trends toward a weaker La Niña. CNN WeatherThis is due to the behavior of the jet stream — essentially a river of air that storms flow through — which often shifts north during a La Niña winter. La Niña had a hand in the extremely wet winter much of the state endured from December 2022 to February 2023 and during the wet winter before that.

Persons: it’s, El Niño, El, Niño, Emily Becker, ” Becker, Niña, It’s Organizations: CNN, El, Northern, La, University of Miami, Dakotas, Niña Locations: United States, Northeast, Midwest, Pacific Northwest, East Coast, Plains, Northern California, Southern California

☆ African leaders say elephants need to die for food. Critics says it’s cruel and won’t work
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-12 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Drought is now so bad in parts of southern Africa that governments say they must kill hundreds of their most captivating, majestic wild animals to feed desperately hungry people. In August, Namibia announced it had embarked on a cull of 723 animals, including 83 elephants, 30 hippos and 300 zebras. Crops have failed, livestock has died and nearly 70 million people are desperately in need of food. They say it’s the opposite: reducing numbers will help protect remaining animals as the drought shrinks food and water resources. Both Namibia and Zimbabwe say professional hunters will ensure entire groups are killed to prevent this.

Persons: —, Badru Katumba, El Niño, ”, Elizabeth Mrema, Mrema, Chris Brown, ” Brown, It’s, Romeo Muyunda, ” Muyunda, Brown, Izak Smit, Zinyange Auntony, Farai Maguwu, ” Maguwu, Elisabeth Valerio, Maguwu, Megan Carr, Keith Lindsay, Muyunda, “ Organizations: CNN, Getty, United Nations Environment, “, Namibian Chamber, Environment, Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry, Tourism, Desert Lions Human Relations, for Natural Resource, cullings, EMS Foundation, Martin Locations: Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Europe, Murchison, Uganda, AFP, Damaraland, Kaokoland, slaughterhouses, Namibian, Dete, Hwange, Hwange Park, African, Halali, Etosha

☆ Brazil drought: Stark pictures reveal dramatic shrinking of major Amazon rivers
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-30 | by ( Laura Paddison | Gianluca Mezzofiore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Rio Negro in Manaus in Amazonas state Brazil on September 12, 2021. Copernicus, Sentinel-2 satellite Rio Negro on September 16 2024. Copernicus, Sentinel-2 satellite Satellite images of the Rio Negro on September 12 2021 versus September 16 2024 Copernicus, Sentinel-2 satellitePart of the Rio Negro in Manaus on June 19, 2024. So too is the Solimões River, whose muddy-colored waters converge with the Rio Negro at Manaus to form the Amazon River. Copernicus, Sentinel-2 satellite Copernicus, Sentinel-2 satellite Satellite images of Lake Tefé on August 26 2023 versus August 25 2024 Copernicus, Sentinel-2 satelliteResearcher Miriam Marmontel, from Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, after finding a dead dolphin on Lake Tefé on September 18, 2024.

Persons: It’s, —, Copernicus, Edmar Barros, Lincoln Alves, Jorge Silva, ”, Alves, ” Miriam Marmontel, Miriam Marmontel, Leonardo Benassatto, Romulo Batista, Adriana Cuartas, André Guimarães, El, El Niño, Cemaden’s, ” Guimarães, “, ” Cuartas Organizations: CNN, Amazon, Rio, — Rio, Sentinel, Rio Negro, National Institute for Space Research, Reuters, Mamirauá Institute, Sustainable Development, Greenpeace, Amazon Environmental Research Institute Locations: Brazil, Rio, Manaus, Amazonas, Rio Negro, — Rio Negro, Tabatinga, Brazilian, Colombia, Peru, Tefé, Copernicus, Greenpeace Brazil, “

Tracking Tropical Storm Helene Leer en españolHelene was a tropical storm in the Caribbean Sea early Wednesday Eastern time, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. The tropical storm had sustained wind speeds of 60 miles per hour. By The New York TimesHelene is the eighth named storm to form in the Atlantic in 2024. In late May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that there would be 17 to 25 named storms this year, an above-normal amount. Without El Niño this year, clouds are more likely to tower to the tall heights needed to sustain a powerful cyclone.

Persons: Helene Leer, Helene, The New York Times Helene Organizations: National Hurricane Center, The New York Times, NOAA, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Hurricanes Locations: Caribbean, Fla, Fort Myers, St . Petersburg, United States

☆ Doomsday Glacier: Scientists looked deep beneath Antarctic ice. What they found could spell disaster
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The scientists project Thwaites and the Antarctic Ice Sheet could collapse within 200 years, which would have devastating consequences. Photograph of the high cliffs of Thwaites Glacier taken from the British Antarctic Survey Twin Otter aircraft. There is a concern that if Thwaites’ ice shelves collapse, it will leave towering cliffs of ice exposed to the ocean. The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica NASA/ReutersThat’s not to say Thwaites is safe. The scientists predict the whole of Thwaites and the Antarctic Ice Sheet behind it could be gone in the 23rd Century.

Persons: Thwaites —, Thwaites ’, Rob Larter, Thwaites, ”, Kiya Riverman, Rob Robbins, Julia Wellner, ” Wellner, Reuters That’s, Eric Rignot, “ Organizations: CNN, British Antarctic Survey, University of Portland, University of Houston, El, Antarctica NASA, Reuters, University of California Locations: Antarctica, Miami, London, Bangladesh, Florida, Icefin, Thwaites, Irvine, ITGC

ISER Caribe executive director Stacey Williams dives underwater to clip lines of astroturf-like material where baby sea urchins are growing. The group is working to restore 5 acres of coral reef in Puerto Rico by planting fragments across six reefs and returning long-spined sea urchins to the ecosystem. Then, once the urchins reach young adult size, the researchers place them in a coral reef in need of extra support. Manzello said scientists used to think coral had a longer runway — perhaps until 2040 or 2050 — before conditions became so grim. A look at the underwater lab where ISER Caribe nurtures baby sea urchins.

Persons: Derek Manzello, ” Manzello, ”, That’s, they’d, Stacey Williams, Jackie Montalvo, Maura Barrett, —, “, ” Williams, Juan Torres, Andrew Baker, ” Baker, Manzello, “ You’re, We’ve, haven’t, Evan Bush Organizations: Oceanic, Reef Watch, NOAA, Atlantic, ISER Caribe, NBC, Preserve ., Institute for, Ecological Research, ISER, NASA, Caribe, University of Miami, Rosenstiel, of Marine, Science Locations: Florida, Atlantic, Brazil, Puerto Rico, ISER Caribe, Puerto Rican, La Parguera, Honduras, Caribbean, Seattle, La

☆ Zimbabwe to cull 200 elephants to feed people left hungry by drought
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Zimbabwe plans to cull 200 elephants to feed communities facing acute hunger after the worst drought in four decades, wildlife authorities said on Tuesday. “We can confirm that we are planning to cull about 200 elephants across the country. We are working on modalities on how we are going to do it,” Tinashe Farawo, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks) spokesperson, told Reuters. It follows neighboring Namibia’s decision last month to cull 83 elephants and distribute meat to people impacted by the drought. The numbers are just a drop in the ocean because we are talking of 200 (elephants) and we are sitting on plus 84,000, which is big,” he said.

Persons: El, Tinashe, Farawo, “, ” Organizations: Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority, Reuters, Zimbabwe, International Trade Locations: Zimbabwe, Africa, Tinashe Farawo, Hwange, Chiredzi, Zambia, Botswana, Angola, Namibia, ’

☆ Zimbabwe to cull 200 elephants to feed citizens left hungry by drought
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Zimbabwe has authorized a mass slaughter of elephants to feed citizens left hungry by its worst drought in decades. With nearly half of the country’s population facing the risk of acute hunger, “we are targeting to cull 200 elephants,” Tinashe Farawo, a spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority, told CNN on Monday. The move follows a decision in Namibia to cull elephants and other wild animals to relieve food insecurity fueled by a prolonged drought. Zimbabwe is home to more than 84,000 elephants, Farawo said, around double its “capacity of 45,000,” he added. At least 31 people have died in Zimbabwe this year as a result of conflict between humans and wildlife, local media reported.

Persons: Tinashe, Farawo, Sithembiso Nyoni, ” Nyoni, El Niño, ”, ” Farai Maguwu, Keith Lindsay, —, CNN’s Laura Paddison Organizations: CNN, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority, Botswana’s, Zim Parks, Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry, Tourism, for Natural Resource Locations: Namibia, Zimbabwe, ”, Africa

☆ Cave fossils shed light on the disappearance of Neanderthals
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But other chapters, like those describing the loss of our ancient ancestors, are harder to recover as time passes. A chance finding of bones in a cave is revealing clues of a much older tragic mystery. The once-in-a-lifetime find, nicknamed Thorin after a character in “The Hobbit,” has puzzled researchers for nearly a decade. The overall winner of the competition was photographer Ryan Imperio for his photo taken during the October 2023 annular solar eclipse. The phenomenon is visible for brief moments during an eclipse when sunlight shines through the moon’s valleys and craters, creating glowing drops of light.

Persons: Duke, Wellington, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Napoleon Bonaparte, Thorin, Ludovic, ”, Yuha Hasegawa, Ryan Imperio, Imperio, Zhu Yubo, Rapa Nui, Christopher Columbus, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Japan’s Nagasaki University, “, International, Astronomy, Polaris, —, NASA, CNN Space, Science Locations: Brussels, Grotte Mandrin, Rhône, New Zealand, El, Rapa, USA, Americas

☆ The Sahara Desert is greening as unusual storms hit parts of Africa
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Mary Gilbert | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Satellites recently captured plant life blooming in parts of the typically arid southern Sahara after storms moved there when they shouldn’t. NASARainfall north of the equator in Africa typically increases from July through September as the West African Monsoon kicks into gear. “The Intertropical Convergence Zone, which is the reason for (Africa’s) greening, moves farther north the warmer the world gets,” Haustein explained. NOAA's Climate Prediction CenterTake the northern portion of Chad, which is part of the Sahara Desert. Only up to an inch of rain typically falls here from about mid-July to early September.

Persons: Karsten Haustein, Niño, Haustein, El Niño, ” Haustein, “, g9HrAAzrxC — Evan Fisher, Audu Marte, Haustien, ” Organizations: CNN, NASA NASA, Central African, NASA, West, Satellite, Leipzig University, United, Getty Locations: Africa, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya, Germany, West, Central Africa, Parts, Nigeria, Cameroon, Egypt, United Nations, Maiduguri, AFP, Messawi, Meroe, Sudan's Northern State

☆ Mega El Niño events may have caused planet’s greatest mass extinction
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The El Niño of 252 million years ago would have originated in the Panthalassic Ocean, a body of water much larger than today’s Pacific that could hold more heat, which in turn would have strengthened and sustained El Niño effects. The planet had experienced similar episodes earlier but they hadn’t triggered a mass extinction. A prolonged and intense El Niño also explained why extinctions had begun on land before they occurred in the ocean, the study said. This data showed how temperature rose at different latitudes as the mass extinction unfolded. El Niño events today are known to cause coral bleaching and mass mortality of fish, the study noted, but the ecological impact and future trajectory of El Niño events in a warming climate are unknown.

Persons: ”, Paul Wignall, David Bond, Paul Wignall El, Alex Farnsworth, El, ” Wignall, Niño, “, Yadong Sun, Niños, Wignall, Farnsworth, Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Chiarenza, wasn’t Organizations: CNN, University of Leeds, El, University of Hull, UK’s University of Bristol, China University of Geosciences, University of Bristol, Royal Society Newton International, University College London’s, supervolcanoes Locations: what’s, Russia, United Kingdom, Ellesmere, El, Pacific, Wuhan

Tracking Hurricane Debby Leer en españolDebby was a Category 1 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico late Sunday Eastern time, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. The hurricane had sustained wind speeds of 75 miles per hour. Debby is the fourth named storm to form in the Atlantic in 2024. In late May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that there would be 17 to 25 named storms this year, an above-normal amount. Without El Niño this year, clouds are more likely to tower to the tall heights needed to sustain a powerful cyclone.

Persons: Leer, Debby Organizations: Sunday, National Hurricane Center, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Cedar Key, United States, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Hurricanes Locations: Gulf of Mexico, Fort Myers Cedar, Fort Myers Cedar Key Tampa, United States

☆ The planet saw its hottest day on record
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Angela Fritz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Sunday was the hottest day in recorded history, according to preliminary data from a climate tracking agency monitoring temperatures since the mid-1900s. It’s the second consecutive year average global temperatures have crashed through shocking climate records and will not be the last, as planet-warming fossil fuel pollution drives temperatures to shocking new highs. July 21 clocked in at 17.09 degrees Celsius, or 62.76 Fahrenheit, and was the hottest day on Earth since at least 1940, according to the preliminary data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Around a hundred cities across the US are experiencing their hottest start to summer on record, and swaths of southern Europe have been grappling with triple-digit temperatures. Global climate records are typically broken by tiny fractions of a degree, as was the case with this one: Sunday’s temperature was just 0.01 degrees Celsius above 2023’s record.

Persons: Sunday’s, ”, Carlo Buontempo, Copernicus, ” Buontempo, El Organizations: CNN Locations: Europe, Antarctica

☆ Why only 400 people at a time can visit this paradise island
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-15 | by ( Emily Blumenthal | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —Lord Howe Island has the look of a destination ripe for overtourism, with verdant mountaintops, pristine white-sand beaches and clear-blue waters teeming with colorful fish. Atop the summit of Mount Gower – one of the most popular hiking trails on Lord Howe – sits a rare, endangered cloud forest. Beaches are just a few minutes’ walk or bike ride away from the guesthouses, making Lord Howe “the easiest holiday,” said Anthony Riddle, a sixth-generation islander who co-founded Lord Howe Island Brewing Company and Lord Howe Island Distilling Company. “We tell the story about what is it that’s special about Lord Howe Island. Sniffer dogsIan Hutton boating near Lord Howe Island.

Persons: Howe, ”, Lisa Makiiti, Lord Howe, Darcelle Matassoni, Lord, Makiiti, Bowker, Howe Island's Mount, Matteo Colombo, Dean Hiscox, that’s, ” Hiscox, Ian Hutton, David Attenborough, Hutton, it’s, Mount Gower –, Lord Howe –, Anthony Riddle, “, you’re, Hiscox, they’re, ” Hutton, ” Makiiti, Riddle, There’s, ” Matassoni, ” Riddle Organizations: CNN, Bowker, UNESCO, Lord Howe, Board, Howe Environmental, Howe, Museum, Brewing Company, Australian National Maritime Museum, Residents, Sustainability, Islanders Locations: Australia, Sydney, Howe Island's Mount Gower, Mount, Howe’s, Howe

☆ What the rest of hurricane season could hold after Beryl made early-season history
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Mary Gilbert | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Collin Reid/AP A boat damaged by Hurricane Beryl lies on its side at a dock in Kingston on Thursday. Leo Hudson/AP Simone Francis gathers items from her home that were blown away by Hurricane Beryl in Old Harbor, Jamaica, on Thursday. Ricardo Hernandez/AP Pastor Winston Alleyne clears trees felled by Hurricane Beryl in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on July 2. Lucanus Ollivierre/AP Fishing boats, damaged by Hurricane Beryl, sit in a heap at the Bridgetown Fisheries in Barbados on July 1. Randy Brooks/AFP/Getty Images Brad Reinhart, senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, tracks Hurricane Beryl on July 1.

Persons: Beryl, Phil Klotzbach, Beryl –, –, “ Beryl, ” Klotzbach, Mark Felix, Hurricane Beryl, Brandon Bell, Blake Braun, Dolly, Port, Jon Shapley, Eddie Seal, Fernando Llano, Everton Evanks, Elizabeth, Joe Raedle, Collin Reid, Leo Hudson, Simone Francis, Hurricane, Paola Chiomante, Marco Bello, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Vincent, Lucanus, Arthur Daniel, Samir Aponte, Ricardo Hernandez, Winston Alleyne, Ricardo Mazalan, Sylvia Small, Matthew Dominick, Chandan Khanna, Randy Brooks, Brad Reinhart, Gilbert Bellamy, “, Mona Hemmati, Beryl “, ” Hemmati, Hurricane Beryl churns, Beryl Beryl’s, Alberto, Chris –, El Niño, CNN’s Rachel Ramirez Organizations: CNN, Colorado State University, Getty, Houston Chronicle, AP, Bloomberg, Everton, National, Reuters, Wednesday, Reuters Workers, AP Homes, Bridgetown Fisheries, NASA, National Hurricane Center, Klotzbach, Climate, Hurricane, Colorado State, National Hurricane Locations: Caribbean, Surfside Beach , Texas, AFP, Houston, Hurricane, , Texas, Port Aransas , Texas, Tulum, Mexico, St, Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica, Kingston , Jamaica, Kingston, Old Harbor, Cancun , Mexico, Playa del Carmen, Union, Kingstown, Grenadines, Petite Martinique, Cumanacoa, Venezuela, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Bridgetown, Barbados, Oistins, Hastings, Miami, Columbia, Africa, United States

☆ The driest desert on the planet is in bloom
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is one of the driest places on Earth, but swaths of its usually barren sand are currently carpeted with a colorful bloom of white and purple flowers. The Atacama Desert is known as the Disierto Florida (the “flowering desert”) because every few years it’s blanketed with flowers, when the right levels of rainfall and temperature coincide to awaken dormant desert seeds. The bloom usually coincides with El Niño, during which temperatures are warmer in the region, leading to more evaporation and, in turn, more rainfall. The desert blooms every couple of years when rainfall and temperatures are the right levels to awaken the dormant seeds. Rodrigo Gutierrez/ReutersThe desert blooms usually happen in the spring, but this year's heavier-than-usual rainfall has brought flowers out early.

Persons: El Niño, Rodrigo Gutierrez, ” Cesar Pizarro Organizations: CNN, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Reuters, National Forestry Corporation Locations: Chile, Florida, El, Chilean

☆ Persistent heat wave in the US shatters new records, causes deaths in the West and grips the East
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Many areas in Northern California surpassed 110 degrees, with the city of Redding topping out at a record 119 degrees. Due to the high temperatures, emergency medical helicopters were unable to respond, as the aircraft cannot generally fly safely over 120 degrees, officials said. Death Valley has reached or exceeded 125 degrees every day since July 4. “Death Valley during the summer has always been a bucket list thing for me. Well, high temperatures across (western Nevada and northeastern California) won’t get below 100 degrees until next weekend,” the service posted online.

Persons: —, Bryan Jackson, ”, Mike Reynolds, Chris Kinsel, Kinsel, it’s, I’ve, Natasha Ivory, “, ” Ivory, Fox5 Vegas, “ I’m, ” Jill Workman Anderson, “ Young, won’t, Tracy Housley, let’s, ” Housley, “ Let’s, Copernicus, Carlo Buontempo, Robert Shackelford, Rachel Ramirez, Angela Dewan Organizations: Los Angeles, Weather, West and, West and Pacific Northwest, Death, National Weather Service, Vegas, Atlantic Locations: Los, U.S, Death, West, West and Pacific, Northern California, Redding, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, Mount Charleston, Vegas, Oregon, Salem, East Coast, Baltimore, Lake Tahoe, Reno , Nevada, , California, Death Valley, Manchester, England, Maricopa County, Phoenix, Paris

☆ Live Updates: Hurricane Beryl Passes Cayman Islands on Way to Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-04 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

According to major forecasts, it looks like it’s going to be an above-average hurricane season. An average Atlantic hurricane season has 14 named storms, including seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. In 2020, the May forecast was for 13 to 19 named storms, but an updated forecast for August was even higher, with 19 to 25 named storms. This region, from West Africa to Central America, is hotter this year than it was before the start of last year’s hurricane season, which produced 20 named storms. The possibility of a La Niña, combined with record sea surface temperatures this hurricane season, is expected to create a robust environment this year for storms to form and intensify.

Persons: Judson Jones, Rick Spinrad, Idalia, Zack Wittman, Alberto, William, Damon Winter, Brian McNoldy, ”, Phil Klotzbach, Benjamin Kirtman, Waters, Niño, El, Michelle L’Heureux Organizations: The New York Times, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Hurricane Idalia, National Weather Service, New York Times NOAA, University of Miami, Colorado State University, El Locations: Florida’s Big Bend, America, Fort Myers Beach, Fla, West Africa, Central America, El

☆ Live Updates: Hurricane Beryl, a Category 4 Storm, Speeds Toward Jamaica
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Judson Jones | The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

According to major forecasts, it looks like it’s going to be an above-average hurricane season. Those could include four to seven major hurricanes — Category 3 or higher — with winds of at least 111 m.p.h. An average Atlantic hurricane season has 14 named storms, including seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes. In 2020, the May forecast was for 13 to 19 named storms, but an updated forecast for August was even higher, with 19 to 25 named storms. This region, from West Africa to Central America, is hotter this year than it was before the start of last year’s hurricane season, which produced 20 named storms.

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