State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

climate science19

  • 2016 Sets Another Record for Warmth

    2016 Sets Another Record for Warmth

    The news doesn’t come as a surprise to scientists and others who’ve been watching, but marks a milestone nonetheless: 2016 was the warmest year on record, dating back to the start of modern record keeping in 1880.

  • James Hansen Honored for Pioneering Work in Climate Change Modeling

    James Hansen Honored for Pioneering Work in Climate Change Modeling

    James Hansen, director of the Program on Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions at the Earth Institute and former director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is being honored with the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Climate Change.

  • Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    An improved technique developed by a graduate student at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and her colleagues is making it possible to use airborne ice-penetrating radar to reveal meltwater’s life under the ice throughout the year.

  • Exploring Our Changing Earth, in Real Time

    Exploring Our Changing Earth, in Real Time

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists are loading drones with high-tech instruments and using satellites and undersea cables that are interacting with sensors in some of the most remote locations on Earth to gather data in real time and uncover the secrets of our planet.

  • Environmental Science and Speaking Truth to Power

    Environmental Science and Speaking Truth to Power

    Denying the science of global warming is absurd, but accepting the science of climate change does not require decision-makers to accept the policy prescriptions of climate scientists.

  • Spring 2017 Undergraduate Research Assistant Opportunities

    Undergraduates from Columbia and Barnard will be able to serve as research assistants on research projects related to sustainable development and the environment with distinguished faculty and researchers at the cutting edge of this burgeoning field.

  • Looking at Climate from All the Angles

    Looking at Climate from All the Angles

    The Earth Institute digs into the past, tracks the present and models the future of climate. We explore the broader issues surrounding climate change, seek ways to apply our knowledge to real solutions, and nurture collaboration among faculty and researchers in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, law, public health, engineering, architecture and urban…

  • Forecasting for the In-Between

    Forecasting for the In-Between

    We can do a good job forecasting the weather for a week or two, and we can settle on what the climate is likely to do season to season, a month to a year into the future. But what about in-between?

  • The Undermining of Climate Science

    The Undermining of Climate Science

    The election of Donald Trump has climate scientists concerned about its implications for U.S. environmental policies and worldwide efforts to curb the effects of climate change. Many fear that climate science under Trump could be strategically undermined in a variety of ways.

Photo of the Earth from space with the text "Lamont at AGU25" on top.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More

  • 2016 Sets Another Record for Warmth

    2016 Sets Another Record for Warmth

    The news doesn’t come as a surprise to scientists and others who’ve been watching, but marks a milestone nonetheless: 2016 was the warmest year on record, dating back to the start of modern record keeping in 1880.

  • James Hansen Honored for Pioneering Work in Climate Change Modeling

    James Hansen Honored for Pioneering Work in Climate Change Modeling

    James Hansen, director of the Program on Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions at the Earth Institute and former director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is being honored with the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Climate Change.

  • Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    Radar Reveals Meltwater’s Year-Round Life Under Greenland Ice

    An improved technique developed by a graduate student at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and her colleagues is making it possible to use airborne ice-penetrating radar to reveal meltwater’s life under the ice throughout the year.

  • Exploring Our Changing Earth, in Real Time

    Exploring Our Changing Earth, in Real Time

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists are loading drones with high-tech instruments and using satellites and undersea cables that are interacting with sensors in some of the most remote locations on Earth to gather data in real time and uncover the secrets of our planet.

  • Environmental Science and Speaking Truth to Power

    Environmental Science and Speaking Truth to Power

    Denying the science of global warming is absurd, but accepting the science of climate change does not require decision-makers to accept the policy prescriptions of climate scientists.

  • Spring 2017 Undergraduate Research Assistant Opportunities

    Undergraduates from Columbia and Barnard will be able to serve as research assistants on research projects related to sustainable development and the environment with distinguished faculty and researchers at the cutting edge of this burgeoning field.

  • Looking at Climate from All the Angles

    Looking at Climate from All the Angles

    The Earth Institute digs into the past, tracks the present and models the future of climate. We explore the broader issues surrounding climate change, seek ways to apply our knowledge to real solutions, and nurture collaboration among faculty and researchers in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, law, public health, engineering, architecture and urban…

  • Forecasting for the In-Between

    Forecasting for the In-Between

    We can do a good job forecasting the weather for a week or two, and we can settle on what the climate is likely to do season to season, a month to a year into the future. But what about in-between?

  • The Undermining of Climate Science

    The Undermining of Climate Science

    The election of Donald Trump has climate scientists concerned about its implications for U.S. environmental policies and worldwide efforts to curb the effects of climate change. Many fear that climate science under Trump could be strategically undermined in a variety of ways.