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☆ Four alarming charts that show just how extreme the climate is right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Record high levels of carbon pollution in the atmosphere and record low levels of Antarctic ice. Several all-time heat records were also broken earlier this month in Siberia, as temperatures shot up above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In 2022, the world’s oceans broke heat records for the fourth year in a row. In late February, Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest extent since records began in the 1970s, at 691,000 square miles. The decline in sea ice also poses severe harm to the continent’s species, including penguins who rely on sea ice for feeding and hatching eggs.

Persons: Brian McNoldy, vZ9eKEs22b, we’re, ” Jennifer Marlon, “ We’ve, – we’ve, Ted Scambos, “ We’re, Phil Reid, El, Climatologist Maximiliano Herrera, “, El Niño, ” Herrera, ” Scambos, Reid, Scambos, there’s, Rick Spinrad, ” Organizations: CNN, University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Yale School of, University of Colorado -, National Weather Service, Australian, of Meteorology, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Atlantic, NOAA, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, Industrial Locations: University of Colorado - Boulder, Canada, United States, Siberia, Central America, Texas, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Asia, China, El, California, Pacific, San Diego

June 16 (Reuters) - Ball Corp (BALL.N), the world's largest supplier of beer cans, is exploring a sale of its business that provides aerospace and national defense hardware, such as sensors and antennas, for over $5 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. Ball launched an auction process to sell the aerospace unit in recent weeks, the sources said. Spokespeople for Ball and Textron did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while BAE declined to comment. Ball shares rose 7% to $58.57 in afternoon trading in New York on Friday, giving the company a market value of more than $18 billion. The aerospace business has been generating steady albeit limited cash flow for Ball, accounting for $170 million out of its $1.45 billion in comparable operating earnings in 2022.

Persons: Ball, David Carnevali, Leslie Adler, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Ball Corp, BAE Systems, Textron, Ball, BAE, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, Oceanic, Thomson Locations: Westminster , Colorado, New York

☆ Mexico says mass bird deaths likely caused by El Niño's hotter waters
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Some 300 wild birds of various species were found dead over the weekend along the coasts of Mexico's western states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacan, Jalisco, Sonora and Baja California Sur. Authorities had initially suspected bird flu, but a joint effort from the country's agriculture and environment ministries concluded the most likely reason was warmer oceans resulting from El Niño. With warmer waters, fish tend to swim lower in search of colder waters, which prevents seabirds from successfully hunting for their food, the ministries said in a statement. At least six people have died in Mexico as a result of intense heat this warmer season, according to recent tally from the health ministry. Reporting by Mexico Newsroom; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Sarah Morland and Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Carolina Pulice, Sarah Morland, Sandra Maler Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Authorities, U.S . National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, El Nino, Mexico, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, El, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacan, Jalisco, Sonora, Baja California Sur, Americas, Peru, Chile, Mexico

☆ Rare sighting of killer whales off New England coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Amaya Mcdonald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —New England Aquarium researchers spotted something unusual on Sunday afternoon during an aerial survey — a group of four killer whales swimming just 40 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Killer whales, also known as orcas, are more commonly seen in areas surrounding the Arctic ice-edge and the Caribbean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Katherine McKenna, assistant research scientist at the New England Aquarium in Boston, was the first to notice the group, or pod. Another atypical killer whale sighting — involving particularly large numbers — also occurred last weekend in coastal waters on the other side of the United States, in California’s Monterey Bay. “That was the best sighting I’ve seen in my 35 years of killer whale research,” Black told CNN.

Persons: Katherine McKenna, ” McKenna, ” Katherine McKenna, Orla O’Brien, Anderson, Nancy Black, Black, ” Black, “, CNN’s Laura Studley Organizations: CNN —, England Aquarium, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, New, Aquarium, New England Aquarium Scientists, Anderson Cabot Center, Ocean, Whale Watch, CNN Locations: Nantucket , Massachusetts, Caribbean, Massachusetts, Boston, New, United States, Monterey Bay ., Canada, Monterey, California, Monterey Bay

☆ The most effective and cheap ways to cool your body during a heat wave, according to scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Insider asked two scientists for simple, effective, and cheap ways to cool down. Put your hands or feet in cold waterIn extreme heat, the body opens up the blood vessels that are close to the skin. Blood carries heat from inside the body to the surface, where it can benefit from the cooling effect of sweat evaporating. Use an electric fan, but be careful in very hot weatherA fan helps cool you down by helping sweat evaporate faster. In dry heat, sweat is already evaporating at maximum efficiency.

Persons: George Havenith, Serge Haouzi, Owen Jeffries, Jeffries, Havenith, Coke, Ricardo Rubio, you've Organizations: Service, Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Environmental, Loughborough University, Getty, Newcastle University, World Health Organization, China News Service, Europa Press Locations: Pacific, Asia, Nice, France, Xinhua, Chongqing, China, Madrid, Spain

☆ Here’s How Much Hotter Than Normal This June Has Been
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Elena Shao | Raymond Zhong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

64° F June 11, 2023 62° 2022 60° 1979-2021 58° Global Daily Average Air Temperatures 56° 54° 52° 50° Jan. 1 Mar. “We’re putting heat into the system — through climate change, through the greenhouse effect — and that heat is going to manifest. NOAA last month said there was a 40 percent chance that this year’s hurricane season would be near normal. But it also assigned 30 percent probabilities to the season’s being above or below normal. There’s another factor that could also have made the world hotter recently, though it’s not clear how much.

Persons: ” Rick Spinrad, “, Spinrad, El Niño, it’s, Daniel L, Swain, Dr, ” Organizations: University of Maine, National Centers for, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, University of California Locations: Canada, United States, Siberia, Antarctica, El, Pacific, Tonga, Los Angeles

On Thursday, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared that an El Nino is now underway. The last time a strong El Nino was in full swing, in 2016, the world saw its hottest year on record. Meteorologists expect that this El Nino, coupled with excess warming from climate change, will see the world grapple with record-high temperatures. Here is how El Nino will unfold and some of the weather we might expect:WHAT CAUSES AN EL NINO? Historically, both El Nino and La Nina have occurred about every two to seven years on average, with El Nino lasting 9 to 12 months.

Persons: El Nino, Michelle L'Heureux, El, Tom DiLiberto, DiLiberto, La Nina, Nina, Gloria Dickie, Angus MacSwan Organizations: El Nino, U.S . National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, El, Graphics, el nino, NINO, U.S . West, Nino, La, El Ninos, Thomson Locations: Americas, El, Pacific, Peru, Philippines, United States, Canada, Central, South America, Australia, of Africa, Eastern Pacific, El Nino, London

☆ El Niño is here and could bring warmer temperatures, more extreme weather patterns
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño La Niña Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years. El Niño generally causes drier conditions in Australia and Southeast Asia, and wetter and warmer conditions in the Americas. El Niño ("little boy" in Spanish) and La Niña ("little girl" in Spanish) are weather patterns in the Pacific Ocean that can impact weather conditions around the globe. NOAA said there is an 84% chance of an El Niño with a greater than moderate strength and a 56% chance of a strong El Niño developing by the winter. While these regions may see warmer temperatures, Schmidt was careful to point out that El Niño does not guarantee a heat record in any region.

Persons: Niño, El Niño, We've, Gavin A, Schmidt, El Organizations: El, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, CNBC, Tropic, Cancer Locations: Australia, Southeast Asia, Americas, United States, California, Gulf, Pacific Northwest, Ohio, El, Indonesia, South America, Eurasia

daily record (2003) 35: E.P.A.’s safe daily levels 377: Wednesday in New York City Source: New York City Community Air Survey and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Data shows hourly concentrations of PM2.5 particles, measured in micrograms per cubic meter, for seven N.Y.C. The air in New York City on Wednesday wasn’t just bad by the city’s standards. It was historically bad, even compared with places around the world that generally experience much more air pollution. Wednesday’s daily average was the highest since recording in New York began in 1999. Wednesday’s pollution, of course, was not caused by a power plant or vehicles, but by major wildfires in Canada, mostly in Quebec.

Persons: San Francisco —, Eric James, James Organizations: New York City, New York City Community Air Survey, New York State Department of Environmental, Records, Protection Agency, state’s Department of Environmental, Environmental Protection Agency, University of Colorado, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Administration Locations: New York, Portland ,, San Francisco, New York City, Canada, Northern California, Quebec, North America

The last time an El Nino was in place, in 2016, the world saw its hottest year on record. DECLARING EL NINOMost experts look to two agencies for confirmation that El Nino has kicked off — NOAA and Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). The two agencies use different metrics for declaring El Nino, with the Australian definition slightly stricter. On Tuesday, Australia issued their own bulletin, noting a 70% chance of El Nino developing this year. Experts say that a strong El Nino could hit sugar production in India and Thailand, and possibly disrupt the sugarcane harvest in Brazil.

Persons: El Nino, El, John Vizcaino, Arcodia, Gloria Dickie, Seher Dareen, Marcelo Teixeira, Angus MacSwan Organizations: U.S . National Oceanic, El, El Nino, NINO, NOAA, Australia's, Meteorology, REUTERS, El Ninos, Colorado State University, Central Pacific, Central Pacific El Nino, Nino, Thomson Locations: South America, Australia, Asia, Nino, El Nino, Pacific, Magdalena, Colombia, Honda, Central, Hawaii, Central Pacific, El, India, Thailand, Brazil, Vietnam, New York, U.S, Indonesia, Malaysia, London

☆ The Arctic may be sea ice-free in summer by the 2030s, new study warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

A new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications found Arctic sea ice could disappear completely during the month of September as early as the 2030s. The researchers analyzed changes from 1979 to 2019, comparing different satellite data and climate models to assess how Arctic sea ice was changing. They found that declining sea ice was largely the result of human-caused, planet-heating pollution, and previous models had underestimated Arctic sea ice melting trends. Arctic sea ice close the coast of Svalbard, Norway, April 5, 2023. There has already been a rapid loss of sea ice in the region, with September sea ice shrinking at a rate of 12.6% per decade, according to NASA.

Persons: –, ” Seung, Min, Lisi Niesner, ” Min, Mika Rantanen, ”, Rantanen, “ Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, Pohang University of Science, Technology, UN, NASA, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Finnish Meteorological Institute Locations: South Korea, Svalbard, Norway

☆ Atmospheric CO2 now 50% higher than pre-industrial level -NOAA
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Measurements are taken in May because it is the month when CO2 peaks in the Northern Hemisphere. The outpost on Mauna Loa has measured atmospheric CO2 since 1958, when the level was less than 320 ppm, and shown a steady increase since then in what NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad called "a direct result of human activity." NOAA began collaborating with Scripps on the measurements in 1974. This year's measurements were taken from a temporary site because lava flows cut off access to the Mauna Loa observatory in November 2022, NOAA said. (This story has been corrected to change NOAA's previously reported figure as 424 ppm and not 423 ppm, in paragraph 2.

Persons: Rick Spinrad, David Keeling, Keeling's, geochemist Ralph Keeling, Keeling, Daniel Trotta, Marguerita Choy Organizations: U.S . National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Scripps, Northern Hemisphere, NOAA, Thomson Locations: Mauna Loa, Loa

☆ Florida’s homeowner insurance rates are four times the national average. That’s not getting better anytime soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But no matter how many storms hit Florida this year, the state’s residents are already struggling as they try to get homeowners’ insurance. But in Florida, State Farm has about 7% of the market, according to the Insurance Information Institute, an industry trade group. Just more than half of insurers based in Florida are on the state insurance regulator’s watch list due to their financial health. Homeowners in the state pay private insurers about $6,000 a year, compared to a national average of $1,700. But wind damage to homes and roofs are covered under homeowners’ insurance policies.

Persons: ”, Mark Friedlander, hasn’t, Friedlander, It’s, Hurricane Ian, Harvey, “ We’ve, shortchanging policyholders, Stephen Cain, “, Matthew Carletti, “ They’ve, ” Carletti, There’s Organizations: New, New York CNN — Hurricane, State, Insurance Information Institute, Homeowners, Atlantic, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Hurricane, NOAA, National Flood Insurance, Insurance, Property Insurance Corp, Citizens Property Insurance Corp, Citizens, Dade, JMP Securities Locations: New York, Florida, South Florida, Miami, Broward, Monroe County, South, Atlantic Coast

☆ A sunspot four times the size of Earth is visible right now — here's how to see it without a telescope
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A sunspot four times the size of the Earth is crossing the sun right now. "A giant sunspot is crossing the sun's disk, and I could see it clearly with solar glasses," said Yeom, per spaceweather.com, adding: "Caution! The sun is gearing up to a peak of activityA video of the sun taken on May 18 shows a powerful solar flare being released. SDO/NASAExperts have been keeping a watchful eye on this particular sunspot, called AR3310, while it is facing the Earth. As this one rolled around the side of the sun, it let off a substantial solar flare, a giant explosion that sends energy, light, and high-speed particles into space.

☆ 5 things you think you know about killer whales that are actually wrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But killer whales, or orcas, are actually members of the dolphin family. Killer whales aren't whalesKiller whales are not actually whales, but dolphins. The name "killer" whale isn't from killing humansOrcas are not called killer whales because they're whales that kill humans. Killer whales don't eat just anything that comes their wayContrary to popular belief, orcas are actually pretty picky eaters. Though killer whales may be misunderstood, you definitely shouldn't get a closer look at them.

☆ Powerful solar flare that erupted from a sunspot three times the size of the Earth caused widespread radio blackouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A powerful solar flare exploded on Tuesday, caused by a sunspot three times the size of the Earth. There have been a series of recent space weather events as the sun enters a period of peak activity. A video of the sun taken on May 18 shows a powerful solar flare being released. As the sun becomes more active, it is exhibiting more frequent solar events like solar flares and coronal mass ejections. An X-class solar flare was spotted in March causing radio blackouts in parts of southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

☆ Weather intelligence company aims to revolutionize forecasting with a constellation of radar satellites
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Boston-based Tomorrow.io began as a software company that offered hyper-precise, street-level weather forecasting. The company recently launched Tomorrow-R1, what it claims is the world's first commercially built weather-radar satellite, via SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. Tomorrow.io used proprietary software not just to predict but also to help companies plan for severe weather. The new radar satellite, however, will offer a much broader scope of data. Elkabetz said the company intends to launch more than two dozen of its own satellites over the next two years.

☆ Cyclone Mocha tears into Myanmar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Cyclone Mocha barrels into Myanmar The powerful storm unleashes its fury, disrupting communications in the regionAround midday on Sunday, Cyclone Mocha pummelled western Myanmar and southern Bangladesh. Map shows the path of Cyclone Mocha. It originated in the Bay of Bengal three days before it hit the coast of Myanmar on May 14. Satellite images show Sittwe before and after landfall of Cyclone Mocha, in Myanmar. Myanmar’s coast bore the brunt of the storm surge from Mocha, according to data from the EU’s Joint Research Centre.

☆ If you see a killer whale, 'never enter the water.' What to do during an orca encounter, according to a whale expert.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A whale expert told Khaleej Times you should "never enter the water" if you see a killer whale. There was even one incident where killer whales sank a sailboat. Nigel Killeen / Contributor / Getty ImagesLuckily, there have never been any recorded fatal orca attacks on humans in the wild, Natoli told Khaleej Times. "Try not to approach them from the back or from the front, stay on their side instead," Natoli told Khaleej Times. By contrast, in the United Arab Emirates, Natoli told Khaleej Times that sightings are rare in the region, with only about one every year and a half.

☆ Column: Drive to keep cool kicks off peak US power emissions season
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Around 416 million air conditioner units are estimated to be in use in the U.S., or more than three per household. This results in the U.S. power system having a higher carbon intensity during the summer period than over winter months. Carbon intensity measures the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that is discharged to generate each unit of energy. US power sector emissions seasonallyThat difference in carbon intensity during the summer versus the yearly average is roughly 3%, and so may not appear to be particularly significant. However, given that production of non-emitting solar power peaks during the summer, the fact that power producers must also deploy large volumes of fossil fuels highlights just how much extra power is needed during the air conditioning season.

☆ It’s Been a Warm 2023 for the Eastern U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Talal Ansari | Suryatapa Bhattacharya | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

It was ice cream weather in Washington, D.C., in February. Photo: Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg NewsThe eastern U.S. had a record warm start to the year, according to a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia all had their warmest January to April on record, data from NOAA’s U.S. climate report show. Other Eastern states—Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina and West Virginia—posted their second-warmest period. NOAA and its predecessors have been recording weather data since the 1800s.

☆ Hurricanes of Data: The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Porter Fox | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +35 min

The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea Shortly after dawn on Sept. 30, 2021, Richard Jenkins watched a Category 4 hurricane overrun his life’s work. That August, a sister ship, SD 1031, successfully entered Tropical Storm Henri, but only in its early stages. Hurricane research, modeling and forecasting requires many terabytes of data for every square mile the storm passes through, including vitally important sea-level data from inside a storm. The next day, the depression was upgraded to a tropical storm and officially given the name Sam. And four months later, Tropical Storm Megi killed more than 150, wiped out several villages with landslides and displaced more than a million people.

☆ Loaf-size mission to improve hurricane forecasting is ready to launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A new mission designed to improve hurricane forecasting is ready to launch, just ahead of the June 1 arrival of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season. The NASA mission includes a constellation of CubeSats called TROPICS, or Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats. The launch of this first mission, nicknamed “Rocket Like a Hurricane,” will stream live on NASA’s website and Rocket Lab’s website. Two additional CubeSats, nicknamed “Coming to a Storm Near You,” will launch from the same location later this month. The TROPICS satellites will launch from New Zealand.

☆ Strange, 7-foot-long cannibalistic fish with fangs that live in the deep sea are washing up on the West Coast and scientists don't know why
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Lancetfish live in the deep sea, have fanged jaws and long scaleless bodies, and eat their own. The cannibalistic fish has been washing up on the West Coast, but scientists can't explain why. Video taken in California in 2021 shows a lancetfish flapping its jaw and writhing on the sand. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest on the culture & business of sustainability — delivered weekly to your inbox. The video shows the lancet flapping its fanged jaw and writhing wildly on the sand.

☆ Sick of Bumpy, Delayed Flights? New Weather Tech Could Help.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Julie Weed | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Better data, smarter softwareThe travel industry “cares about getting their weather predictions right because weather affects everything,” said Amy McGovern, director of the National Science Foundation’s A.I. Those better weather predictions rely on a type of artificial intelligence called machine learning, where in essence, a computer program is able to use data to improve itself. In this case, companies create software that uses historical and current weather data to make predictions. In addition, it incorporates satellite and radar reports from sources like the National Weather Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration. Here’s how all this may improve your future trips:Safer and calmer flightsThe skies are getting bumpier.

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