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☆ Cloud seeding probably didn't cause Dubai's floods. The UAE has been trying to control its weather for years, and the US does it too.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Photos show how the UAE, United States, and other countries have been seeding clouds for decades. Historic floods in Dubai didn't come from cloud seeding, but humans' climate impacts are playing a role. Related storiesAccording to several scientists, cloud seeding isn't the driving force behind Dubai's historic floods. Packets of salt are pictured during a cloud seeding operation at a military airbase in Subang, Malaysia. The real threat behind Dubai's floodsMany atmospheric scientists have dismissed the idea that cloud seeding was behind Dubai's floods.

Persons: GIUSEPPE CACACE, Getty, Prometheus, Frankenstein —, Thomas Peipert, Al Hayer, Amr Alfiky, Andrea DiCenzo, Lim Huey Teng, there'd, Friederike Otto, John Marsham, Jeff Big Jeff, Gary Coronado, Marsham, Fred Greaves, Otto Organizations: Dubai didn't, Service, United Arab Emirates, United Arab, UAE, Reuters, National Center of Meteorology, United, UAE's National, of Meteorology, Militia, Imperial College London, Science Media, SMC, University of Leeds, Los Angeles Times, Getty, UAE isn't, National Park Service, AP Locations: UAE, United States, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Rocky, Lyons , Colorado, China, Australia, Al Ain, Utah, Dongkou county, Shaoyang, Hunan province, Subang, Malaysia, Bannon, Sacramento, , California, California's Sacramento County

☆ Space garbage hits Florida home, NASA confirms
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A piece of garbage jettisoned from the International Space Station unexpectedly survived a fiery reentry from orbit last month and pierced the roof of a home in Florida, according to NASA. Garbage disposal in spaceNASA routinely brings home batches of science experiments, cargo and garbage from the space station using capsules such as the Dragon spacecraft built by SpaceX. But after the installation of new batteries on the space station in 2021, authorities disposed of a pallet of aging nickel-hydrogen batteries in a different way. But the debris that struck Otero’s house was the result of miscalculations about how space garbage would behave. The space agency should be more conservative in its analysis if it attempts a similar trash disposal method in the future, he added.

Persons: ” Alejandro Otero, Otero, ” Otero, “ I’m, Otero’s, John Crassidis, ” Crassidis Organizations: CNN, International, NASA, WINK News, Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX, European Space Agency, ESA, China National Space Administration, University, Buffalo’s School of Engineering, Applied Locations: Florida, Naples , Florida, China

☆ US Navy warships shot down Iranian missiles with a weapon they've never used in combat before
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US Navy warships fired SM-3s to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles last weekend. AdvertisementUS Navy warships used a missile interceptor for the first time in combat over the weekend as they defended Israel from an unprecedented Iranian attack. AdvertisementA developmental Standard Missile-3, designed to intercept short to medium-ranged ballistic missile threats, is launched from the Pearl Harbor-based Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie. There are multiple SM-3 variants, which can be fired from a Navy warship's vertical launching system, and the Block I interceptors were first fielded nearly 20 years ago. US Central Command said American forces, specifically, destroyed more than 80 drones and at least six ballistic missiles.

Persons: Navy Carlos Del Toro, —, Del Toro, Arleigh Burke, Carney, Del Toro's, Thomas Hudner, Kerri Kline, CENTCOM, Iran's Organizations: Navy, Service, Aegis, Getty, Combat, for Strategic, International Studies, Missile Defense, US Navy, Mass Communications, Central Command, American Locations: Israel, American, Tehran, Iran, Lake Erie, East

☆ Coral bleaching: Ocean heat is driving a mass bleaching event, and it could be the worst on record
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Rebecca Wright | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Coral reefs around the world are experiencing a mass bleaching event as the climate crisis drives record-breaking ocean heat, two scientific bodies announced Monday — with some experts warning this could become the worst bleaching period in recorded history. If ocean temperatures don’t return to normal, bleaching can lead to mass coral death, threatening the species and food chains that rely on them with collapse. Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, a climate scientist specializing in coral reefs based at the University of Queensland in Australia, predicted this mass bleaching event months ago. In February, scientists at the Coral Reef Watch program at NOAA added three new alert levels to the coral bleaching alert maps, to enable scientists to assess the new scale of underwater warming. Bex Wright/CNNIn mid-February, CNN witnessed extensive coral bleaching on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef – the world’s largest coral reef system – on five different reefs spanning the northern and southern areas.

Persons: ” Derek Manzello, Ove Hoegh, “, Guldberg, ”, Lillian Suwanrumpha, Niña, El, Manzello, ” Manzello, Lady Elliot, Bex Wright, Selina Stead, ” Stead, David Ritter Organizations: CNN, Atlantic, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Reef, Reef Watch, Pacific, University of Queensland, NOAA, Getty, Niña, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Park Authority, AIMS, UN, Greenpeace Locations: Pacific, Florida, Caribbean, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Persian Gulf, Indonesia, Africa, Seychelles, Raja Ampat, Indonesia's West Papua, AFP, El, Lady, Greenpeace Australia

☆ The Widest-Ever Global Coral Crisis Will Hit Within Weeks, Scientists Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Catrin Einhorn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The world’s coral reefs are in the throes of a global bleaching event caused by extraordinary ocean temperatures, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and international partners announced Monday. It is the fourth such global event on record and is expected to affect more reefs than any other. Bleaching occurs when corals become so stressed that they lose the symbiotic algae they need to survive. Bleached corals can recover, but if the water surrounding them is too hot for too long, they die. The economic value of the world’s coral reefs has been estimated at $2.7 trillion annually.

Organizations: National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration

☆ Three Greenhouse Gases, Three All-Time Highs
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( David Gelles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They’re all the product of global warming, which is being driven by the release of the three most important heat-trapping gases: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. And according to a new study from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, emissions of those three greenhouse gases continued to surge last year to historic highs. Global average carbon dioxide concentrations jumped last year, “extending the highest sustained rate of CO2 increases” in NOAA’s 65 years of record-keeping. All this despite a wave of global policy measures and economic incentives designed to wean the world off fossil fuels. In each case, the rising emissions continued a long-term trend.

Persons: “, ” Organizations: National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA Locations: NOAA’s

☆ Vancouver Island: Rescuers work to save orphaned orca calf stranded in a remote lagoon
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Sara Smart | Zoe Sottile | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A team of rescuers are working to save an orca calf that has been stranded for nearly two weeks in a remote lagoon on Vancouver Island, off the west coast of Canada. Cottrell explained crews have tried multiple methods to get the calf to leave the lagoon on its own, including “acoustic playbacks” – playing the sounds of other orca whales. Moving the orca calf “will require a lot of patience as well as cooperation from the whale,” Bay Cetology added. This isn’t the first time officials in Canada have strategized to rescue a solitary and stranded orca calf. In 2002, an orca calf who came to be named Springer was spotted alone in Puget Sound, prompting an extensive capture and relocation effort.

Persons: CNN —, ” Paul Cottrell, Cottrell, –, Simon John said, Hunter ”, John, “, ” Cottrell, “ We’re, ”, Orcas –, Springer Organizations: CNN, Fisheries, Oceans, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Puget Sound Locations: Vancouver, Canada, Oceans Canada, Esperanza, Zeballos

☆ Opinion: NASA was America’s crown jewel. After the Columbia disaster it was never quite the same
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Opinion Douglas Brinkley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Space Shuttle Columbia launches from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003. Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:39 a.m. The environmentally controlled chamber was mated to Space Shuttle Columbia for access into the orbiter. NASA Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003. Students and staff of the Shoshone-Bannock High School had an experiment on board Space Shuttle Columbia.

Persons: Douglas Brinkley, Katherine Tsanoff, John F, Kennedy, ”, Douglas Brinkley Moore Huffman, Nancy Currie, Gregg, Scott Andrews, NASA's, Michael P, Anderson, William C, McCool, Rick D, David M, Brown, Laurel, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla, Joe Skipper, Karl Ronstrom, Ramon, NASA Chawla, Clark, Chawla, Robert Giroux, Kathryn O'Neill, Zachary, Brett Coomer, Florida Sen, Bill Nelson, Matt Stroshane, Tommy Peltier, Eric Gay, Smiley, Gene Theriot, Sean O'Keefe, George W, Bush, Ron Dittemore, Joe Cavaretta, O'Keefe, Mannie Garcia, NASA Sandy Anderson, Carlos Noriega, Michael L, Coats, Evelyn Husband, Thomas, John Raoux, Glenn Benson, Kim Shiflett, Sean O’Keefe, Jeff Bezos, Lockheed Martin, Sir Richard Branson, “ Organizations: Rice University, CNN, Shuttle Columbia, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, Russian Space Agency, Russia, United Arab, Challenger, Columbia, Space, Space Shuttle Columbia, Kennedy Space Center, Reuters Space Shuttle Columbia, Scott Andrews People, Control Center, Getty, NASA Space, Israeli Air Force, Space Shuttle, Red Team, Blue Team, Johnson Space Center, Former, Houston, Houston Chronicle, People, US Navy Corps, Columbia Reconstruction, NASA Workers, Astronauts Memorial Foundation, Reuters, Bannock, Bannock Junior, Senior, Bannock High School, Johnson Space, Shuttle, Investigation, Elon, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Boeing, Lockheed, Virgin Galactic, JFK Locations: China, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Columbia, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Houston, Israel, SPACEHAB, New York, Laguna Hills , California, San Augustine , Texas, Washington ,, Shoshone, Fort Hall , Idaho, American

☆ ‘Alarming’ Ocean Temperatures Suggest This Hurricane Season Will Be a Daunting One
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Judson Jones | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A key area of the Atlantic Ocean where hurricanes form is already abnormally warm, much warmer than an ideal swimming pool temperature of about 80 degrees and on the cusp of feeling more like warm bathtub water. These conditions were described by Benjamin Kirtman, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Miami, as “unprecedented,” “alarming” and an “out-of-bounds anomaly.” Combined with the rapidly subsiding El Niño weather pattern, it is leading to mounting confidence among forecasting experts that there will be an exceptionally high number of storms this hurricane season. One such expert, Phil Klotzbach, a researcher at Colorado State University, said in his team’s annual forecast on Thursday that they expected a remarkably busy season of 23 named storms, including 11 hurricanes — five of them potentially reaching major status, meaning Category 3 or higher. In a typical season, there are 14 named storms with seven hurricanes and three of them major. Dr. Klotzbach said there was a “well above-average probability” that at least one major hurricane would make landfall along the United States and in the Caribbean.

Persons: Benjamin Kirtman, Phil Klotzbach, Klotzbach Organizations: University of Miami, Colorado State University Locations: United States, Caribbean

☆ Richard Benedick, Negotiator of Landmark Ozone Treaty, Dies at 88
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Trip Gabriel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A May 1985 report in the journal Nature was alarming. High above Antarctica, a massive hole had opened in the ozone shield that protects life on earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. The finding confirmed what scientists had warned of since the 1970s: Atmospheric ozone was being broken down by the wide use of chlorofluorocarbons, chemicals known as CFCs, which were found in aerosol sprays, refrigeration and air conditioning. Just over two years later, dozens of nations meeting in Montreal signed an agreement to significantly reduce CFCs, which the Environmental Protection Agency estimated would prevent 27 million deaths from skin cancers. “This is perhaps the most historically significant international environmental agreement,” Richard E. Benedick, the chief United States negotiator, said at the time.

Persons: ” Richard E Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency Locations: Antarctica, Montreal, States

☆ Chasing the eclipse with sounding rockets and high-altitude planes
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

NASA will launch sounding rockets and WB-57 high-altitude planes to conduct research on aspects of the sun and Earth that‘s only possible during an eclipse. During the 2017 eclipse that crossed the US, NASA and other space agencies conducted observations using 11 different spacecraft and two high-altitude planes. Three sounding rockets will launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on April 8 to study the eclipse. During the 2023 annular eclipse, instruments on the rockets measured sharp, immediate changes in the ionosphere. The jets have custom noses that can carry specialized scientific instruments.

Persons: Bill Stafford, Albert Einstein’s, Einstein, Sir Arthur Eddington, Allison Stancil, Barjatya, ” Barjatya, Peter Layshock, Amir Caspi, Layshock, ” Caspi Organizations: CNN, NASA, International Space, Embry, Riddle Aeronautical University, WB, NASA Airborne Science, Johnson Space Center, Southwest Research Locations: Mexico, United States, Canada, Brazil, West Africa, Virginia, Daytona Beach , Florida, Houston, Boulder , Colorado

☆ Ocean scientists shocked by Biden’s budget request that slashes data funding
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Its data is used in everything from hurricane forecasting and fisheries to Coast Guard search and rescue – IOOS data can help the Coast Guard narrow down a search area by two-thirds. Despite President Joe Biden’s ambitious climate goals, his recent budget proposal would slash the program’s funding from $42.5 million to $10 million. Ocean data collection is “the only way we can really understand what is happening,” said Kristen Yarincik, executive director of the IOOS Association, the nonprofit that works with NOAA collecting data. IOOS has added 97 water level stations along the coasts of the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida in the last few years. “At least half of the water level sensor network would be compromised with this funding cut.”

Persons: –, Joe Biden’s, Trump, ”, Gerhard Kuska, ” Kuska, Scott Smullen, Kristen Yarincik, ” Yarincik, “, Ellen Prager, IOOS, “ We’re, Debra Hernandez, Hernandez, ” Hernandez Organizations: CNN, Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Coast Guard, White, Office of Management, NOAA, IOOS Association Locations: megastorms, Carolinas, Georgia, Florida

The potential for damaging weather is ramping up Monday, with more than 50 million people at risk for severe storms from Texas to Virginia. Damaging thunderstorms will reach their peak in the late afternoon and evening in the Plains, but this won’t be the case for areas farther east. A Level 2 of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms includes portions of the Midwest and Ohio Valley Monday. Tuesday: Severe storm system shifts eastCNN WeatherThe severe thunderstorm threat will march east on Tuesday and include areas from the Gulf Coast through the Ohio Valley. A Level 3 of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms is in place Tuesday from northern Alabama to southern Ohio.

Persons: Louis, Flood, Sara Smart Organizations: CNN, California's, Caltrans, Storm Prediction, ., . Dallas , Oklahoma, Midwest, Ohio, Research, Maryland, New Locations: United States, Texas, Virginia, California, Sur, Indiana, . Dallas ,, . Dallas , Oklahoma City, St, baseballs, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Gulf, Ohio, Alabama, Nashville, Louisville , Kentucky, Great Lakes, Chicago, Michigan, Wisconsin, White, Adirondack, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia

☆ The upcoming solar eclipse will cause shallow, cumulus clouds to disappear. Researchers explain why
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Ayurella Horn-Muller | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

That’s at least what scientists expect to take place in swaths of Mexico, Canada and the United States during April 8’s total solar eclipse. They discovered that cumulus clouds dissipate during eclipses because of the relationship between solar radiation and the formation processes of the clouds. Shallow cumulus clouds, in particular, serve a critical function. But what exactly shallow cumulus clouds’ role is when it comes to the rapidly warming climate remains a long-standing subject of uncertainty in the scientific community. De Roode hopes those across North America gearing up for the next solar eclipse remember to keep an eye out for any vanishing low-lying cumulus clouds.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Victor Trees, Jake Gristey, Gristey, “, Kevin Knupp, Knupp, Stephan de Roode, de Roode, ” de Roode, ’ Gristey, De Roode, Ayurella, Muller Organizations: CNN, Environment, geoscience, Delft University of Technology, cumulus, Cooperative Institute for Research, Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Alabama, Climate Locations: Mexico, Canada, United States, Netherlands, Africa, Huntsville, North America, Axios

☆ The home insurance market is crumbling. These owners are paying the price
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Courtesy Victoria ZangaraIn the past, acquiring or keeping homeowners’ insurance didn’t present much of a problem. There was roughly a 10% to 12% increase in homeowners’ insurance costs last year in the United States, said Mark Friedlander, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, a nonprofit industry association. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty ImagesHomeowners who have a mortgage are not able to go without homeowners insurance as their mortgage servicer will require an escrow account for insurance. Some 6 million homeowners chose to forgo homeowners insurance, according to a report from the Consumer Federation of America. They have lived in their home for 19 years and had a policy with Foremost Insurance, paying about $1,910 a year.

Persons: Alfredo Herrera, Herrera, Zangara, “, ”, ” Herrera, policyholders, Mark Friedlander, Neil Fernandes, Fernandes, David Swanson, Matthew Carletti, Jim Watson, Diana Troxell, Diana Wright Troxell, Bruce, ” CNN’s Ella Nilsen Organizations: New, New York CNN, Louisiana Citizens, ”, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Louisiana State University, Insurance Information Institute, Farmers Insurance, Farmers, AAA, CNN, Firefighters, Reuters, State, Citizens Property Insurance, JMP Securities, Getty, Homeowners, Consumer Federation of America, CFA, Social Security, Foremost Insurance, California FAIR, FAIR Locations: New York, New Orleans, City, Louisiana, New Orleans , Louisiana, America, United States, Santa Clarita , California, California, Florida, Sycamore, Whittier , California, AFP, Cottonwood , California, ‘

Since 1979, global heat waves are moving 20% more slowly — meaning more people stay hot longer — and they are happening 67% more often, according to a study in Friday's Science Advances. The study found the highest temperatures in the heat waves are warmer than 40 years ago and the area under a heat dome is larger. From 1979 to 1983, global heat waves would last eight days on average, but by 2016 to 2020 that was up to 12 days, the study said. Eurasia was especially hit harder with longer lasting heat waves, the study said. “Those heat waves are traveling slower and so slower so that basically means that ... there's a heat wave sitting there and those heat waves could stay longer in the region," Zhang said.

Persons: Wei Zhang of, Gabriel Lau, ”, Lawrence, Michael Wehner, Zhang, Kathy Jacobs, Jennifer Francis, ” ___ Read, Seth Borenstein Organizations: Wei Zhang of Utah State University, Princeton University, North, Lawrence Berkeley, Lab, University of Arizona, Climate Research, Associated Press Locations: Eurasia, Africa, North America, Australia, AP.org

“The tankers and cargo ships of 1950 aren’t the tankers and cargo ships of today,” said James Salmon, a spokesman for the Delaware River and Bay Authority. “It’s going to do a number on them,” he said of a modern ship and the hazard it poses to a bridge like the one in Baltimore. Image The new bridge ship collision protection system project on the Delaware Memorial Bridge will install eight stone-filled “dolphin” cylinders, each measuring 80 feet in diameter. Credit... Delaware River and Bay AuthorityThe situation with the Key Bridge is “unique,” said Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which represents state transportation departments. A protection system was subsequently built around the new pier.

Persons: ”, James Salmon, Francis Scott Key, Michael Rubino, don’t, Joseph Ahlstrom, It’s, “ It’s, Dali, hurtled, Jim Tymon, ” John Snyder, Pete Buttigieg, “, Paul, Gerald Desmond Bridge, Matt Gresham, Joong Kim, Michael Forsythe Organizations: Bay Authority, Port, SUNY Maritime College, New York State, American Association of State, Transportation, National Transportation Safety, Sunshine Skyway, Administration, Baltimore Sun, Union, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Liberty University Locations: Delaware, Bay, Baltimore, Port of Los Angeles, . Delaware, Maryland, Tampa Bay, Tampa, U.S, Minnesota, Union Pacific, St, New York, Bayonne, New Jersey, Staten Island, Long Beach, Calif, New Orleans, Mississippi, Port of New Orleans

☆ It's been four years since the market's Covid low with the S&P 500 returning 25% annualized since
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The four-year total return for the S & P 500 since March 23, 2020, is just about 150%, or 25.7% annualized. .SPX mountain 2020-03-23 S & P 500 since the Covid low This is, of course, an idealized starting point from which to measure performance. While the S & P 500 bottomed at around a three-year low under 2,200, the index spent only a few weeks under 2,500. More qualitatively, it's a bull market, and in a bull market the overshoots occur to the upside, so a rally being "ahead of itself" is not fatal. And the S & P 500 is only 9% higher than it was more than two years ago, hardly reaching escape velocity from planet Sanity.

Persons: –, Warren, Ned Davis, Tim Hayes, bullishness, Rocky White Organizations: HSBC, 3Fourteen, Bank of Japan, Fed, Ned Davis Research, Schaeffer's Investment Research, Intelligence, Bank of America

☆ Why your favorite summer fruits are increasingly at risk
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | Elisa Raffa | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Peach trees are blooming at Jaemor Farms in Alto, Georgia, this week. Owner Drew Echols, a fifth-generation farmer, said it has become harder to predict when fruits like the iconic Georgia peaches would start blooming. Blooming peach trees are seen alongside a covered field of strawberries at Jaemor Farms in Alto, Georgia, on March 19, 2024. The fruits begin to bloom as temperatures warm, but when a cold spell comes back, they become susceptible to damage. Fruits like peaches, strawberries, mangoes and plums typically reach their peak ripeness during the summer months.

Persons: Drew Echols, he’s, ” Echols, “ You’re, Meridith Edwards, Echols, ” Louise Ferguson, Davis, Ferguson, Dorothy Suput, Ben Clark, Lane Turner, Benjamin Cook, ” Cook, ” Ferguson, Doug Engle, Suput, ” Suput, “, ” Organizations: CNN, University of California, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Croatan Institute, Boston Globe, Columbia University, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, University of Florida, Science Research, Unit, Ocala Star Banner, USA Locations: Alto , Georgia, Georgia, Boston, New Hampshire, Ocala, New England

☆ Global ocean heat has been at record levels every single day for the last year
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

But he added that the records were unsurprising, given that ocean heat is being supercharged by human-caused global warming, a series of marine heatwaves and El Niño, a natural climate pattern marked by higher-than-average ocean temperatures. Global ocean warmth can add more power to hurricanes and other extreme weather events, including scorching heat waves and intense rainfall. Ocean heat sets the stage for more ferocious hurricanes. “Measuring ocean warming allows us to track the status and evolution of planetary warming,” Schuckmann told CNN. But, she added, it’s currently impossible to predict when ocean heat will drop below record levels.

Persons: ”, Joel Hirschi, El, Karina von Schuckmann, Brian McNoldy, ” Hirschi, ” Schuckmann, it’s, Derek Van Dam Organizations: CNN, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, University of Maine’s, National Oceanography, University of Miami Rosenstiel School Locations: Australia, France

☆ A California superbloom is springing to life and the best is yet to come
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Mary Gilbert | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —California will soon be decorated with a rainbow of wildflowers after drenching winter rain set the stage for a spectacular spring superbloom. The phenomenon isn’t unique to California; wildflowers can paint parched desert landscapes, mountains and grasslands in Arizona and Nevada, too, but some of the most dense and therefore spectacular displays are found in Southern California. David McNew/Getty Images/FileBut there’s hope for another brilliant superbloom following the wet winter, Meyer said. Desert sand verbena and dune evening primrose wildflowers bloom in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park's Coyote Canyon on Thursday, March 14. “We don’t know as of yet if it’s going to be a good year for the poppies, given the rain,” Turner cautioned.

Persons: ”, Evan Meyer, Theodore Payne, Meyer, “, ” Meyer, David McNew, Callista Turner, Danny L, ” Turner, Turner, – Organizations: CNN, Theodore Payne Foundation, Natural Reserve, Poppy, California State Parks Locations: California, Southern California, Southern, Meyer, Arizona, Nevada, Carrizo, McKittrick , California, Anza, Desert, Palm Springs, Chino Hills, Anaheim, Elk, Santa Barbara, Antelope, Death, Los Angeles

☆ Ukraine drones attack multiple oil refineries in the campaign against Russia's strategic energy industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine attacked another Russian oil refinery on Saturday night. AdvertisementA long week of attacks on oil and gas infrastructureThis past week, Ukraine has made a concerted effort to degrade Russia's oil production capabilities. The governor of Russia's Samara Oblast reported on March 16 that Ukrainian drones had attacked two Rosneft oil refineries. One attack had hit another major oil refinery operated by Lukoil in the southwestern Volgograd region. Similar incidents had occurred across Russia in January, hitting the Slavneft-Yanos oil refinery, an oil refinery in Tuapse, a storage facility in Klintsy, and a Baltic sea Ust-Luga terminal.

Persons: —, Ukrainska, Russia's, Andriy Yermak, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelensky, Краснодарському кра РосВдео Organizations: Bloomberg, Service, Business, Astra, Ukrainska Pravda, Security Services, Security Service, Stringer, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Reuters, Staff, Lukoil, НПЗ Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Krasnodar, Moscow, Russia, Russia's Samara Oblast, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Leningrad, Lukoil's Norsi, Russia's Belgorod, Norsi, Ukrainian, Volgograd, Tuapse, Klintsy, Baltic

☆ Astronomers discover a possible water world in the search for a habitable planet, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But a Canadian research group said the planet is likely too hot for liquid water. Related storiesA liquid ocean is the preferred premise set out in a paper published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Tea Temim (Princeton University)The James Webb telescope has played a key role in advancing the search for habitable planets beyond Earth. AdvertisementOne key that scientists look for in a potentially habitable planet is the presence of liquid water. Planets in this zone are neither too hot nor too cold to support liquid water.

Persons: NASA's James Webb, —, Nikku, Madhusudhan, Björn Benneke, Temim, James Webb Organizations: Guardian, Service, University of Cambridge, NASA, Astrophysics, Cambridge, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, ESA, CSA, Princeton University Locations: TOI

☆ New map shows just how extreme last month was for the planet
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Unusually warm oceans. Low snow cover in North America and record low levels of Antarctic sea ice. The map shows the world’s most significant “climate anomalies,” or weather events that were unexpected for this time of year. The Northern Hemisphere also experienced an unusually warm winter. Correction: A previous version of this story misstated how low Antarctic sea ice was last month.

Organizations: CNN, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Northern, North Locations: North America, Antarctica, Great, Europe, Ecuador, Madagascar, Africa

What’s the Cloud Outlook for Eclipse Day? If you have an eclipse-viewing destination in mind, enter it in the box below to see average cloud cover in the past. For those in the United States, Texas has the lowest chance of cloud cover at about 45 percent. Where you go in Texas may matter, too — historical cloud cover in Dallas is no better than it is in Cleveland. They were able to see the total eclipse for almost five minutes.

Persons: Fred Espenak, Chris O’Byrne, It’s, Jay Anderson, “ It’s, Mr, Anderson, ” Mr Organizations: Cloud Outlook, Eclipse, NASA Locations: United States, Canada, Mexico, United States , Texas, Texas, Dallas, Cleveland, Canadian, China, Shanghai, Winnipeg

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