State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

drought5

  • Attributing Extreme Weather to Causes—Including Climate Change

    Attributing Extreme Weather to Causes—Including Climate Change

    New research and more powerful computer models are advancing scientists’ ability to tease apart the forces that can worsen extreme weather. In a new report, a committee of the National Academy of Sciences that includes Columbia’s Adam Sobel assesses the young field of attribution studies.

  • Syria’s Drought Likely Its Most Severe in More than 900 Years

    Syria’s Drought Likely Its Most Severe in More than 900 Years

    “If climate change is having an impact and is making droughts worse, then we should see this in the record over several centuries—and we do,” said the study’s author, Benjamin Cook.

  • What Does El Niño Mean, in 3.4 Seconds

    What Does El Niño Mean, in 3.4 Seconds

    Scientists at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society took a moment from their work (a very brief moment) to answer the question, “What does El Niño mean?”

  • Honduran Farmers Help Design Insurance Against Climate Risks

    Honduran Farmers Help Design Insurance Against Climate Risks

    The International Research Institute for Climate and Society and local Honduran partners have been working to identify and implement farmer-driven, development-focused climate risk solutions. Through interactive exercises, grain farmers have worked together with the team of experts since 2014 to design and tailor index insurance in the pilot region of El Paraíso, Honduras. This video…

  • The Changing Climate of Security

    The Changing Climate of Security

    In the November Democratic presidential primary debate, Sen. Bernie Sanders said that the greatest threat to national security was climate change. But is there actually a link between national security and climate change, and if so, what is it?

  • Horn of Africa Drying in Sync With Climate

    Study Suggests Worsening Future for Troubled Region

  • Growing Up in an Era of Extreme Events: What We Need to Know Now

    NEW YORK (October 7, 2015)—The recent flooding in South Carolina is yet another reminder of just how much destruction natural disasters can cause and how ill prepared communities throughout the US continue to be. Extreme events such as flooding, drought, and storms are leading to not only short-term economic and health impacts but are setting…

  • Ancient Pollen Points to Mega-Droughts in California Thousands of Years Ago

    Ancient Pollen Points to Mega-Droughts in California Thousands of Years Ago

    Ancient pollen spores that were in the air when mammoths roamed Southern California are providing new insights into historic droughts in the region, including how a series of mega droughts 25,500 to 27,500 years ago changed the ecological landscape.

  • Translating Nature’s Historians: The Tree Ring Lab Turns 40

    Translating Nature’s Historians: The Tree Ring Lab Turns 40

    In its first 40 years, the Lamont Tree Ring Lab tracked changing climates around the world, building an international reputation as a global leader in research, training and technology.

  • Attributing Extreme Weather to Causes—Including Climate Change

    Attributing Extreme Weather to Causes—Including Climate Change

    New research and more powerful computer models are advancing scientists’ ability to tease apart the forces that can worsen extreme weather. In a new report, a committee of the National Academy of Sciences that includes Columbia’s Adam Sobel assesses the young field of attribution studies.

  • Syria’s Drought Likely Its Most Severe in More than 900 Years

    Syria’s Drought Likely Its Most Severe in More than 900 Years

    “If climate change is having an impact and is making droughts worse, then we should see this in the record over several centuries—and we do,” said the study’s author, Benjamin Cook.

  • What Does El Niño Mean, in 3.4 Seconds

    What Does El Niño Mean, in 3.4 Seconds

    Scientists at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society took a moment from their work (a very brief moment) to answer the question, “What does El Niño mean?”

  • Honduran Farmers Help Design Insurance Against Climate Risks

    Honduran Farmers Help Design Insurance Against Climate Risks

    The International Research Institute for Climate and Society and local Honduran partners have been working to identify and implement farmer-driven, development-focused climate risk solutions. Through interactive exercises, grain farmers have worked together with the team of experts since 2014 to design and tailor index insurance in the pilot region of El Paraíso, Honduras. This video…

  • The Changing Climate of Security

    The Changing Climate of Security

    In the November Democratic presidential primary debate, Sen. Bernie Sanders said that the greatest threat to national security was climate change. But is there actually a link between national security and climate change, and if so, what is it?

  • Horn of Africa Drying in Sync With Climate

    Study Suggests Worsening Future for Troubled Region

  • Growing Up in an Era of Extreme Events: What We Need to Know Now

    NEW YORK (October 7, 2015)—The recent flooding in South Carolina is yet another reminder of just how much destruction natural disasters can cause and how ill prepared communities throughout the US continue to be. Extreme events such as flooding, drought, and storms are leading to not only short-term economic and health impacts but are setting…

  • Ancient Pollen Points to Mega-Droughts in California Thousands of Years Ago

    Ancient Pollen Points to Mega-Droughts in California Thousands of Years Ago

    Ancient pollen spores that were in the air when mammoths roamed Southern California are providing new insights into historic droughts in the region, including how a series of mega droughts 25,500 to 27,500 years ago changed the ecological landscape.

  • Translating Nature’s Historians: The Tree Ring Lab Turns 40

    Translating Nature’s Historians: The Tree Ring Lab Turns 40

    In its first 40 years, the Lamont Tree Ring Lab tracked changing climates around the world, building an international reputation as a global leader in research, training and technology.