State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

research-home38

  • New Model Helps in Fight Against Deadly Parasitic Disease

    New Model Helps in Fight Against Deadly Parasitic Disease

    IRI scientists and colleagues from South Africa are using satellites to detect seasonal water bodies that harbor schistosomiasis, the deadliest of the tropical neglected diseases.

  • Hannah Nissan: Forecasting Climate to Help Save Lives

    Hannah Nissan: Forecasting Climate to Help Save Lives

    Hannah Nissan, a postdoctoral research scientist at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, studies how better climate forecasting might help reduce the number of deaths from heat waves and improve agriculture and child nutrition.

  • When People Must Make Way for Nature

    When People Must Make Way for Nature

    It is the black before dawn at the gate to the Kanha Tiger Reserve, in the highlands of central India. The still air carries a dank, penetrating chill. But it is hardly quiet. A buzzing line of tourists is forming at the ticket booth, peddlers are pouring steaming cups of tea.  Groups of green-uniformed rangers chat…

  • Jeffrey Shaman: What Makes the Flu Spread?

    Jeffrey Shaman: What Makes the Flu Spread?

    The onset of flu season each year comes as no surprise. But what is surprising is that we don’t know exactly how the flu spreads. Jeffrey Shaman is working on that.

  • As Climate Stirs Arctic Sea Ice Faster, Pollution Tags Along

    As Climate Stirs Arctic Sea Ice Faster, Pollution Tags Along

    A warming climate is not just melting the Arctic’s sea ice; it is stirring the remaining ice faster, increasing the odds that ice-rafted pollution will foul a neighboring country’s waters, says a new study.

  • Christine McCarthy: A Cheerleader for the Physics of Ice

    Christine McCarthy: A Cheerleader for the Physics of Ice

    Christine McCarthy, a geophysicist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, scrunches blocks of ice between hunks of rock to study how ice behaves under pressure. Her work provides an important piece of the puzzle of how glaciers move, what makes them speed up, and how they are contributing to sea level rise as the climate warms.

  • Malaria Risk Increases in Ethiopian Highlands as Temperatures Climb

    Malaria Risk Increases in Ethiopian Highlands as Temperatures Climb

    The highlands of Ethiopia are home to the majority of the country’s population, the cooler climate serving as a natural buffer against malaria transmission. New data now show that increasing temperatures over the past 35 years are eroding this buffer, allowing conditions more favorable for malaria to begin climbing into highland areas.

  • Could Climate Change Shut Down the Gulf Stream?

    Could Climate Change Shut Down the Gulf Stream?

    In the 2004 disaster movie “The Day After Tomorrow,”, global warming accelerated the melting of polar ice, disrupting circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean and triggering violent changes in the weather. Could climate change shut down the Gulf Stream?

  • Vegetation Can Strongly Alter Climate and Weather, Study Finds

    Vegetation Can Strongly Alter Climate and Weather, Study Finds

    A new analysis of global satellite observations shows that vegetation can powerfully alter atmospheric patterns that influence climate and weather.

Earth Month Graphic Collage: "Our Power, Our Planet - April 2025"

The first Earth Day in 1970 ignited a movement to stop polluting our planet. This Earth Month, 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.

  • New Model Helps in Fight Against Deadly Parasitic Disease

    New Model Helps in Fight Against Deadly Parasitic Disease

    IRI scientists and colleagues from South Africa are using satellites to detect seasonal water bodies that harbor schistosomiasis, the deadliest of the tropical neglected diseases.

  • Hannah Nissan: Forecasting Climate to Help Save Lives

    Hannah Nissan: Forecasting Climate to Help Save Lives

    Hannah Nissan, a postdoctoral research scientist at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, studies how better climate forecasting might help reduce the number of deaths from heat waves and improve agriculture and child nutrition.

  • When People Must Make Way for Nature

    When People Must Make Way for Nature

    It is the black before dawn at the gate to the Kanha Tiger Reserve, in the highlands of central India. The still air carries a dank, penetrating chill. But it is hardly quiet. A buzzing line of tourists is forming at the ticket booth, peddlers are pouring steaming cups of tea.  Groups of green-uniformed rangers chat…

  • Jeffrey Shaman: What Makes the Flu Spread?

    Jeffrey Shaman: What Makes the Flu Spread?

    The onset of flu season each year comes as no surprise. But what is surprising is that we don’t know exactly how the flu spreads. Jeffrey Shaman is working on that.

  • As Climate Stirs Arctic Sea Ice Faster, Pollution Tags Along

    As Climate Stirs Arctic Sea Ice Faster, Pollution Tags Along

    A warming climate is not just melting the Arctic’s sea ice; it is stirring the remaining ice faster, increasing the odds that ice-rafted pollution will foul a neighboring country’s waters, says a new study.

  • Christine McCarthy: A Cheerleader for the Physics of Ice

    Christine McCarthy: A Cheerleader for the Physics of Ice

    Christine McCarthy, a geophysicist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, scrunches blocks of ice between hunks of rock to study how ice behaves under pressure. Her work provides an important piece of the puzzle of how glaciers move, what makes them speed up, and how they are contributing to sea level rise as the climate warms.

  • Malaria Risk Increases in Ethiopian Highlands as Temperatures Climb

    Malaria Risk Increases in Ethiopian Highlands as Temperatures Climb

    The highlands of Ethiopia are home to the majority of the country’s population, the cooler climate serving as a natural buffer against malaria transmission. New data now show that increasing temperatures over the past 35 years are eroding this buffer, allowing conditions more favorable for malaria to begin climbing into highland areas.

  • Could Climate Change Shut Down the Gulf Stream?

    Could Climate Change Shut Down the Gulf Stream?

    In the 2004 disaster movie “The Day After Tomorrow,”, global warming accelerated the melting of polar ice, disrupting circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean and triggering violent changes in the weather. Could climate change shut down the Gulf Stream?

  • Vegetation Can Strongly Alter Climate and Weather, Study Finds

    Vegetation Can Strongly Alter Climate and Weather, Study Finds

    A new analysis of global satellite observations shows that vegetation can powerfully alter atmospheric patterns that influence climate and weather.