State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Rossby waves

  • A Climate Scientist Rides the (Rossby) Wave of Discovery

    A Climate Scientist Rides the (Rossby) Wave of Discovery

    Mingfang Ting studies the connection between planetary waves in the atmosphere and climate anomalies, such as droughts and extreme heat.

  • The Extreme Pacific Climate Now

    The Extreme Pacific Climate Now

    The climate over the tropical Pacific is in an extreme state at the moment. That explains some of the extreme anomalies affecting the United States right now. It also gives us a window through which we can glimpse how even more dramatic and long-term climates of the distant past might have worked.

Columbia Climate School Giving Day on October 28, 2026, featuring students and renewable energy imagery

October 28, 2026 is Columbia Giving Day! Your gift to Columbia Climate School helps advance interdisciplinary research, educate the next generation of leaders, and transform bold ideas into real-world solutions for climate, Earth, and society.

  • A Climate Scientist Rides the (Rossby) Wave of Discovery

    A Climate Scientist Rides the (Rossby) Wave of Discovery

    Mingfang Ting studies the connection between planetary waves in the atmosphere and climate anomalies, such as droughts and extreme heat.

  • The Extreme Pacific Climate Now

    The Extreme Pacific Climate Now

    The climate over the tropical Pacific is in an extreme state at the moment. That explains some of the extreme anomalies affecting the United States right now. It also gives us a window through which we can glimpse how even more dramatic and long-term climates of the distant past might have worked.