Global Warming

Dennis Francis, General Assembly President, Wants to Help Small States. Here’s How.

Dennis Francis, president of the United Nations General Assembly for the 78th sesssion, photographed in his office, overlooking the East River, on Dec. 21, 2023. A quarter of the way into his yearlong tenure, the Caribbean diplomat has shifted his priorities because of the Israel-Hamas war, but he remains focused on sustainable development and enabling small states to use the multilateral system to their advantage. Some of them, he said, […]

12 January, 2024

Environment

Copernicus: 2023 is the hottest year on record

Global temperatures reached exceptionally high levels in 2023. The Copernicus Climate Change Services, implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission with funding from the EU, monitored several key climate indicators throughout the year, reporting on record-breaking conditions such as the hottest month on record and daily global temperature averages briefly surpassing pre-industrial levels by more than 2°C. Unprecedented global temperatures from June […]

11 January, 2024

Environment

How 2023’s record heat worsened droughts, floods and bushfires around the world

By Albert Van Dijk, Australian National University 2023 was a year of record-breaking heat, devastating storms and floods, deepening droughts and raging wildfires. These events showed how climate change is affecting the global water cycle and our livelihoods. Our international team of researchers today released a report, the Global Water Monitor, documenting the impact of the record heat in 2023 on the water cycle. We used data from thousands […]

11 January, 2024

Opinion Pieces

South Africa’s new plan to end power cuts is seriously flawed. Here’s why

By Hartmut Winkler, University of Johannesburg South Africa experienced unprecedented electricity shortages in 2023 as ageing coal plants became increasingly prone to breakdowns. The country urgently needs to develop new electricity generation facilities and reduce reliance on coal power. In the first week of 2024, the South African energy minister, Gwede Mantashe, released a proposed roadmap for the future of electricity in South Africa. Unfortunately, the draft Integrated Resource […]

11 January, 2024

World

Global temperatures to reach 1.7°C increase by May

Global heating caused by the burning of fossil fuels, and the El Niño climatic event, will push global temperatures to about 1.7 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by May. According to the Guardian, the warning comes from former National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist James Hansen. Hansen says there needs to be purposeful actions to affect the planet’s energy balance.

10 January, 2024