State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Natural Disasters39

  • Equipment Repairs in SW Bangladesh

    Equipment Repairs in SW Bangladesh

    Humayun, Liz and I headed to Khulna in SW Bangladesh a day after Chris and Dan. Along the way, we stopped at our sediment compaction meter for surveying and removing the GPS, and getting feasted by the family that hosts the system.

  • Back to Bangladesh to Date Earthquakes and More

    Back to Bangladesh to Date Earthquakes and More

    I’m back in Bangladesh with a small team after a year and a half away. One different is a police escort as a result of the attacks last year. We start by successfully sampling river sediments to correct the date of an earthquake that caused a river to shift over 3,500 years ago. We also…

  • Increasing Tornado Outbreaks: Is Climate Change Responsible?

    Increasing Tornado Outbreaks: Is Climate Change Responsible?

    In a paper published in the journal Science, researchers looked at increasing trends in the severity of tornado outbreaks, measured by the number of tornadoes per outbreak. They found that these trends are increasing fastest for the most extreme outbreaks.

  • Dammed Funding for U.S. Dams

    Dammed Funding for U.S. Dams

    Across the nation, large-scale water infrastructure such as dams have provided a multitude of services, from electric power and water reservoirs to flood control and containment of pollution. But federal investments in large water infrastructure projects have largely been curtailed over the past few decades.

  • Climate Denial and Sea Level Rise

    Climate Denial and Sea Level Rise

    The need to adapt to the current impact of climate change is already obvious in many cities and work is already underway to make cities more resilient to extreme weather events. New York City has begun to implement a resiliency plan that will cost at least $20 billion over the next decade.

  • The Role Of Government In Rebuilding After Disasters

    The Role Of Government In Rebuilding After Disasters

    The fundamental job of government is to provide security and safety for its people. Natural disasters may be predictable to some degree, but they are unavoidable. What is avoidable is the sense of economic hopelessness that follows these events.

  • A Giant Quake May Lurk Under Bangladesh and Beyond

    Hidden Deep Below Sediment, Tectonic Plates Are Seen Building Strain

  • The World’s First Seasonal Lightning Forecast

    The World’s First Seasonal Lightning Forecast

    At about 250 lightning flashes per square kilometer per year, the Lake Maracaibo Basin in northwestern Venezuela has the highest annual lightning rate of any place in the world.

  • Massive Landslide Detected in Glacier Bay’s Fragile Mountains

    Massive Landslide Detected in Glacier Bay’s Fragile Mountains

    A 4,000-foot-high mountainside collapsed in Glacier Bay National Park this week in a massive landslide that spread debris for miles across the glacier below. Scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are studying it to improve understanding of landslide risks.

Colorful icons representing nature, sustainable living, and renewable energy with text "Earth Day 2026"

The first Earth Day in 1970 ignited a movement to stop polluting our planet. Today, our scientists and experts are tackling the most pressing challenges to achieve real-world impact. This Earth Day, join us in our commitment to realizing a just and sustainable future for our planet. Visit our Earth Day website for ideas, resources, and inspiration.

  • Equipment Repairs in SW Bangladesh

    Equipment Repairs in SW Bangladesh

    Humayun, Liz and I headed to Khulna in SW Bangladesh a day after Chris and Dan. Along the way, we stopped at our sediment compaction meter for surveying and removing the GPS, and getting feasted by the family that hosts the system.

  • Back to Bangladesh to Date Earthquakes and More

    Back to Bangladesh to Date Earthquakes and More

    I’m back in Bangladesh with a small team after a year and a half away. One different is a police escort as a result of the attacks last year. We start by successfully sampling river sediments to correct the date of an earthquake that caused a river to shift over 3,500 years ago. We also…

  • Increasing Tornado Outbreaks: Is Climate Change Responsible?

    Increasing Tornado Outbreaks: Is Climate Change Responsible?

    In a paper published in the journal Science, researchers looked at increasing trends in the severity of tornado outbreaks, measured by the number of tornadoes per outbreak. They found that these trends are increasing fastest for the most extreme outbreaks.

  • Dammed Funding for U.S. Dams

    Dammed Funding for U.S. Dams

    Across the nation, large-scale water infrastructure such as dams have provided a multitude of services, from electric power and water reservoirs to flood control and containment of pollution. But federal investments in large water infrastructure projects have largely been curtailed over the past few decades.

  • Climate Denial and Sea Level Rise

    Climate Denial and Sea Level Rise

    The need to adapt to the current impact of climate change is already obvious in many cities and work is already underway to make cities more resilient to extreme weather events. New York City has begun to implement a resiliency plan that will cost at least $20 billion over the next decade.

  • The Role Of Government In Rebuilding After Disasters

    The Role Of Government In Rebuilding After Disasters

    The fundamental job of government is to provide security and safety for its people. Natural disasters may be predictable to some degree, but they are unavoidable. What is avoidable is the sense of economic hopelessness that follows these events.

  • A Giant Quake May Lurk Under Bangladesh and Beyond

    Hidden Deep Below Sediment, Tectonic Plates Are Seen Building Strain

  • The World’s First Seasonal Lightning Forecast

    The World’s First Seasonal Lightning Forecast

    At about 250 lightning flashes per square kilometer per year, the Lake Maracaibo Basin in northwestern Venezuela has the highest annual lightning rate of any place in the world.

  • Massive Landslide Detected in Glacier Bay’s Fragile Mountains

    Massive Landslide Detected in Glacier Bay’s Fragile Mountains

    A 4,000-foot-high mountainside collapsed in Glacier Bay National Park this week in a massive landslide that spread debris for miles across the glacier below. Scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are studying it to improve understanding of landslide risks.