Climate Archives - State of the Planet

An iceberg in the Arctic with underside visible

Montreal Protocol Is Delaying First Ice-Free Arctic Summer

New research from Columbia climate scientists shows that the 1987 ozone treaty, designed to protect the ozone layer, has postponed the occurrence of the first ice-free Arctic by as much as 15 years.

by Holly Evarts |May 25, 2023
Storm clouds over a city skyline

New Method Predicts Extreme Weather Events More Accurately

Columbia engineers have developed a machine-learning algorithm that will aid in understanding and mitigating the impact of extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent in our warming climate.

by Holly Evarts |May 25, 2023
Display image from the NYS FIDSS mapping tool shows a zoomed-in area of Newburgh, New York, in the lower Hudson River Valley, shows critical infrastructure along the river, vulnerable to flooding.

New Mapper Opens Up Access to Flood Planning in New York State

An easy-to-use flood planning tool visualizes building footprint data for nearly all New York State, except New York City.

by |May 18, 2023

Aaron Stockel: From Byzantine History to Modern Politics

A soon-to-be graduate of the M.A. in Climate and Society program discusses his roundabout journey to climate science and politics.

by |May 17, 2023
Five young professionally dressed people stand smiling in front of trees

A Proposal to Decouple Food Systems From Deforestation in Brazil

Students from the M.P.A. in Environmental Science and Policy program traveled to Brazil to present their policy proposal at the 2023 Global Public Policy Network Conference.

by Deanna Coleman |May 15, 2023
andy revkin speaking along Maine coastline

How to Defeat the Climate Change Complexity Monster

Use key questions to cut amorphous slogans like “climate emergency” into addressable pieces.

by |May 10, 2023

Upcoming Scientific Fieldwork, 2023 and Beyond

Climate School researchers are carrying out fieldwork on every continent and every ocean. A guide to upcoming projects.

by |May 9, 2023

Two Studies Push Upright Ape Origins in Africa Back by 10 Million Years

Analyses of plant remains and other evidence show that the landscapes our ape ancestors evolved in existed much earlier than previously thought.

by |May 2, 2023

Vikings Abandoned Greenland Centuries Ago in Face of Rising Seas, Says New Study

Counterintuitively, seas were rising around Greenland as it went through a cold period centuries ago. This helped drive out Viking colonists, says new research.

by |May 1, 2023
green plants planted in rows on sandy soil

How Climate Services Can Support Ecosystem Restoration

Tools that are already being used to support climate-smart agriculture could help to build resiliency in restored ecosystems.

by Ezekiel Maben |April 26, 2023