State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

extreme weather6

  • Analyzing Winter Storm Risk and Resilience in a Changing Climate

    Analyzing Winter Storm Risk and Resilience in a Changing Climate

    A new study analyzing storm intensity and impacts in the New York metro area aims to inform how communities can better prepare for winter storms and enhance resiliency as the effects of climate change exacerbate hazards.

  • Defining and Predicting Heat Waves in Bangladesh

    Defining and Predicting Heat Waves in Bangladesh

    New research shows that in Bangladesh, heat wave predictability exists from a few days to several weeks in advance, which could save thousands of lives.

  • What’s in the Forecast and How Do We Know?

    What’s in the Forecast and How Do We Know?

    The Earth Institute’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society makes probabilistic forecasts for rainfall and temperature for the next six months. How does it do this?

  • Lessons of Climate Resilience in New York City

    Lessons of Climate Resilience in New York City

    The Earth Institute hosted a panel focused on how New York City, and other cities like it, can take steps to become stronger and more resilient in the face of climate change.

  • NYC’s Heat Waves: A Harbinger of Things to Come?

    NYC’s Heat Waves: A Harbinger of Things to Come?

    As global temperatures rise and heat records are broken, many wonder if New York City’s heat waves this summer were a result of climate change, and if we will experience more of them in the future.

  • Extreme-Weather Winters Becoming More Common in U.S., Study Shows

    Extreme-Weather Winters Becoming More Common in U.S., Study Shows

    This past July was Earth’s hottest month since record keeping began, but warming isn’t the only danger climate change holds in store. Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the simultaneous occurrence of extremely cold winter days in the Eastern United States and extremely warm winter days in the Western U.S., according to a…

  • How Does the Ocean Drive Weather and Climate Extremes?

    How Does the Ocean Drive Weather and Climate Extremes?

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists Ryan Abernathey and Richard Seager are investigating how processes in the ocean create extreme weather and climate conditions over land.

  • 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.

  • How to Have the Climate Change Conversation

    How to Have the Climate Change Conversation

    On Thursday, October 29, the Earth Institute and the School of International of Public Affairs hosted a panel on Sustainability and Climate Change in the 2016 Presidential Race. The panel was moderated by Chuck Todd of NBC’s Meet the Press. The panelists discussed how to frame the climate change conversation in such a polarized political…

Banner with images representing environmental issues and text "You Asked: Our Scientists and Experts Answer Your Burning Questions."

You Asked invites you to share your most pressing questions about climate, science, and sustainability. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School experts will respond with clear, evidence-based answers. Pose your questions and story ideas!

  • Analyzing Winter Storm Risk and Resilience in a Changing Climate

    Analyzing Winter Storm Risk and Resilience in a Changing Climate

    A new study analyzing storm intensity and impacts in the New York metro area aims to inform how communities can better prepare for winter storms and enhance resiliency as the effects of climate change exacerbate hazards.

  • Defining and Predicting Heat Waves in Bangladesh

    Defining and Predicting Heat Waves in Bangladesh

    New research shows that in Bangladesh, heat wave predictability exists from a few days to several weeks in advance, which could save thousands of lives.

  • What’s in the Forecast and How Do We Know?

    What’s in the Forecast and How Do We Know?

    The Earth Institute’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society makes probabilistic forecasts for rainfall and temperature for the next six months. How does it do this?

  • Lessons of Climate Resilience in New York City

    Lessons of Climate Resilience in New York City

    The Earth Institute hosted a panel focused on how New York City, and other cities like it, can take steps to become stronger and more resilient in the face of climate change.

  • NYC’s Heat Waves: A Harbinger of Things to Come?

    NYC’s Heat Waves: A Harbinger of Things to Come?

    As global temperatures rise and heat records are broken, many wonder if New York City’s heat waves this summer were a result of climate change, and if we will experience more of them in the future.

  • Extreme-Weather Winters Becoming More Common in U.S., Study Shows

    Extreme-Weather Winters Becoming More Common in U.S., Study Shows

    This past July was Earth’s hottest month since record keeping began, but warming isn’t the only danger climate change holds in store. Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the simultaneous occurrence of extremely cold winter days in the Eastern United States and extremely warm winter days in the Western U.S., according to a…

  • How Does the Ocean Drive Weather and Climate Extremes?

    How Does the Ocean Drive Weather and Climate Extremes?

    Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists Ryan Abernathey and Richard Seager are investigating how processes in the ocean create extreme weather and climate conditions over land.

  • 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.

  • How to Have the Climate Change Conversation

    How to Have the Climate Change Conversation

    On Thursday, October 29, the Earth Institute and the School of International of Public Affairs hosted a panel on Sustainability and Climate Change in the 2016 Presidential Race. The panel was moderated by Chuck Todd of NBC’s Meet the Press. The panelists discussed how to frame the climate change conversation in such a polarized political…