Climate Change Series

The hottest year on record signals that global warming is alive and well

Jan 21, 2016 01:37 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

The year 2015 has proven to be another year of temperature records. Data released by NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) show that in 2015, the Global Mean Surface Temperature the yardstick...

Climate Change Series

Why hotter weather is likely to affect people in developing countries more

Jan 20, 2016 05:45 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

As the temperatures soar and weather patterns continue to be affected by global warming and climate dynamics, more people particularly in developing countries are likely to die from natural deaths such as respiratory...

As El Niño rains arrive, Los Angeles shunts precious water to sea

Jan 05, 2016 11:45 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

If ever a city was built to be resilient to heavy rains, it is Los Angeles. And yet, El Niño is about to test just how resilient the city is in the short term to flooding, and even more importantly, how resilient it...

Explainer: South Africa's developing solar energy landscape

Jan 05, 2016 05:57 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature Technology

Until a few years ago solar panels were a rare sight in South Africa, largely limited to the roofs of a few affluent households. This is changing rapidly, driven by three factors: the worldwide drive towards renewable...

Our prettiest pollutant: just how bad are fireworks for the environment?

Dec 31, 2015 10:37 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

The bangs and fizzes of fireworks are rapidly replacing the chimes of Big Ben as the defining sound of New Years Eve celebrations in London, while around the world, city landmarks are becoming stages for increasingly...

How emissions trading at Paris climate talks has set us up for failure

Dec 14, 2015 18:13 pm UTC| Insights & Views Business Nature

The Paris Agreement has mostly been greeted with enthusiasm, though it contains at least one obvious flaw. Few seem to have noticed that the main tool mooted for keeping us within the 2℃ global warming target is a...

Climate and the rise and fall of civilizations: a lesson from the past

Dec 11, 2015 04:09 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

2015 will likely be the hottest year on record, beating the previous record set only in 2014. It is also likely to be the first year the global average temperature reaches 1℃ above pre-industrial temperatures (measured...