July 2012 climate change headlines and global warming news

July 31 - India's monsoon a fizzer so far
The United States isn't the only country in the grips of a dangerous dry spell. India is in the middle of its monsoon season, but so far rainfall is just a fifth below average levels and in some regions, as much as seventy percent less; causing grief for local farmers. Read more. 

July 29 - Conversion of a climate skeptic
Richard A. Muller, a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, outlines his conversion from climate change skeptic in terms of what was driving global warming, to his belief that humans are almost entirely the cause. Read more.

July 28 - Canada halfway to (diluted) emissions targets.
Rumour has it that when Environment Canada releases its next update on greenhouse gas emissions trends, the report will show  Canada is close to 50 per cent of the way towards meeting its 2020 goal under the Copenhagen Accord, which is less than under Kyoto. However, how Canada's massive and emissions intensive tar sands  figures in is unknown. Read more.
 
July 25 - 97% of Greenland ice sheet experienced melt
A huge area of Greenland's ice sheet experienced some degree of melt this year according to NASA. Events of this magnitude occur every 150 years or so, with the last being in 1889 - the question is, how long until the next one? Read more.

July 24 - Beijing's fatal deluge
A rainstorm in Beijing, the heaviest the city has seen in 60 years, has claimed 37 lives caused over a billion dollars in damage and affected 1.9 million people. Read more

July 23 - Millions without power in the US.
Severe weather has killed at least 22 people and cut electricity supplies to 2 million people in the USA and another threat - high temperatures - is just making matters worse. Read more.

July 22 - Why we aren't acting fast enough on climate
Describing it as problem that couldn't be a worse fit for our underlying psychology, the director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication says inaction on climate change comes down to the way our brains are wired. Read more.

July 20 - China's per capita carbon footprint growing
The average Chinese person's carbon footprint is now almost equal with that of Europeans - 7.2 tonnes per person annually in China, compared with 7.5 in the EU. While China may be the factory of the world and a substantial amount of its emissions involved with production for export; it will now have a harder time in using the "developing nation" argument in relation to action on reining in emissions. Read more.

July 19 - (Another) huge iceberg is born.
A massive iceberg around double the size of Manhattan has broken off the Petermann Glacier in Greenland; the second mega-berg to be calved from the glacier in the last two years. Read more.

July 16 - Tornadoes pummel Poland
Since the beginning of July, Poland has been battered by hailstorms, gales, flash flooding - and now tornadoes. In a very rare event in the country, a series of tornadoes have wreaked havoc and killed one person. Read more.

July 14 - Climate change a possible factor in major landslide
A landslide on a glacier in Alaska was massive enough to register as 3.4 magnitude on earthquake monitors. There has been a noticeable increase in the number of major landslides in the region over the past few years. The cause of this event and perhaps others may have been thawing permafrost. Read more.

July 13 - Climate change could empty Australian outback towns
A recent report states entire towns in Australia's outback could be depopulated unless residents take decisive steps to buffer themselves against the effects of climate change. Read more.

July 12 - Experts link extreme weather to climate change
It seems like a small step, but it's a huge leap. A peer-reviewed report compiled by hundreds of scientists has formally acknowledged that climate change may have had an impact on recent severe weather events. Read more.

July 10 - Just the beginning
While news reports are comfortable in using the term "extreme weather", the connection of such events to climate change is consistently ignored - and it's this aversion that may result in real climate action not being taken fast enough says Amy Goodman. Read more.

July 9 - Climate change not bad for everyone (yet)
It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good they say and it seems a series of fickle monsoon seasons in the Indian state of  Pattambi has helped vegetable cultivation. Favorable conditions are also proving a boon for reforestation efforts. Read more.

July 6 - Over half of US in drought
Just shy of 56 percent of the contiguous United States are experiencing drought conditions, with little relief in sight. Around 8.64 percent of the country would currently meet criteria for either extreme or exceptional drought. Read more.

July 6 - Severe weather events alter climate change views
USA residents' perceptions are beginning to change as they experience severe weather they believe is directly attributable to climate change says National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco. Read more

July 5 - More US weather records tumble. 
More than 3,200 daily high temperature records were set or tied in the USA in June, with more records already broken in July. 164 all-time high temperature records were set or tied during during June. Read more.

July 5 - Small volcanic eruptions may affect climate.
It's often posed that human activities can't have much impact on the climate as the Earth is a rather large place, but given even small volcanic eruptions may have a big impact on global climate, it's not difficult to argue otherwise. Read more.

July 5 - Climate change wiped out coral reefs previously
For a view of the future of coral reefs, we only need to look to the past. Around 4,000 years ago, climate change drove coral reefs to a total ecosystem collapse that lasted around 2,500 years. Read more.