Climate

Government criticised over list of potential countries for sourcing biomass, which also includes Afghanistan

A plan by the British government to burn biomass imported from countries including North Korea and Afghanistan has been described as “bonkers”, with critics saying it undermines the credibility of the UK’s climate strategy.

A bioenergy resource model, published in late summer, calculates that only a big expansion in the import of energy crops and wood from a surprising list of nations would satisfy the UK’s plan to meet net zero.

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Es un problema relativamente raro, pero el riesgo es real. Esto es lo que tienes que saber.

We need to be honest about what has become the most expensive and deadly kind of natural disaster in the United States.

How did Hurricane Milton, and Hurricane Helene before it, get so strong, so fast? Raymond Zhong, a reporter focusing on climate and environmental issues for The New York Times, explains.

E.V. batteries that are submerged in saltwater can catch fire after the floods subside, but experts say it’s a rarity.

While Florida residents are being told to flee before the hurricane makes landfall, it may not be possible for all

On 7 October, as Hurricane Milton was just days away from making landfall in Tampa, Florida, the city’s mayor Jane Castor issued a dire warning to residents in evacuation zones: “If you choose to stay … you are going to die.”

But leaving one’s home to avoid the category 5 hurricane is not possible for everyone.

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Analysis shows Gulf’s heat that worsened Helene 200-500 times more likely because of human-caused global heating

As Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida, fueled by a record-hot Gulf of Mexico, a new analysis has shown how the Gulf’s heat that worsened last month’s Hurricane Helene was 200 to 500 times more likely because of human-caused global heating.

Helene, one of the deadliest storms in US history, gathered pace over the Gulf before crashing ashore with 140mph winds.

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IEA says faster clean energy rollout being led by solar power in China with country set to boast half of world’s renewables by 2030

China is expected to account for almost 60% of all renewable energy capacity installed worldwide between now and 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.

The IEA’s highly influential renewable energy report found that over the next six years renewable energy projects will roll out at three times the pace of the previous six years, led by the clean energy programmes of China and India.

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The Joides Resolution has contributed to our understanding of climate crisis, the origin of life, earthquakes and eruptions. But funding cuts mean it may have sailed its last expedition

In the early summer of this year, a ship set sail around the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. But this wasn’t any ordinary ship. For almost 40 years the Joides Resolution drilled into the ocean floor to collect samples and data that helped scientists to study Earth’s history and structure. Expeditions on the vessel have made a vital contribution to our understanding of the climate crisis, the tectonic plates theory, the origin of life on Earth and natural hazards such as earthquakes and eruptions. Yet the two-month voyage around Svalbard was to be its last.

The National Science Foundation (NSF), the US agency that provided scientists at Texas A&M University with funds for the ship, announced last year it would not give money for the drilling vessel past September 2024. It was a declaration that shocked the global scientific community and meant that Svalbard would be the ship’s final outing.

The vibration isolated television is attached to the drillpipe and is used to image the seafloor before drilling begins. Photograph: Lisa Crowder/IODP JRSO

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John Morales, who has forecast weather for decades, went viral after choking up on air while discussing Hurricane Milton.

Dado que las olas de calor en el mar aumentan con el cambio climático, cabe esperar frecuentes episodios de intensificación rápida.

In cooler times, a similarly rare storm over the Southeast would have delivered less rain and weaker winds, a team of scientists concluded in an analysis.

A famed explorer was sure the ice hid something profound. Ninety years later, scientists have put forth the strongest evidence yet that he was right.

Después de 40 años de carrera, John Morales ha pasado de esforzarse por ser un meteorólogo “no alarmista” a ser alguien que admite horror ante las crecientes amenazas del calentamiento global.

Emma Pinchbeck will take over as chief executive of Climate Change Committee next month

The government’s official climate watchdog has appointed the head of the energy industry’s trade association to lead its work helping to drive the UK’s emissions to net zero by 2050.

Emma Pinchbeck, the head of Energy UK, will take up the role of chief executive of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) from early next month after four years at the helm of the trade association.

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An entire family was killed less than a month before wedding day as Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida

As the country turns its attention to Hurricane Milton, which is expected to bring life-threatening conditions to parts of Florida after it makes landfall later this week, communities in much of the south-east US are still reeling from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene almost two weeks ago.

In western North Carolina, home to many mountain communities such as Green Mountain, entire towns were destroyed and washed away during the storm. Residents became isolated as roads became impassable. Electricity and cellphone service went out.

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New rules will require utilities to replace lead pipes nationwide. That will take time, but you can protect yourself by taking these steps.

In her last newsletter for the Times, a Climate Forward reporter reflects on the intertwined problems of climate change and biodiversity loss.

As Floridians prepare to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton, debris from Helene still litter swaths of the state

Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene lashed the Florida coastline, an even more powerful hurricane is hurtling toward the state.

It’s the kind of double hit becoming more common as the climate crisis persists, further complicating hurricane preparation, experts say.

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Milton grew into a Category 5 hurricane in less than a day as it crossed warm oceans across the Gulf of Mexico.