State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate259

  • Switchyard Project: New Sampling Record

    Switchyard Project: New Sampling Record

    On May 10, we celebrated the sampling of our 10th station yesterday. These are more stations than we were ever able to get water samples from. Because of the ongoing good weather, we will certainly get one more station today, and hopefully many more during the next couple of days. So watch the posted video and celebrate with…

  • Switchyard Project: Sampling Success

    Switchyard Project: Sampling Success

    The past 1½ weeks have been very successful. Our team from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory was able to obtain water samples from eight stations, while the team from the University of Washington has already broken their all-time record of the past years of 18 stations. Today (May 7) is actually the first day we can’t fly…

  • Transporting Ice From Greenland’s Deep Interior

    Transporting Ice From Greenland’s Deep Interior

    The North East Ice Stream is a fast-flowing glacier transporting ice from deep in the interior of the Greenland Ice Sheet out to the coast (see image showing a deep penetration into central Greenland). When it reaches the coastline it feeds 79 N Glacier. This area is heavily crevassed, evidence of the rapid ice flow.…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/01

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/01

    California Gambles on Carbon Trade, New York Times, May 1 California state regulators are working to prepare for the January 1rst start of the multibillion-dollar carbon market, which will be the first in the U.S., after a lawsuit delayed the process. The courts are still a challenge with opponents striking from both the left and…

  • Climate Clock is Ticking for Pinot Noir

    Climate Clock is Ticking for Pinot Noir

    New studies of temperature records, grape harvests, and climate fluctuations over the Atlantic Ocean are yielding insights into how climate change might impact the production on Pinot Noir.

  • Switchyard Project: Rescue Operation

    Switchyard Project: Rescue Operation

    Four people who tried to ski from the North Pole to Greenland got stuck on the ice and ran out of food. Since our team was out on the ice for sampling close to their location, we stopped sampling and picked them up.

  • Switchyard Project: It’s all about the weather

    Switchyard Project: It’s all about the weather

    One can only imagine what kind of a pilot one has to be to fly in the arctic regions and land on sea-ice under weather conditions as we have experienced already – fog above the ice and clouds covering the area with very low visibility.

  • How to reduce weather risk (and make a little green)

    How to reduce weather risk (and make a little green)

    People understand that weather can affect certain markets — especially energy prices and other commodities — but its impact on portfolios more broadly might surprise. Just last week, a new study was released that estimated $485 billion of annual weather-related economic impact in the United States alone. Another calculated the effect at nearly 10 times that amount…

  • Petermann Glacier: At a glacial pace?

    Petermann Glacier: At a glacial pace?

    We are beginning our focus on the land based ice of northern Greenland. Flying out of Thule places us close to Petermann Glacier situated in Greenland’s northwest corner. The focus of our first flight of this phase of the project (the overall 29th flight of the season!) is Petermann Glacier. Perhaps Greenland’s most newsworthy glacier…

Collage of Turkiye beach scene and Columbia University Campus with text: UN Climate Change Conference COP31, Antalya, Turkiye, Nov 9-20, 2026

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

  • Switchyard Project: New Sampling Record

    Switchyard Project: New Sampling Record

    On May 10, we celebrated the sampling of our 10th station yesterday. These are more stations than we were ever able to get water samples from. Because of the ongoing good weather, we will certainly get one more station today, and hopefully many more during the next couple of days. So watch the posted video and celebrate with…

  • Switchyard Project: Sampling Success

    Switchyard Project: Sampling Success

    The past 1½ weeks have been very successful. Our team from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory was able to obtain water samples from eight stations, while the team from the University of Washington has already broken their all-time record of the past years of 18 stations. Today (May 7) is actually the first day we can’t fly…

  • Transporting Ice From Greenland’s Deep Interior

    Transporting Ice From Greenland’s Deep Interior

    The North East Ice Stream is a fast-flowing glacier transporting ice from deep in the interior of the Greenland Ice Sheet out to the coast (see image showing a deep penetration into central Greenland). When it reaches the coastline it feeds 79 N Glacier. This area is heavily crevassed, evidence of the rapid ice flow.…

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/01

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/01

    California Gambles on Carbon Trade, New York Times, May 1 California state regulators are working to prepare for the January 1rst start of the multibillion-dollar carbon market, which will be the first in the U.S., after a lawsuit delayed the process. The courts are still a challenge with opponents striking from both the left and…

  • Climate Clock is Ticking for Pinot Noir

    Climate Clock is Ticking for Pinot Noir

    New studies of temperature records, grape harvests, and climate fluctuations over the Atlantic Ocean are yielding insights into how climate change might impact the production on Pinot Noir.

  • Switchyard Project: Rescue Operation

    Switchyard Project: Rescue Operation

    Four people who tried to ski from the North Pole to Greenland got stuck on the ice and ran out of food. Since our team was out on the ice for sampling close to their location, we stopped sampling and picked them up.

  • Switchyard Project: It’s all about the weather

    Switchyard Project: It’s all about the weather

    One can only imagine what kind of a pilot one has to be to fly in the arctic regions and land on sea-ice under weather conditions as we have experienced already – fog above the ice and clouds covering the area with very low visibility.

  • How to reduce weather risk (and make a little green)

    How to reduce weather risk (and make a little green)

    People understand that weather can affect certain markets — especially energy prices and other commodities — but its impact on portfolios more broadly might surprise. Just last week, a new study was released that estimated $485 billion of annual weather-related economic impact in the United States alone. Another calculated the effect at nearly 10 times that amount…

  • Petermann Glacier: At a glacial pace?

    Petermann Glacier: At a glacial pace?

    We are beginning our focus on the land based ice of northern Greenland. Flying out of Thule places us close to Petermann Glacier situated in Greenland’s northwest corner. The focus of our first flight of this phase of the project (the overall 29th flight of the season!) is Petermann Glacier. Perhaps Greenland’s most newsworthy glacier…