Climate161
-
Understanding Today’s Climate Politics
The climate problem will be made less bad by technological, cultural, social and economic change that will force political change. Waiting for policy to be the change agent is an exercise in futility.
-
Christine McCarthy: A Cheerleader for the Physics of Ice
Christine McCarthy, a geophysicist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, scrunches blocks of ice between hunks of rock to study how ice behaves under pressure. Her work provides an important piece of the puzzle of how glaciers move, what makes them speed up, and how they are contributing to sea level rise as the climate warms.
-
Announcing the 2017 Center for Climate and Life Senior Fellows
The Center has awarded nearly $1 million to four scientists whose research will improve understanding of how climate change impacts the essentials of human sustainability.
-
Racing time to Explore Ocean Ecosystems: A Mother’s Work
Scientists like myself are in a race against time to understand the fundamental drivers of ocean ecosystems before climate change pushes them towards a new unknown state.
-
Malaria Risk Increases in Ethiopian Highlands as Temperatures Climb
The highlands of Ethiopia are home to the majority of the country’s population, the cooler climate serving as a natural buffer against malaria transmission. New data now show that increasing temperatures over the past 35 years are eroding this buffer, allowing conditions more favorable for malaria to begin climbing into highland areas.
-
Palcacocha Icefalls Demonstrate Hazard Vulnerabilities in Peru
In the last week, calving events at Lake Palcacocha in the Peruvian Andes released masses of ice from a glacier on Mount Pucaranra, showing the weakness of the existing infrastructure designed to protect the region from floods.
-
Adam Sobel: Preparing for the Next Big Storm
Superstorm Sandy was a wake-up call for a lot of people in New York City, including Adam Sobel, who’s spent more than two decades studying the physics of weather and climate.
-
Could Climate Change Shut Down the Gulf Stream?
In the 2004 disaster movie “The Day After Tomorrow,”, global warming accelerated the melting of polar ice, disrupting circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean and triggering violent changes in the weather. Could climate change shut down the Gulf Stream?
-
How Will Climate Change Impact Water Resources?
Richard Seager and Park Williams, climate scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, discuss how water will be affected by warmer temperatures, and how their research increases understanding of these issues.
COP31, the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, aims to advance dialogue, strengthen consensus, and accelerate climate action on a global scale. From November 9–20, 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye, heads of state, ministers, scientists, business leaders, and civil society will gather to advance efforts in emission targets, climate finance, and adaptation and resilience. Once again, our experts, students, and global thought leaders from Columbia Climate School and across Columbia University are contributing to key events, sharing insights, and helping shape the dialogue toward ambitious, science-based solutions. Learn More
