July 2016 Climate Change Headlines
Climate Change And War
Another study has linked climate change to armed conflict. Scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research have found almost a quarter of wars that have broken out in ethnically diverse countries have coincided with an environmental disaster.
Siberia Burns, Seen A Million Miles Away
A blanket of smoke covering parts of Siberia is so huge the Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft can see it from a million miles away. Russia’s boreal forests are one of the world's most important carbon sinks.
Climate Crisis And The Third Pole
While the impact of climate change on the North and South Pole is well-known, the crisis unfolding at the Third Pole isn't - and it could affect the lives of more than 1 billion people.
Australia's New Climate Change Minister - "Mr. Coal"
Australia's new Minister for Environment and Energy is Josh Frydenberg - a man sometimes referred to as "Mr. Coal". Mr. Frydenberg appears to support developing Australia's coal industry and to be somewhat of a climate skeptic.
Climate Records Tumble In 2016
Each month this year has set a record as the warmest globally since modern temperature records began in 1880 according to NASA. January to June was also the warmest half year on record.
Cloning Trees In The Battle Against Climate Change
Trimmings from 3,000 year old giant sequoia trees in California’s Sierra Nevada are being gathered for distribution to other parts of the world where its hoped sequoia forests will spring up and act as carbon dioxide scrubbers.
June Warmest On Record
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports June was the hottest on record and the 14th consecutive month global heat records have been toppled.
Refrigerants Fuel Global Warming
While the discontinuation of CFCs has helped heal the hole in the ozone layer; the refrigerants that replaced them are greenhouse gases with 4,000 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
Climate Change Threatens NZ's Paua
Wild temperatures changes, storm surges and acidic water are all threatening the paua (abalone) in New Zealand. One fishery in the country has already seen the worst paua numbers in recent times.
UK's Department for Energy and Climate Change Abolished
One of Theresa May's first actions as UK Prime Minister has been to abolish the Department for Energy and Climate Change and move its responsibilities to a new Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy; a move that has been described "plain stupid"
UK Not Ready For Climate Change Impacts
A huge report from the Committee on Climate Change says the UK is by no means ready to deal with the extreme heatwaves, increased flooding and water shortages the nation faces. In a worst case scenario, London could see temperatures as high as 48C during heatwave events
Cloud Tops Moving Higher
Storm tracks on Earth are shifting toward the poles, subtropical dry zones are growing larger and cloud tops are moving higher in the atmosphere according to a Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California San Diego-led research team. All of these phenomena confirm climate model predictions.
Sea Grass Species Threatened
Climate change has been name as the biggest threat to Queensland's Gold Coast’s seagrass ecosystems, which help sustain various marine species and stabilise shorelines
Climate Change Death Increase
Climate change will be the culprit behind an additional approximately 250,000 deaths per year between 2030 and 2050 due to malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress according to the World Health Organisation.
Arctic Melting Reached All-Time High
Arctic sea ice in June this year averaged 4.09 million square miles, which was 100,000 square miles less than the previous record low.
Peat Fire Risk Increases
Peat bogs that are drying across the world are becoming increasing flammable, and when they do burn pump further carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Australian Marine Forests Wiped Out
Massive kelp forests in Western Australia have disappeared due to warming waters. An estimated 1000 square kilometres of kelp forest have gone and may never return.
Brexit To Frustrate UK Climate Efforts
UK energy and climate secretary, Amber Rudd, said Brexit will make it more difficult for Britain to fulfil its commitments in tackling climate change
Companies To Cop Climate Change Damages In Kenya
Kenya's 2016 Climate Change Act enables citizens to sue private and public entities that get in the way of efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change.
Adelie Penguins Under Threat
A continuing warming trend in the Antarctic could result in a 30 per cent reduction in Adelie penguin coloniess by 2060 and 60 per cent by 2099.
Climate Change Affecting Inland Fish
Climate change is already impacting North America's inland fish, changing how they reproduce, grow and where they can live. The species most severely impacted are cold water fish.
Climate Change Killed Off Megafauna
A new study of a fossil site in Victoria, Australia has revealed climate change was responsible for mass deaths of megafauna living in the Lancefield region 50,000 years ago - not humans.
May Another Temperature Record Breaker
May 2016 temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was the highest for May in the 1880–2016 record, the 13th consecutive record for the month.
Indo-Pacific Warm Pool Growing
The biggest body of warm water on the planet, the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool, is getting even warmer and bigger; stoking fears of increased sea level rise and storm activity.
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