September 2016 Climate Change News

Australians Warming To Climate Change
77% of Australians believe climate change is occurring, up significantly from 64% four years ago. A majority of Aussies also wants the nation to lead on tackling climate change.

Indian Ocean Sea Level Rise Accelerates
Sea level rise in the northern Indian Ocean over the recent decade was twice as rapid as the global average since 2003 according to researchers from the University of Hawaii Sea Level Center.

Rising Seas Threatens Takuu Atoll
The Takuu group of atolls, north-east of Bouganville Island in Papua New Guinea, have sustained a small community for a thousand years. That community is now under threat from saltwater inundation that is destroying the grounds in which crops are grown.

Climate Change Adaption Gene Found In Trees
Two different types of coniferous trees have been found to use the same small set of genes to rapidly adapt to changes in climate.

Scientists Lash Out At Trump
Presidential hopeful Donald Trump isn't feeling a lot of love from the scientific community at the moment. Nearly 400 scientists from around the world have signed an open letter criticising him for vowing to withdraw from the Paris climate accord

Damsel Fish Face A Stormy, Lonely Future
A coral reef-dwelling fish called the damsel fish becomes stressed when separated from its buddies - and such events could become more prevalent through increased storm activity as a result of climate change.

Climate Chronograph Proposed For Washington DC
As an island built on reclaimed land in Washington DC sinks, water levels rise - the perfect place for a proposed memorial consisting of rows of cherry trees that would die with rising waters and leaving behind trunks that mark the change.

Eucalypts Threatened By Climate Change
Distribution of more than 90 per cent of eucalypt species in Australia could shrink in size by an average of 50 per cent in the next 60 years in a scenario where emissions peak in 2060, resulting in a 3 degrees Celsius temperature rise above pre-industrial levels by 2100.

Carbon Price For Canada's Recalcitrant Provinces
Canada will enforce a carbon price on provinces that do not adequately regulate emissions under their own volition, says the nation's Environment Minister

The "Weirding" Of Canada's Glaciers
A University of Calgary geography professor studying how climate change is affecting Arctic glaciers says researchers are increasingly seeing weird things happening, such as large lakes forming on top of glaciers.

Sarkozy Draws Ire For Climate Comments
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has sparked anger within his own party after suggesting humanity is not responsibility for climate change

Americans Prepared To Spend Little On Climate Change
According to a recent survey, Americans are willing to pay a little more each month to fight global warming - and a little is quite literal - $1.

Climate Change A Security Risk For U.S. Military
Climate change poses a strategically-significant risk the national security of the USA, and inaction is not a viable option according to Washington think-tank, the Center for Climate and Security

Climate Change Increasing  Severe Turbulence
With temperatures changing higher up in the atmosphere as well as on the ground, the odds of encountering turbulence during a flight are increasing says atmospheric scientist Dr Paul Williams.

Yet Another Temperature Record
NASA data indicates last month was the hottest August on record and tied with July as the warmest month globally in the last 136 years.

Climate Change And Crocs
Bindi, Robert and Terri Irwin, family of the late Steve Irwin, are participating in a project to try and determine the impact climate change may have on saltwater crocodiles.

Newtok's Final Days
The class of 2016 could be one of the last to graduate from the school in Newtok, Alaska. Water could reach the school next year and as it's the highest point in the village; it doesn't bode well for other infrastructure.

Before The Flood, Before The Election
Leonardo DiCaprio has brought forward the release of his new documentary on climate change in the hope it will influence voters in the upcoming US elections.

Fishing Industries To Take $10 Billion Hit
Researchers at the University of British Colombia say fisheries around the world could be earning $10 billion less each year as a result of the impacts of climate change.

Europe's Hottest September Day?
A temperature of 46.4°C that occurred in Spain a few days ago may be the the hottest temperature ever observed anywhere in Europe during the month of September.

Louisiana Deluge Exacerbated By Climate Change
Chances of events like last month's flooding disaster in the US state of Louisiana occurring the region has increased over time states a new study, with an increase in odds of at least 40 percent but most likely 100 percent.

Pistachio Nut Supply Threatened
Ongoing droughts in Iran have resulted in some pistachio farms wiped out and others on the brink of collapse - and the situation will only get worse as the world warms and agricultural water supplies dwindle.

Australia - The Pacific Pariah
Wesley Morgan, a lecturer in Politics and International Affairs, The University of the South Pacific, says Australia’s ongoing love affair with digging up coal while hanging back on climate change action has it increasingly put it at odds with world opinion. 

Asian Typhoons Intensifying
Typhoons wreaking havoc in a number of Asian nations have grown 50% stronger in the past four decades due to warming seas - and will only become stronger.

Climate Change Skepticism Is Over - Ban Ki Moon
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says that the debate over climate phenomenon is over, scientifically and environmentally, and praised the USA and China for committing to ratify the Paris Agreement.

Climate Change - The Minority Report
Two dissenting members of Australia's Climate Change Authority have published a minority report in response to what they say are major flaws in the CCA report released last week. 

Paris Agreement Remains Contentious For India
While China and the USA may have taken the plunge, India remains hesistant on the Paris agreement and is looking for greater flexibility. It remains unlike the country will ratify the climate agreement by the end of this year.

USA To Ratify Paris Agreement
Hard on the heels of China's announcement, US President Barack Obama has also agreed to ratify the Paris climate change agreement, saying it may be remembered as the moment we finally decided to save our planet.

China Ratifies Climate Change Agreement
The standing committee of China's National People's Congress has voted to ratify the Paris Agreement; joining 23 other nations before it. China is currently responsible for around 20% of global greenhouse emissions, although it should be kept in mind the nation is the "factory of the world".

The New Battle Of The Midway
The Battle Of The Midway was one of World War 2's decisive engagements. Now a new war is being waged on the tiny atoll, with one battlefront being climate change.

Greenhouse Effect - Setting The Record Straight
Irish physicist John Tyndall is often credited with detailing the greenhouse effect in 1859, however it appears Eunice Foote demonstrated the heat-trapping properties of carbon dioxide at a scientific conference in 1856.

Melting Ice Reveals The World's Oldest Fossils
Stromatolites fossils estimated to 3.7 billion years old were recently discovered in Greenland after being exposed by melting ice - one of the few benefits of climate change.

Population Pressures And Climate Change
Population growth will add extra pressure on climate targets in the years ahead. The population of Africa alone could reach 2.5 billion by 2050, approximately the world's total population in late 1945.

Earth Warming At Unprecedented Rate
NASA has warned the planet is warming at a rate not experienced within the past 1,000 years; with global averages this year reaching 1.38C higher than the 19th Century