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Climate

20 articles in this topic.

August 2026

Why Severe Weather Alerts Are Moving from Zones to Polygons

Climate · 2 min read

Environment Canada is using free-form polygons for severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings, giving forecasters more precise ways to define affected areas. The transition changes alert geography, but some broader zone-based alerts and broadcast regions remain.

What Is El Niño? How the Climate Pattern Changes Global Weather

Climate · 3 min read

El Niño is a recurring warming of the tropical Pacific that changes winds, rainfall, and weather risks far beyond the ocean. NOAA's latest diagnostic discussion says the current event is strengthening and is likely to continue into early 2027.

What Is the Southwest Monsoon? How It Shapes Philippine Weather

Climate · 3 min read

A practical guide to the southwest monsoon in the Philippines, including its seasonal formation, uneven effects across the archipelago, and the flood, landslide, wind, and heat risks that accompany it.

Why the Chocó Earthquake Shook Cali, Pereira, and Manizales at Once

Climate · 4 min read

A quake centered near San José del Palmar in Colombia's Chocó department was felt across Cali, Pereira, and Manizales because the country sits on the Nazca plate subduction zone, where deep shaking radiates hundreds of kilometers inland.

Las Vegas Summer Weather Explained: Why the Desert Hits 115°F and Flash-Floods

Climate · 3 min read

Why Las Vegas bakes past 115°F in summer then suddenly flash-floods — the heat dome, the North American Monsoon, and how desert hydrology turns light rain into disaster.

Sustainability News Explained

Climate · 3 min read

An overview of current sustainability initiatives and environmental news highlighting corporate commitments, renewable energy developments, and global climate policies.

What Is a Heat Advisory vs a Heat Warning? How the NWS Classifies Extreme Heat

Climate · 4 min read

How the National Weather Service decides between a heat advisory, an excessive heat watch, and an excessive heat warning, what the heat index actually measures, and why the thresholds shift by city.

What Is a Heat Dome and Why Is It Locking In Extreme Heat?

Climate · 3 min read

An explainer on heat domes — the atmospheric pattern that traps scorching air over a region for days, how a warming climate makes them more likely, and what risks they pose beyond discomfort.

How Flash Floods Form: Why Texas and the Gulf Coast Keep Getting Hit

Climate · 4 min read

How thunderstorms turn a few inches of rain into deadly flash flooding in minutes, why urban pavement and Gulf Coast geography make Texas so vulnerable, and what warnings actually mean.

How Wildfires Spread: Lessons From the Summerland Fire and BC's 2026 Season

Climate · 5 min read

An explainer on how wildfires spread, using the 2026 Summerland fire in British Columbia as a case study of the fuels, weather, and topography that turn a small ignition into a fast-moving interface fire.

What Is Ocean Heat Content and Why Is It Supercharging Storms?

Climate · 3 min read

An explainer on ocean heat content — the deep-water energy reserve that fuels rapid hurricane and typhoon intensification, how it differs from sea surface temperature, and why it is breaking records.

South Korea's Record Heatwave 2026 Explained: Hottest Day in a Century

Climate · 3 min read

Why South Korea just recorded its hottest temperature since records began, what caused the extreme heat, and how the crisis exposes the wider threat of climate-driven heatwaves across East Asia.

Carbon Offsets Explained: Can You Really Buy a Cleaner Conscience

Climate · 2 min read

Carbon offsets promise to cancel out emissions by funding climate projects. How they work, the difference between avoidance and removal, and why quality varies enormously.

Celebrity Environmentalism: Can Stars Actually Save the Planet?

Climate · 2 min read

Leonardo DiCaprio and Jeff Bezos launched a $200 million conservation fund — but DiCaprio is also accused of greenwashing. The complicated record of celebrity climate activism.

Climate Change Basics: The Science in Plain English

Climate · 2 min read

A straightforward explainer on climate change — the greenhouse effect, the difference between weather and climate, the main drivers, and what a warmer planet means in practical terms.

The German Energy Transition: How Europe's Largest Economy is Going Green

Climate · 3 min read

The Energiewende is Germany's plan to transform its energy system. How the world's fourth-largest economy is phasing out nuclear and coal while building the infrastructure for a renewable future.

The Great Barrier Reef: Can the World's Largest Living Structure Survive?

Climate · 3 min read

Australia's most famous natural wonder is under threat from warming oceans. How coral reefs work, why the Great Barrier Reef is bleaching, and the high-stakes effort to save it.

Extreme Heat: How Cities Are Adapting to a Hotter Planet

Climate · 2 min read

Hokkaido is experiencing record-breaking heat. As climate change makes heat waves more frequent and intense, cities around the world are redesigning themselves to keep people safe.

Nuclear Energy's Comeback: Japan, Safety, and the Global Renaissance

Climate · 3 min read

Japan's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant is back in the news. After Fukushima, the world turned against nuclear power. Now it is making a comeback — driven by climate goals and energy security.

South Africa's Energy Crisis: Why the Lights Keep Going Out

Climate · 3 min read

Load shedding has cost South Africa billions and tested its democracy. How a coal-dependent monopoly failed, what it will take to fix it, and what other countries can learn from the collapse.