Weather XL Pro
Weather XL Pro v22.214.171.124: Weather forecast with flexible widget settings, accurate weather alerts, beautiful design, and comprehensive information dashboard.
It not only provides temperature but also UV index, wind speed, probability and amount of rainfall, humidity, dew point, minimum/maximum temperature for the day, air quality, sunrise and sunset, moon phase. At the very least, it’s decent, but overall, it’s excellent.
Modifications: Premium unlocked, no ads, disabled analytics, disabled multiple unnecessary services and permissions, as well as other improvements.


The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - Sixth Assessment Report. August 2021
Started by Martin White
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. The IPCC was created to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options.
The IPCC does not conduct its own research. IPCC reports are neutral, policy-relevant but not policy-prescriptive. The assessment reports are a key input into the international negotiations to tackle climate change. Created by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988, the IPCC has 195 Member countries.
The Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report addresses the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change, bringing together the latest advances in climate science, and combining multiple lines of evidence from paleoclimate, observations, process understanding, and global and regional climate simulations.
Read the Summary for Policy Makers


Optical fiber sensors are highly effective for air quality measurement applications, providing accurate and reliable monitoring of various parameters in the atmosphere. Their unique characteristics make them well-suited for assessing air quality and environmental monitoring.
One key application is the measurement of gas concentrations in the air. Optical fiber sensors can detect and quantify gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). By deploying fiber sensors in air quality monitoring systems, continuous and real-time measurements of these gases can be obtained, aiding in the identification of air pollution sources and the assessment of air quality levels.
Optical fiber sensors can also be utilized for particulate matter (PM) monitoring. They can measure parameters such as PM2.5 and PM10, which refer to fine particles with diameters of 2.5 micrometers and 10 micrometers, respectively. By integrating fiber sensors into monitoring devices, accurate measurements of particulate matter concentrations can be obtained, helping to assess air pollution levels and potential health risks.
Furthermore, optical fiber sensors can contribute to the detection of specific air pollutants or hazardous substances. They can detect the presence and concentration of pollutants such as heavy metals, volatile chemicals, or industrial emissions. This capability is crucial for environmental monitoring, industrial hygiene, and ensuring compliance with air quality regulations.
Additionally, optical fiber sensors can be used for monitoring meteorological parameters that impact air quality, such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, and direction. By integrating these sensors into air quality monitoring systems, a comprehensive understanding of the atmospheric conditions can be obtained, aiding in the interpretation and analysis of air quality data.
Overall, optical fiber sensors offer valuable capabilities for air quality measurement applications by enabling real-time monitoring of gas concentrations, particulate matter, and meteorological parameters. Their integration into air quality monitoring systems enhances data collection, improves the accuracy of air quality assessments, and supports informed decision-making for environmental protection, public health, and the management of air pollution sources.


Welcome to my professional website!
I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Earth and Environmental Science at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, with an interest in climate change and carbon cycling in polar regions. My research focuses on biogeochemical feedback processes across terrestrial and marine systems resulting from amplified Arctic warming. My work is guided by the uncertainties surrounding the future of the Arctic environment and its potential impact on the global climate system.
To this end, I investigate processes such as the release of carbon and greenhouse gases from thawing permafrost, the melting of Arctic ice sheets, and the rapid acidification of the Arctic Ocean due to rising atmospheric CO2 levels and declining sea ice. A central aspect of my research involves using past warming periods as “natural experiments”. For instance, I study environmental change during warming events like the post-glacial climate transition 17,500 to 10,000 years ago and much warmer interglacial periods in the more distant past, such as 120,000 and 400,000 years ago. These periods serve as references for understanding climate transformations, and provide context to ongoing and future climate states.
In my work, I employ molecular analysis of organic matter in terrestrial and marine sediments, as well as stable and radioactive isotopes, to elucidate carbon cycling and climate variability.
On March 14, I was invited to discuss the effects of climate change in the Arctic region at a public panel organized by the University of Cologne NYC Office as part of their Transatlantic Tandem Talk series.


The Schools and Colleges in three districts including Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur are declared holiday due to rain.
Rain continues in the last three days in the northern districts of Tamilnadu. There is a widespread rain in Chennai. Water got stagnated in various places due to rain and people were greatly affected. Trees fell in many places disrupting the traffic. Meanwhile, Meteorological department said that the rain would last for another two days in the northern districts. Hence, Chief Minister Jayalalitha had announced a holiday today in all the three districts Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur. It is announced that the quarterly exam that is to be conducted will be conducted after the last exam.


By Doug Mattushek - 02 September 2019Views : 728
Hurricane Dorian became the biggest storm to hit the Bahamas when it made landfall on Sunday night.
The category five hurricane brought winds of 295kph with gusts of over 350kph, torrential rain and a storm surge of seven metres to the Carribean island.
The BBC reports that there was precious little news from the island after power cuts affected internet access. That said, director general of the ministry of tourism and aviation, Joy Jibrilu, confirmed that while there had been heavy damage, no deaths had been reported.
"It's devastating," Jibrilu told the BBC.
"There has been huge damage to property and infrastructure. Luckily, no loss of life reported."
Dorian is now moving toward the US coast at a steady 9kph and is expected to skirt the south east while moving north for most of the week.
"The hurricane will move dangerously close to the Florida east coast late Monday through Tuesday night," confirmed the US National Hurricane Centre on Reuters.
In preparation, President Trump issued a state of emergency in Florida and 2000 National Guard troops have been deployed, with another 2000 on standby. Additionally, South Carolina issued a mandatory evacuation of the coast, affecting over 830 000 people.


The night from Monday to Tuesday (February 7) was probably the coldest night of this winter. The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute reported this on their social media channel. According to the meteorologists, the conditions for a significant cooling will be even more pronounced on Wednesday night. It will clear up and the wind will weaken in most of the territory, except for the south-east, where a moderate north wind will still blow. "There's a high probability that at night we'll see more locations with temperatures below minus 20 degrees Celsius and mostly even lower minimums, while it may also be the coldest night of this winter," added the meteorologists.
Zuzana Botiková, Photo: TASR


Danish container shipping line; Maersk Line has committed 300 of its vessels to participate in the global Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) program on climate change.
While Maersk already has many vessels contributing to the VOS, the newly expanded commitment will see its entire fleet participating by the end of 2020.
As explained, the recorded data helps meteorologists create more accurate weather and storm forecasts – and will also be used in the creation of atmosphereocean models that will help scientists better understand climate change.
“As a global container logistics company, our vessels form a vital role in keeping supply chains moving safely and timely. Helping weather forecasting and climate science advance makes great sense to us, since both of these areas affect our operations in various ways,” Aslak Ross, Maersk’s Head of Marine Standards, commented.
While scientists have been collecting and sharing weather and ocean condition observations for over 150 years around the world, technological advances have significantly increased the amount of information that can be shared.
A typical VOS records and transmits observations manually, with a vessel crewmember reading data from instruments onboard the ship, or in some cases through automated weather stations (AWS). The data is then sent to the various national meteorological services for use in weather prediction models and to monitor actual conditions at sea.
To obtain more data with higher precision, the first five Maersk vessels participating in the VOS program are equipped with a more advanced type of AWS, called the European Common Automatic Weather Station (EUCAWS).
The EUCAWS system automatically collects data on atmospheric pressure, air temperature and relative humidity and transmits them hourly to designated research stations.
By the end of 2020, a total of 50 such stations are planned to be operational on Maersk vessels, providing the largest fleet of AWS from a single company.
“If we can help create even marginal improvements to the quality of weather routing services, these will be important levers in our constant efforts to improve the safety of our crews and assets and ensure reliable arrival times for our customers’ supply chains,” Ross said.
While over 3,000 ships are involved in the VOS program, overall participation has declined in recent years due to the reduction in the global commercial fleet’s financial and crew resources.
New technologies such as AWS and electronic logbooks, however, have led to an increase in the quantity and quality of observations from each vessel.
As the world’s largest container ship fleet operator, Maersk is expected to make a significant contribution to improving the amount and quality of data available to the study.
“Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the global community, impacting our business as well as the societies and customers we serve and partner with in enabling trade. We have an ambitious strategy to decarbonize our fleet of vessels by 2050 and as we execute this plan, we are proud to have our vessels and crews help researchers in gaining a better understanding of this key global challenge,” Ross added.
In the United States, Maersk has worked actively with the VOS partner organization and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on a variety of environmental programs. These have included testing air quality and vessel stack emissions and whale protection programs on both coasts.
“We are pleased to be able to expand our long-term work with NOAA to help gather high quality data to improve understanding of global weather and climate conditions. This complements our work here in the US with NOAA on air quality, vessel emissions and protecting endangered whales,” Lee Kindberg, Maersk North America’s Director of Environment and Sustainability, noted.
As an integrated container and logistics company, Maersk operates in 130 countries and employs 70,000 people.


Climate change is shifting ecological plant hardiness zones. The USDA has updated its Plant Hardiness Zone Map for the first time since 2012. Most of New York’s Hudson Valley has shifted from Zone 5b to Zone 6a (see map below). This means the lowest winter temperature recorded over the past 30 years (1991 to 2020) is on average 5°F warmer compared with the period between 1976 to 2005. The data underlying these changes corroborate our experience of warmer and less snowy winters. Just this week, the Northeast U.S. experienced a massive storm with over 2″ of rain in many areas and temperatures in the mid-50s all the way up to northern Maine. Unseasonable and intense weather whiplashes farms and forests with new pest and disease pressures, unleashes alternating periods of flooding and drought, and fundamentally changes habitat for native flora and fauna.
Northeast Winters Warming Faster
Yet greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and the trend compounds the changes. Within the next thirty years plant hardiness in our area is expected to shift another 5-10°F warmer. If we fail to become carbon neutral over the next few decades, we can expect plant hardiness to shift another 5-10°F by the end of the century. There are seasonal and regional differences to the pace of warming. Winter is warming faster than other seasons, and the Northeast and Upper Midwest are facing more rapid warming than other parts of the country. The following map depicts winter temperature data over the past 50 years.
Farms and Forests Stressed by Extreme Heat
In addition to warmer winters, we’re also experiencing more extreme hot days per year (measured by days above 86°F). When it’s this hot, both people and plants become less productive (or worse). Between 1980-2009 the Northeast had an average of two and a half weeks per year of extreme heat. At the current pace of global warming, we can expect about 6-10 weeks per year above 86°F by midcentury, and a whopping four months per year by the end of the century. If we transition to a carbon neutral economy by midcentury, the number of extremely hot days should stabilize at around six weeks per year by midcentury, which is still something to which we’ll need to adapt.
The climate throughout much of the Northeast is rapidly becoming similar to weather typical of the Mid-Atlantic. By the latter part of this century, the Northeast is on course to become similar to that of the Carolinas. Unlike other similar changes over eons past, which occurred over hundreds of thousands or millions of years, these changes are happening within a few generations. Rapidly changing climate zones stress native plants and animals, and create ecological mayhem. These changes threaten agricultural productivity, ecosystem services like clean water and air, and the overall ecological health and resilience of the Earth.
Healthy Forests Help Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change
Trees help us to both mitigate and adapt to climate change. They’re one of nature’s most effective carbon capture and storage systems, sequestering nearly 60 gigatons of carbon in U.S. forests (above and below ground). This represents about a decade of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. at current levels. Without this carbon sink, global greenhouse gas levels would be climbing even faster. Forests also provide an array of other climatological and ecological benefits: clean water and air, wildlife habitat, moderation of temperature and precipitation extremes, and a sustainable source of food, fuel, and fiber.
Let’s protect and restore forestlands in the coming decades by planting climate-resilient trees in our yards, on our farms, and at local parks.


What Are the Different Types of Carbon Sequestration?
January 31, 2023 Welcome
Carbon sequestration is an essential strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change. There are various carbon sequestration methods, each with its own distinct characteristics and benefits. This article will look at the multiple types of carbon sequestration, including their technical details and practical applications.
Carbon sequestration is the process by which carbon dioxide (CO2) is removed from the earth’s atmosphere and stored in liquid or solid form. Typically, about 45% of the CO2 emitted by humans remains in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Carbon sequestration helps to reduce human carbon footprints, which contribute to global warming.
4 Types of Carbon Sequestration
What are the different types of carbon sequestration? Continue reading to learn about them, as well as their distinguishing features, benefits, and drawbacks.
Biological Carbon Sequestration
Biological carbon sequestration is the process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and stored as biomass in plants and soil. Biological carbon sequestration can be accomplished in any of the following ways:
- Planting new trees and forests, which absorb CO2 through photosynthesis and store it as biomass in the trees and soil
- Integrating trees into agricultural landscapes to enhance carbon sequestration in the soil and biomass
- Enhancing the ability of soils to store carbon through practices such as conservation tillage, cover cropping, and the use of organic matter
However, biological carbon sequestration has limitations, such as land-use conflicts and the possibility of carbon loss due to fires, pest attacks, and disease.
Geological Carbon Sequestration
Geological carbon sequestration is a method of carbon sequestration that involves storing carbon in underground rock formations. When industrial sources such as steel mills and power plants emit carbon dioxide, it is injected and stored in porous rock formations such as sandstone or limestone. CO2 can also be injected into depleted oil and gas reservoirs to improve the recovery of remaining oil and gas. Geological carbon sequestration is thought to be very effective because it can store large volumes of CO2 in a small area. However, it requires long-term maintenance, and there is a risk of CO2 leakage.
Read more about carbon capture in oil and gas industry.
Technological Carbon Sequestration
Technological carbon sequestration is a relatively new method for capturing and storing carbon dioxide that scientists are still exploring. It involves using technology to capture and store CO2 or make it into a resource. Some ways in which technology is used for carbon sequestration include:
- Graphene production: Technology can be used to produce graphene out of CO2. Graphene is a technological material that manufacturers use to create screens for smartphones and other devices.
- Direct air capture: Carbon dioxide can also be captured directly from the air using advanced technology plants. Direct air capture is effective but very expensive to implement.
- Engineered molecules: Scientists are creating engineered molecules that can single out and capture CO2 from the air. The engineered molecules serve as filters to attract and capture only the element they are engineered to trap.
Industrial Carbon Sequestration
Industrial carbon sequestration is the least common method of sequestration. It involves capturing carbon dioxide released from industrial processes through pre-combustion, post-combustion, and oxyfuel.
- Pre-combustion capture: During pre-combustion carbon capture, carbon is captured before fuel combustion. You can do this in coal by reacting with oxygen to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen and separating them.
- Post-combustion capture: during, post-combustion carbon capture, CO2 is captured from flue gasses after combustion, typically using solvents or membranes. It involves capturing waste gasses to extract their CO2 before they exit smokestacks.
- Oxyfuel combustion: Instead of using air to burn the fuel, you can use oxygen, resulting in a flue gas primarily composed of CO2, which is easily captured and stored.
Explore the Possibilities of Carbon Sequestration with IFS
DXP/IFS is committed to helping those who are interested in helping the environment. We are constantly looking for solutions related to CCUS technology and especially those related to liquified CO2 handling and sequestration. Contact us to learn more about how we can help with your carbon sequestration project.


PORTLAND, Maine — After a deluge of rain, flooding, sinkholes and tornadoes this week, New England is about to face Hurricane Lee.
As the Category 1 system impacted Bermuda, Maine was under its first hurricane watch in 15 years and a state of emergency declared Thursday, Sept. 14, by Gov. Janet Mills. The water-logged region prepared for 20-foot waves offshore and wind gusts up to 80 mph, along with more rain.
The hurricane watch applied to eastern Maine, while the rest of the state and an area extending south through Massachusetts was under a tropical storm warning. Powerful winds and coastal flooding were expected to arrive Friday afternoon in southern New England and spread north.
Although Lee did not contribute to the flooding that hit New England earlier in the week, it threatened to exacerbate conditions in a region that is already waterlogged.
The Coast Guard and emergency management agencies warned New England residents to be prepared, and utility companies brought in reinforcements to deal with any power outages. At Boothbay Harbor Marina in Maine, the community came together to remove boats from the water to keep them out of harm’s way.
“It’s a batten-down-the-hatches kind of day,” owner Kim Gillies said Thursday.
Similar scenes played out elsewhere, including at Kennebunkport Marina, where crews planned to take 100 boats out of the water, said Cathy Norton, marina manager.
Commercial lobster fisherman Steve Train said fishermen have been sinking gear in deeper water to protect against storm damage. Fishing boats were also headed to the safety of harbors.
In Canada, residents of western Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick were warned about the risk of power outages and flooding this weekend. A year ago, the remnants of Hurricane Fiona washed houses into the ocean, knocked out power to most of two provinces and swept a woman into the sea.
New Brunswick Minister of Public Safety Kris Austin urged residents to assemble a 72-hour safety kit that included batteries, water, food, medication and a radio.
In her emergency declaration, the Maine governor urged people to take the storm seriously and to make preparations. Mills, a Democrat, also asked President Joe Biden to issue a preemptive presidential disaster declaration to give the state access to federal resources.
Earlier in the week, the region saw 10 inches of rain over six hours. Tornado warnings were issued Wednesday in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and more heavy rain created sinkholes and brought devastating flooding to several areas.
The National Weather Service in Boston confirmed Thursday that damage to trees and power lines in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut the day before was caused by four tornadoes.
Dozens of trees snapped or were uprooted by a twister in the town of Glocester, Rhode Island, and a structure used as a bus shelter was blown away, the weather service said. The three tornadoes in Connecticut and Rhode Island were categorized as EF-1, while the one in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, was an EF-0.
Thursday night, Lee was spinning 185 miles west of Bermuda, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was traveling north on a path that could lead to landfall in Nova Scotia, possibly as a tropical storm, forecasters said.
The system could bring a mix of threats. The storm surge and waves could lash the coast, damaging structures and causing erosion; powerful wind gusts could knock down trees weakened by a wet summer; and rain could cause flash flooding in a region where the soil is already saturated, said Louise Fode, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Maine.
The state’s eastern coast — known as the Down East region — and the coast of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were expected to bear the brunt of the storm, though the track could shift before the system arrives, Fode said.
One thing working in the region’s favor: The storm surge will not be accompanied by an astronomical high tide, helping to lower the risk, she said.
New England has experienced its share of flooding this summer, including a storm that dumped up to two months of rain in two days in Vermont in July, resulting in two deaths. Scientists are finding that storms around the world are forming in a warmer atmosphere, making extreme rainfall more frequent.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued a state of emergency Tuesday following “catastrophic flash flooding and property damage” in two counties and other communities. The torrential downpour in a six-hour period was a “200-year event,” said Matthew Belk, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boston.
The rain created sinkholes in Leominster, Massachusetts, including one at a car dealership that swallowed several vehicles. In Providence, Rhode Island, firefighters used inflatable boats to rescue more than two dozen people stranded in cars in a flooded parking lot.
In Maine, the last time a hurricane watch was declared was in 2008, for Hurricane Kyle, but residents are accustomed to rough weather. Lee’s projected wind, rain and surf are akin to a powerful Nor’easter, and Mainers are familiar with those.
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Poor air quality is a serious issue for Londoners’ health, leading to thousands of premature deaths each year. The UK is also now at risk of fines from the European Union for failure to comply with European limit values for pollutants. Initiatives to tackle the problem are underway, but more can be done. Local authorities are particularly well placed to ensure that new development and transport plans in their areas take air quality considerations into account and reduce levels of pollution.
London has some of the worst air pollution of any UK or European city, and air quality is a very significant issue for Londoners’ health. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) estimates that current PM2.5 (Particulate Matter)(1) emission levels reduce average life expectancy of people in the UK by six months and cost the economy £15 billion each year; equivalent to the cost of obesity in urban areas.(2) The situation is particularly bad in London where 4,300 deaths each year are thought to be attributable to air pollution (the individuals dying, on average, 11 years prematurely).
Air quality is heavily influenced by weather patterns, and is usually worst when weather is warm and there is little wind to disperse pollution. These hot, still days are expected to become more frequent over the coming years as the impacts of climate change are felt.
Boroughs across London are involved in initiatives to reduce air pollution, but it is a challenging issue. Evidence demonstrates that though the public accept that tackling air pollution is everybody’s responsibility, people are often unwilling to change their own habits, particularly when it comes to travel. More can be done by all levels of government including the Mayor and boroughs, and of course, by the public. Local authorities have a key role in promoting air quality issues in their own areas through their air quality management plans and their planning powers. They are ideally positioned to ensure that work done to reduce the threat of future climate change can achieve a ‘double-win’ by also reducing air pollution.
Poor air quality in London is not just a recent problem, indeed concerns over pollution led to temporary bans on coal fires in London as early as the 14th century. The famous ‘pea-souper’ smogs of the 1950s caused thousands of deaths and were eventually tackled by the Clean Air Act of 1956, banning as it did the use of the most polluting domestic heating fuels.
The two types of air pollution that are of greatest concern to human health at present are:
Particulate Matter (PM): The majority comes from motor vehicle exhausts and from wear to brakes and tyres. Construction sites with high levels of dust and machinery emissions can also contribute. Some PM occurs naturally, from forest fires, particles blown in from the Saharan desert and from sea salt which is carried to London by air currents.(3)
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2): Road transport and heating systems are the most significant sources of nitrous oxides (NOx) in London, of which Nitrogen dioxide has the greatest impact on human health.
The problems that London now faces come largely from the use of motor vehicles, rather than domestic use of coal, and it is these same types of emissions that also contribute to the process of climate change. Interaction of different types of emissions in the atmosphere is complicated and can often make both problems worse. Fortunately, in many cases efforts to reduce the threat of climate change or air pollution can be mutually beneficial.
Most of the legislation governing air quality is based on guidelines provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and derived from research into the effects of air pollution on human health. These guidelines have led to the limit values set out in European legislation (Directive 2008/50/EC) which outlines a concentration value for each pollutant and a date by which the limit values should be achieved. In some cases these also allow a certain number of times in a year that a pollutant can exceed the limit value.
This European legislation has been translated into English law by the Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010, which set out the government’s objectives for key pollutants and how different sectors, such as transport and industry, can help meet them.(4) In London, the Mayor also has a responsibility to prepare an air quality strategy, which includes policies and proposals to ensure that the city meets national objectives.(5) London’s boroughs are required to review and assess the air quality in their areas. Where the level of a particular pollutant is too high in any area, the local authority must produce and implement an air quality management plan aimed at reducing the level of the pollutant. All local authorities in London have air quality management plans.
Progress towards meeting PM10 values has been gradual and now only a small number of roads in central London breach the EU limit values. In June 2011 the European Commission granted the UK government a time extension to meet these limit values. However, in the case of NO2, progress has not been as successful. The UK has consistently failed to meet the EU limit values for NO2, and in London, levels have been exceeded by some distance. As a result of this non-compliance the UK could potentially be at risk of European fines of up to £300 million for breaching air quality standards.(6)
The Localism Bill currently progressing through Parliament includes clauses that would allow the UK government to pass EU fines on to regional and local authorities. It is proposed that the proportion to be passed on would be relative to the degree to which each authority has power to tackle the problem. Both London Councils and the Greater London Authority (GLA) are working to ensure there is a transparent framework for passing on these types of fines and that London is not unfairly burdened by these fines if they are imposed.
As a result of the threat of EU fines for failing to meet PM limit values, Transport for London (TfL) has been awarded £5 million by the Department for Transport (DfT), which must be spent this financial year on initiatives to improve London’s air quality.
Three locations in particular have been identified as areas where meeting limit values could be challenging: the Marylebone Road, Victoria Embankment through to Tower Hill and Marble Arch to Hyde Park Corner. The majority of the funding will be spent on measures in these areas, and other locations where monitoring data shows air quality is a particular problem due to local circumstances.
TfL are working with borough officers to develop and implement Clean Air Fund measures such as:
Berlin: In 2008, Berlin introduced a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in its inner city districts. Vehicles were given either no sticker or a red, yellow or green sticker to indicate the level of pollution they emit. Signs were erected at the entrance to the zone to indicate which colour sticker vehicles could enter. These standards were strengthened in 2010 and now only green stickered vehicles can drive into the LEZ. Any unauthorised drivers in the zone risk a €40 fine.
Beijing: Notorious for poor air quality, Beijing implemented over 200 programmes to improve pollution levels before and during the last Olympic Games. These focussed on energy consumption and efficiency (particularly in terms of coal usage), emissions from industry, construction sites and transport. New vehicle emission standards were introduced, public transport improved and only restricted access to the city allowed for private vehicles during the Games themselves.
CareforAir: This is a partnership between four local authorities in South Yorkshire, funded by the South Yorkshire Local Transport Plan. It aims to raise awareness of air quality issues with local businesses, schools, organisations and individuals to encourage everyone to do their bit.
ECO Stars: ECO Stars (Efficient and Cleaner Operations) Fleet Recognition Scheme is a free, voluntary scheme designed to provide recognition, guidance and advice to operators of goods vehicles, buses and coaches across South Yorkshire.
BeAirAware: This is a partnership between the six local authorities in Tyne and Wear, Defra and Nexus (a passenger transport provider), which aims to raise awareness of air quality issues.
Healthy Air Campaign: Environmental Protection UK has launched a campaign to raise the profile of the health effects of poor air quality and to work with communities to develop plans to promote cleaner air.
Biking boroughs: 13 outer London boroughs are working with TfL to encourage greater uptake of cycling. Funding has been made available to improve cycling infrastructure and parking, and on measures to improve cyclists’ safety.
Legible London: This is a TfL initiative involving boroughs, business improvement districts and other landowners to develop and implement a consistent and easy to understand system of maps and way-finding information to encourage more people to walk in London.
Source London: TfL and boroughs have been working in close partnership over the past year to develop the charging point infrastructure needed to support the uptake of electric vehicles in the capital.
CityAir: The City of London Corporation is working in partnership with the business community to generate support for reducing emissions associated with their activities in central London.
Low Emission Zone: London’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) was introduced by the GLA in 2008. At present it does not apply to motorbikes or cars. Higher standards for other types of vehicles will be introduced from January 2012.
2012 Olympic Games: The Games are aiming to be the ‘greenest’ ever. All ticket recipients will be sent free TfL travelcards for the day of the event they have tickets for and limited on-site parking will only be provided for disabled spectators.
AirText: The system sends free air pollution alerts by text message, email or by recorded message to the home phones of people with cardiac or respiratory disease when air pollution levels are forecast to be moderate, high or very high. The messages provide information on the steps participants can take to minimise exposure to the pollution episode and better manage their symptoms, improving quality of life and hopefully reducing the need for visits to the doctor or hospital.
Despite the significant health problems and shocking mortality rates it causes, the intangible nature of air pollution makes it a very difficult problem to tackle. The single most effective measure that could be implemented, a policy to reduce the number of vehicle journeys made in the city, would be unpopular with many residents and politically very challenging to implement.
The Mayor’s air quality strategy, published in 2010, outlined a range of measures the Mayor will take to improve air quality, such as boosting the emission standards of bus and taxi fleets and by introducing a new oxides of nitrogen (NOx) standard for the London-wide LEZ. However the strategy is not as comprehensive as some boroughs had argued it should be. The delay to the implementation of the third phase of the LEZ (from autumn 2010 to January 2012) and the removal of the western extension to the congestion zone are both steps that delay efforts to improve the situation.(7)
Though London’s local authorities are actively taking part in many initiatives beneficial to improving air quality, they are to some extent limited in their ability to tackle air pollution. Many of the available measures, such as setting emission standards for new vehicles or influencing which vehicles can drive into London, sit within the remit of the EU, central government or the Mayor, and councils lack some of the tools they need.
For example, boroughs have raised concerns about some modern wood biomass boilers (used for heating homes and businesses). These have lower overall carbon emissions than conventional gas boilers, but some emit significantly higher levels of PM10 and NO2. The Clean Air Act (updated 1993) allows local authorities to declare a ‘smoke control area’ and prevent unauthorised fuels from being burnt. However this legislation is now out-ofdate and can only be used to target appliances that emit smoke and sulphur dioxide, not the more modern problem of nitrogen dioxide and PM10 emissions. Updating the Clean Air Act to allow local authorities to target NOx and PM10 emissions would be a helpful step to support local authorities improve their own local air quality.
Raising awareness of air quality issues needs to be a joint priority for all levels of government in London, and the health implications of poor air quality should be highlighted more strongly. Boroughs, the GLA and TfL are jointly working on a number of programmes to boost levels of cycling and walking and to support the uptake of electric vehicles, all of which have positive implications for air quality.
However, the wider health benefits of these types of initiatives need to be articulated more clearly and health impacts should also be more explicitly accounted for in future cost/benefit assessments of proposed investments and mitigation measures to improve air quality.
1 PM refers to airborne particles and is categorised according to size in micrometers.
2 Air Pollution: Action in a Changing Climate, Defra (2010)
3 Particulate Matter is often described in terms of the size of particles emitted, for example PM2.5 refers to particles 2.5 micrometers in diameter. Particles of less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10) are a problem for human health because they can be inhaled and accumulate in the respiratory system.
4 Equivalent legislation exists in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
6 Defra published its draft air quality action plan in June 2011 for consultation. London Councils’ response is available
7 The congestion zone is a policy specifically focussed on tackling congestion rather than air pollution, but any reduction in private vehicle usage also helps to reduce harmful emissions


MODEL 5081 : Self-Reporting Weather Station
The Model 5081 Self-Reporting Weather Station automatically reports weather data
to a central site. Data transmitted from Model 5081 sites is being used for quantitative
determinations of oncoming storms, marine weather forecasting, determining effects
of wind on tidal areas, and establishing data bases for irrigation and agricultural programs.
The Weather Station Package is totally self-contained. Sensors are supplied complete
with cables and connectors. The main housing acts as the sensor support, antenna
tower and weather proof housing for the transmitter.
The standard Model 5081 Weather Station consists of wind, temperature, humidity,
barometric pressure and precipitation sensors, a Model 5096-81 transmitter, a solar
panel, interconnection cables and omni antenna. Weather stations can be supplied
with up to 7 analog and 4 digital sensors.
The Model 5096-81 Data Transmitter sends data on both event and timed modes as defined
by the "Plug and Play" default parameter set. Wind data is sent on an event basis
only (i.e. one wind report per three kilometers of wind run). The "Plug and Play"
parameter set allows the use of the Model 5096-81 without additional programming
via a laptop computer. However, the parameter set is still programmable and may be
changed by the user to meet site specific needs.


Weather & Climate – Tanzania
Tanzania enjoys a pleasant tropical climate, however there are significant regional climatic variations due to a variety of factors, including altitude. The seashore is the hottest and most humid section of the country. The western and southern parks, for example, are hot but not as humid. The rest of the interior is much cooler at night and is much warmer. Tanzania has two different seasons: dry and wet.
Arusha’s climate compared to Tanzania’s parks
Arusha has a warm temperature and is the town closest to the most prominent northern parks. In most parks, the peak quantity of rainfall at April is far less than in Arusha. Because of its great altitude (about 2,300m/7,545ft), the Ngorongoro Crater rim receives a lot of rain and is very cold in the afternoons and mornings. Manyara, Nyerere, Mikumi, Ruaha, Gombe, Mahale Mountains, and Katavi are lower lying parks that are slightly warmer than Arusha.
Dry season–June to October
During this time, there is very little rain and the humidity is very low. It gets cooler at night, so bring some warm clothes for morning game drives in open vehicles, especially in the northern parks.
June, July, August, September, and October — Afternoon temperatures range from 20°C (68°F) to 30°C (86°F), depending on height and location. The sky is usually clear and sunny on most days.
Wet season–November to May
During the Wet season, midday temperatures are typically warm (a few degrees above or below 30°C/86°F), but it is cooler above 1,300m/4,265ft. Because of the high altitude, most northern parks have chilly mornings.
November and December – ‘Short rains’ – A month-long period of light precipitation that occurs between November and December. It can happen at any time, and it can even happen in October in Northern Tanzania. Rain will only seldom disrupt your safari.
The rainy season tends to finish in January and February in the northern parks and coastal areas. The other parks are not affected by the drought.
‘Long rains’ – March, April, and May are the wettest months. It rains strongly virtually every day, but not always for the entire day. Humidity is high throughout the parks, particularly in the hotter southern and western areas.


We left Auckland on May 30th, sailing east towards Rapa in the Iles Australis. It was surreal to watch the city lights disappear on the horizon – hard to believe that the time had finally come to begin our journey. The weather forecast showed two low pressure systems building, so we sailed southeast to avoid them. The first few days were slow going due to light winds, but it picked up by day four, so that we were able to average about 150 nautical miles per day. We headed northeast, hoping to catch the coat tails of the storm and ride them east (low pressure systems rotate clockwise in the southern hemisphere). The winds and seas got progressively bigger and we found ourselves in the middle of a 420 mile wide gale. No skirting this one unfortunately.


Introducing weather center
Talking flight monitor would like to introduce its new state of the art feature called weather center. Weather center allows pilots to check the weather at their aircraft’s current location. It will track temperatures, wind, and clouds. It also features a customizable wind command, allowing pilots the ability to choose which wind conditions to include in the wind command’s output. Other customizable features will come in future preview releases as time permits. Each of the sections of weather center are covered below.
Wind layers are those atmospheric layers that have different wind conditions. Pilots can explore each layer of wind conditions in the weather center by pressing right bracket, CONTROL+W to start weather center, then navigating to the wind section. When pressing TAB, each pilot will be presented with a list containing the wind layers. Using up and down arrows will navigate between the layers. Each layer has seven different elements that represent the wind conditions. They include upper altitude, direction, speed, gusts, turbulence, visibility, and wind shear.
Temperature layers are those atmospheric levels representing the temperature at a given altitude range. Pilots can open the weather center and navigate to temperatures to explore each atmospheric layer of temperature. When focused on the list of layers, using up and down arrows will navigate between each temperature layer. Each layer has different elements associated with it. These elements include base altitude (lower altitude of the layer, day temperature in Fahrenheit and Celsius, and the nighttime variant.
Pilots can explore cloud conditions after opening weather center by navigating to the clouds section. When focused on the cloud layers list, pilots can explore each cloud layer by using the up and down arrows. As with the other layer types, the cloud layers give different elements to the weather conditions at each cloud layer. Some of these include cloud type, icing conditions, turbulence lower and upper altitude, cloud coverage, and more. Altitudes. In future releases, pilots will be able to press a keyboard command to check the cloud conditions at their current location.
Wind command settings
Previously, pilots could press right bracket, I to get a wind report at their current position. It included a fixed set of elements. From now on, pilots can choose what elements are included in the output from the wind command. To do this, navigate toTFM’s settings area, then find the weather section in the tree. Expand the weather category and then navigate to wind command (output). When navigating through this window, check the boxes for the elements you want included in the wind command, and uncheck the ones you want excluded from the wind command. These settings will persist across TFM restarts.
The weather center also features an automatic refresh rate. To set this, navigate to TFM settings area, find the weather category and expand it. Navigate to auto refresh and set the refresh rate in number of minutes. For example, setting the refresh rate to 10 will set the refresh rate to 10 minutes.
The weather center will also feature automatic announcements of different weather conditions such as entering and exiting clouds, different icing conditions, turbulence changes, shear changes, and others as time permits. To turn these on or off, navigate to TFM settings area, expand the weather category and navigate to automatic announcements. Navigating this area will allow pilots to turn these on or off. Check the boxes for the elements you want TFM to automatically announce, and uncheck those boxes for the elements TFM should not automatically announce.
Future updates will continue after the first release of the weather center. Some of them include the ability to provide an airport ICAO code to check weather conditions at an airport, or even a GPS coordinate pair to check conditions elsewhere. Other updates and features will depend on community feedback. If you wish to contact us, do so at www.talkingflightmonitor.com, or by sending an email to firstname.lastname@example.org.


The Anthropocene as the age of human-induced climate change
At the level of physical systems and as for human systems, the history of the Anthropocene is often that of a lightning rise.
This is logical: human activity converts natural resources into goods and services that can be used by humans. This conversion is accompanied by the production of waste, which accumulates in the biosphere. The striking growth of human activity therefore goes hand by hand with an equally striking increase in the presence of certain compounds in the biosphere.
This increase is particularly impressive for the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Atmospheric CO2 concentration has increased by 50% in 200 years, from 280 ppm in 1800 to 417 ppm in 2022 .
At the same time, the atmospheric concentration of methane doubled, while that of nitrous oxide increased by 25% .
As the concentration of greenhouse gases increases, so does the temperature of the Earth's surface and the level of the oceans.
For its part, the level of the oceans has risen by more than 20 cm, with an accelerating rate of rise .
The uniqueness of the current climate change lies in its origin and its temporality: it results from human activity and it is extraordinary rapid. This is probably the first time in the billions of years of Earth and life's history that a single species influences the climate system to such an extent and with such suddenness.
The analysis of past climates is crucial to understand climate functionning. As we have direct records of climate variables only for a few decades, past climates must be reconstructed from indirect indicators. The latter, called proxies, are natural elements sensitive to climatic variations and whose a posteriori analysis can thus provide information on past climatic conditions. For example, tree rings (for the last thousand years), ice sheets (for the last 800,000 years) or marine sedimentary layers (for the last million years) are particularly analyzed to reconstruct past temperatures.
Change is a climatic constant: illustration with 500 million years of Earth's climate history
The analysis of Antarctic ice, which are 800,000 years old, makes it possible to reconstruct the joint changes in CO2 concentration and temperature over the last 800,000 years. It thus reveals an alternation of cold periods, called glacial periods, and warmer periods, called interglacial periods. The last glacial period ended around 12,000 years ago, with a gradual rise in temperatures following the reaching of the last glacial maximum around 20,000 years ago. The relatively stable temperature known for just over 10,000 years would have largely contributed to the emergence and development of civilization as we know it today. The graph stops around 1900 and does not show the staggering recent increase in CO2 concentration and global temperature, which we will discuss below. Source of the graph: NASA (https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/CarbonCycle/page4.php).
The alternation between glacial and interglacial periods is generally explained by the Milankovitch theory, which states that cyclical changes in Earth's orbital parameters (eccentricity, obliquity and precession) occur under the action of large planets and influence the amount of energy received by the Earth, to ultimately modify its climate .
However, changes in Earth's orbit alone are not enough to explain the magnitude of temperature variations. For this, a second key factor then comes into play: GHGs and their concentration in the atmosphere. If its warming potential is not the most important, CO2 has been pointed out as a major driver of past climate changes. Thus, over the last 800,000 years, the concentration of atmospheric CO2 has evolved in close relation with the global temperature.
CO2 has therefore generally not been the trigger, but an amplifier of climatic variations, by intervening in positive feedback loops. Here is an example of a positive feedback loop: due to tiny changes in orbital parameters, the amount of solar radiation received by the Earth increases slightly, which contributes to raising the temperature. Since CO2 is less soluble in warm water than in cold water, oceans release more CO2. The atmospheric CO2 content increases, which accentuates the greenhouse effect and amplifies the warming of the Earth.
Ultimately, the analysis of the past shows that climate change is no exception to an iron law of the universe: change. It also highlights a fundamental property of the climate system: its sensitivity, which means that even a small variation in a climatic parameter can lead to considerable variations in the climate and in particular in global temperature.
These analyzes have shown that the global temperature has varied considerably in the past. Between 60 and 40 million years before our era, the global temperature was perhaps around ten degrees or more higher than the current temperature! Since then, the underlying trend has been towards a gradual cooling of the Earth's surface. This long-term evolution is interspersed with higher frequency oscillations, with alternating drops and rises in global temperature on scales of the order of a few thousand years. Three major factors have been identified for their involvement in these past changes: the amount of solar energy received, volcanic activity and the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Please note that the abscissa scale of the graph is not linear, which can be misleading, especially with regard to the relative climatic stability of the last millennia, the latter in fact constituting only a spark in the history of the Earth. Source of the graphic: Glen Fergus, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/All_palaeotemps.svg).
Today, humans are triggering not a small but a gigantic variation in a climatic parameter: the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere. Thus, the evolution of the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere is one of the most spectacular manifestations of the Anthropocene.
Since the industrial revolution, humans have released huge amounts of GHGs into the air, in particular CO2. Over the past ten years, human activity has emitted into the atmosphere between 35 and 40 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, and each year beats the record of the previous one.
This reckless release of GHGs has logically contributed to drastically increasing their concentration in the atmosphere, as evidenced by the staggering recent evolution of the atmospheric CO2 concentration. On the scale of geological time, the increase in atmospheric CO2 driven by humans appears instantaneous and of an incredible amplitude (top graph)!
In 2022, the atmospheric CO2 concentration thus reached 417 ppm (parts per million – the gas concentration in the atmosphere is expressed in parts per million, which amounts to milliliters per cubic meter). This represents an increase of almost 50% in 200 years, that is to say since the beginning of the industrial revolution when the CO2 concentration was around 280 ppm.
The atmospheric CO2 ceoncentration is known for the past 800,000 years, the period covered by the data from ice cores. During this period, the CO2 concentration never exceeded 300 ppm. And several clues suggest that the current concentration of CO2 has not been reached in the last three million years.
Similarly, the atmospheric concentration of methane has more than doubled since the beginning of the industrial era (middle graph), while the concentration of nitrous oxide has increased by nearly 25% (bottom graph).
Source of data: Our World In Data .
Humans are changing the composition of the atmosphere: greenhouse gases at an unprecedented level for thousands of years
This staggering increase in certain GHGs in the atmosphere has already gone hand in hand with a brutal global warming. Unlike past climate changes, in which GHGs have rather been amplifiers of temperature variations, current climate change is therefore triggered by GHGs.
Looking at the evolution of the average global temperature since 1850 relative to the average global temperature for the period 1961-1990, we see that the temperature has increased very sharply in recent decades. It is now about 0.8°C higher than the 1961-1990 reference. Conversely, the temperature at the start of the industrial era was about 0.4°C lower than the 1961-1990 reference. The difference between the pre-industrial period and the current period is therefore approximately 1.2°C.
A warming of the average global temperature of 1.2°C in less than two centuries is a warming of extraordinary suddenness! By comparison, over the past few million years, when the Earth emerged from glacial periods, the global temperature increased by 4 to 7°C over periods of the order of 5,000 years. The warming of about 1°C during the last century is therefore about 10 times faster than postglacial warming.
Finally, current climate change has two singularities that distinguish it from past changes: it is triggered by GHGs emitted by humans and is taking place with extraordinary suddenness.
Humans are changing Earth's climate: a sharp rise in global temperature in recent decades
Reading the information recorded by tree rings makes it possible to reconstruct the evolution of the global average temperature over the last 2 millennia. The graph above thus shows 2,000 years of temperature evolution relative to the average temperature of the period 1850-1900. Despite constant temperature variations in the past, such as the well-known Medieval Warm Period (10th to 14th century) and Little Ice Age (14th to 19th century), which were restricted to North Atlantic regions, no global change has occurred with the amplitude and in the time laps that characterize recent warming. In the last 2,000 years (and probably more), it has never been as warm as it is today on a global scale . This graph is referred to as the "hockey stick graph" because of the sudden rise in global temperature over the last century, which is a real break with the climate of the last millennia. Source of the chart: RCraig09, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
Source of data: Our World In Data .
Who says temperature rise says less ice on the continents and therefore more water in the ocean. In addition, when its temperature increases, the water "swells" (thermal expansion phenomenon), which also contributes to sea level rise with global warming. During the Last Glacial Maximum, 20,000 years ago, sea level was 120 m lower than it is today . Sea level reconstructions indicate rapid rates of sea level rise, up to 5 cm per year at the end of the glacial periods, and 1-2 cm per year during the interglacial periods.
Logically, since the end of the 19th century and the start of global warming, sea level has been rising continuously, whereas it had been relatively stable for the previous 3,000 years. Average sea level has risen by about 25 cm since 1880. Moreover, it is rising faster and faster: the rate of sea level rise was around 1 mm/year at the end of the 19th century; it was around 2 mm/year in the 20th century and would have reached 3.6 mm per year between 2006 and 2015 .
Source of the chart: NOAA .
Humans are changing sea level: the rate of sea level rise is accelerating
 H. Ritchie, M. Roser, et P. Rosado, « CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions », Our World in Data, 2020. https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions
 Skeptial Science, « What does past climate change tell us about global warming? », Skeptical Science, 2020. https://skepticalscience.com/climate-change-little-ice-age-medieval-warm-period-intermediate.htm
 NOAA, « Climate Change: Global Sea Level », NOAA, 2022. http://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level
 A. Buis, « Milankovitch (Orbital) Cycles and Their Role in Earth’s Climate – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet », NASA, 2020. https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2948/milankovitch-orbital-cycles-and-their-role-in-earths-climate/


Area: 92,391 sq. km.; includes continental Portugal, the Azores (2,333 sq. km.) and Madeira Islands (828 sq. km.); slightly smaller than the State of Indiana; located in Europe's southwest corner bordered by Spain (North and East, 1,214 km.) and the Atlantic Ocean (West and South, 1,793 km.).
Major cities: Lisbon (capital, metropolitan area pop. 2.1 million); Porto (metropolitan area pop. 1.9 million).
Terrain: Mountainous in the north; rolling plains in the central and southern regions.
Climate: Maritime temperate (Atlantic-Mediterranean); average annual temperature is 61�F. Temperatures may drop into the low 30s (�F) at night during the coldest months, with daytime highs in the 50s and 60s. The remainder of the year is normally sunny with minimal rainfall. Days are pleasant, with temperatures seldom exceeding 95�F, except in the southern interior of the country; afternoons and evenings are breezy, with nighttime temperatures in the 60s and low 70s; May-October (dry and warm), November-April (cool with rain and wind in the north, mild in the south).


Smart Air is a social enterprise that promotes DIY air purifiers as a low-cost solution to indoor particulate air pollution in China. Smart Air provides open-source test data and hosts workshops across Asia to teach people how to make DIY air purifiers. Founded in China, Smart Air also ships low-cost purifiers to people in India, Mongolia and other countries across Asia.
More than nine out of 10 of the world’s population – 92% – live in places where air pollution exceeds safe limits, according to research from the World Health Organization (WHO). The majority of people affected by air pollution come from low- and middle- income countries.
Smart Air’s mission is to provide affordable air purifiers to consumers across China and internationally, giving a greater number of the world’s population access to clean air and a healthier life, without having to pay a premium price.
Online shops: Smart Air is currently offering products like adorable air purifiers
on Taobao (淘宝) and through PayPal.
Regular Salons: Smart Air holds regular salons so spread the message that it doesn’t cost thousands of RMB to get clean air. Smart Air will test purifying effects on the spot and participants can make and take home air purifiers themselves.
School Programs: Smart Air runs a hands-on workshop in elementary and middle schools to help spread knowledge and awareness of air pollution.
How would the world be different because of Smart Air?
A major part of Smart Air’s mission is to educate people on the causes of air pollution, its health effects, and to give people the power to make their own educated decisions on how to best protect themselves. Smart Air is currently providing workshops for schools, businesses, and individuals. These are used to answer common misconceptions on air pollution, and to make complex technical questions such as the “mechanics of air purifiers” and “the cardiovascular and neurological health effects of PM2.5” easier to understand. With Smart Air reaching to more schools and communities across China, it has created a snowball effect of pollution awareness in the country. Smart Air has contributed to helping spread the word on how people can protect their health and improve their quality of life, and also encourage their customers to look into ways to live a carbon-neutral lifestyle (i.e. by driving the car less, or by flying less).


16TH September each year is identified as international day for preservation of ozone layer. The ozone layer, a fragile shield of gas, protects the Earth from the harmful portion of the rays of the sun, thus helping preserve life on the planet. Aim of this day is to create awareness to phase-out ozone depleting substances which damage ozone layer too. This year theme for ozone day is "32 years and healing" celebrates completion of three decades with ratified Montreal protocol.
Why Ozone day?
On December 19, 1994, the UN General Assembly proclaimed September 16 to be the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, commemorating the date when the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed in 1987. The day was first celebrated on September 16, 1995.
When was the ozone hole discovered?
The discovery of the annual depletion of ozone above the Antarctic was first announced in a paper by Joe Farman, Brian Gardiner and Jonathan Shanklin which appeared in Nature in May 1985. Later, NASA scientists re-analyzed their satellite data and found that the whole of the Antarctic was affected.
The scientific confirmation of the depletion of the ozone layer prompted the international community to establish a mechanism for cooperation to take action to protect the ozone layer.
On 22nd March 1985, treaty was signed and adopted by 28 countries protect against ozone depletion. Drafting on Montreal Protocol on September 1987.
The principal aim of the Montreal Protocol is to protect the ozone layer by taking measures to control total global production and consumption of substances that deplete it, with the ultimate objective of their elimination on the basis of developments in scientific knowledge and technological information. Attention focus on higher- causing ozone depleting substance and then on lower ozone- depletion potential.
The Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer reached agreement at their 28th Meeting of the Parties on 15 October 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda to phase-down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
What can we do?
Awareness is the first step to begin protecting our damaged ozone layer. There are many simple ways to save our ozone layer.
• Avoid the purchase and use of aerosol sprays containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
• Avoid the use of fire extinguishers with halogenated hydrocarbon, a substance being very aggressive to the ozone layer.
• Avoid buying insulating material made from CFC. Instead, you can use the dark chipboard cork that do not pollute the environment for the same purpose.
• Keep clean the air conditioning because if a malfunction occurs it emit CFCs in the atmosphere.
• Check the freezer and the car air-conditioning. If they malfunction, need repairing soon, because it may emit CFCs.
• Buy a refrigerator or air conditioner which is CFC-free.
• Buy energy saving gadgets and bulbs. You will reduce levels of pollution and money.
Ozone layer depletion is deep crisis which leads to increased UV-B radiation reaching the surface of the Earth affecting humans and all the living organisms. Anthropogenic activities are the main cause for ozone layer depletion leading to global climatic changes. This leads to a number of health problems like heat-related issues, skin cancer, and various other ecological disturbances that affect biotic life. Hence every individual should be well aware of the harmful effects of all the causing agents of ozone layer depletion like CFC, plastics, fossil fuel etc and should reduce and avoid using them. We all should pledge to make this world sustainable for everyone to live.


The current images from the weather radar station located near the Town of Strathmore appear below. These images are provided by Environment Canada. The Big Sky Observatory is located about 92 kilometres south of Strathmore, which makes Strathmore the site of the closest weather radar station. For this reason, we use the Strathmore XSM weather radar station to see if any precipitation is occurring in the vicinity of the Big Sky Observatory.
Please note that it sometimes takes about a minute for these radar images to load. Please be patient!


We’re ready to respond to Ophelia across the UK
16 th Oct 2017
Expert in this field
An amber weather warning has been issued by the Met Office, as ex-hurricane Ophelia is expected to bring strong winds to the UK from midday today. With gusts of up to 80 mph, it’s predicted to peak across Northern Ireland and north and west Wales this afternoon. Following a northward track, the strong winds are then expected to hit southwest Scotland this evening.
The amber warning for wind applies to Northern Ireland, western Wales and southwest Scotland, with a yellow warning extending to many other western and northern areas of the UK – this runs into much of Tuesday.
Transport, power and communication services could be affected and some damage to buildings is highly possible.
24-Hour Emergency HelpLine
We’re increasing the resources for our 24-hour emergency HelpLine today, overnight and into tomorrow morning. We’re ready to provide any immediate and urgent support and assistance that your customers might require.
Ready to respond across the UK
Invisio – our Building Claims Inspectors have been briefed and we’re ready to relocate additional resources into those areas that are worst affected. We’re in a good position to respond to any increase in property damage claims right across the UK.
Loss Adjusting Services – we’ve also put our national network of loss adjusters and support teams on standby – including surveyors and structural engineers from Sergon.
We’re ready to respond at every level, should the current strong winds build into a significant claims event.
Please complete this simple form and our expert will be in touch very soon.All fields are mandatory


SOBERANES WILDFIRE AIR QUALITY ADVISORY – Monterey Bay Air Resources Center
The Soberanes Fire is burning in Monterey County south of Carmel.
The smoke concentration in the Carmel Valley, measured as fine particulate matter or PM 2.5, is currently in the “Unhealthy” category of the Air Quality Index (AQI). Residents should avoid exercise or physical exertion and remain sheltered indoors with windows and doors closed. Anyone who feels physically challenged by the elevated concentrations of smoke may consider moving out of the area temporarily until smoke levels have decreased. Residents with chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma and COPD, or heart disease may consider contacting their doctors for medical advice.


On Saturday, February 25th, the citizens of Claremont woke up to something unprecedented: snow blanketing the roofs, backyards, and trees of Claremont. Bewildered and delighted, citizens enjoyed the rare sight. As enjoyable as the sight of snow was, however, this was no winter miracle. Instead, it is an ominous warning of the effects of climate change.
The reason that snow unexpectedly fell upon Claremont in a way that it has not in decades is due to atmospheric rivers, which are “long, narrow highways of moisture”, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These atmospheric rivers lie around 10,000 to 15,000 feet above the surface of the Earth, traveling thousands of miles across the planet while being responsible for 30-50% of the wet season precipitation along the West Coast of the U.S., according to NOAA. A strong atmospheric river can transport an amount of water vapor that is “roughly equivalent to 7.5–15 times the average flow of liquid water at the mouth of the Mississippi River,” NOAA has found.
However, this winter, California has been hit with multiple atmospheric river events. According to analyses, the atmospheric rivers carrying warmer water have shifted to cross over more of California than usual. In fact, in the past three months alone California has experienced twelve atmospheric rivers. This has caused winter storms to deposit over 100 inches in the Sierra Nevada mountains, causing a trickle-down effect in which over a foot of rain has hit areas of California, an unprecedented amount. Historically, the path of the atmospheric rivers merely skims California, diverting most moisture away from the state. This is why California’s climate has always been dry, and why the sudden influx of water has been shocking to its citizens and scientists.
The reason for these atmospheric rivers shifting is because of climate change. As temperatures increase across the globe, so do moisture levels in the atmosphere. In turn, atmospheric rivers can hold more moisture, causing an even greater increase in rainfall across the state. Although this has helped ease the state’s record drought, it has also caused catastrophic flooding, displacing hundreds of people and destroying thousands of dollars in property.
Although the rare snowfall Claremont has experienced over the past few weeks has seemed to be a blessing, it is truly a warning in disguise, a warning that must be heeded. As the past month has shown, climate change is not a faraway, distant threat. It affects the people of Claremont even today, and its effects can be seen as close as their backyards.


A Met Eireann Status Orange Wind warning has been issued for a weather system tracking towards Ireland.
Severe winds associated with Storm Diana are expected on Wednesday 28th, south to southwest winds of 65 to 80km/h will gust 110 to 130km/h. High seas are expected also, with a risk of coastal flooding, valid from 06:00 until 12:00 on 28th November.
Cork County Council’s Severe Weather Assessment Team convened in relation to possible coastal flooding as a result of the recent heavy rainfall, tidal surge and expected high winds.
Tidal surges of 0.6m-0.75m are expected on Wednesday 28th, which could give rise to coastal flooding in some locations, depending on the wind direction and the exact timing of peak wind conditions.
Road users are asked to exercise extreme caution, particularly tomorrow morning, due to surface water on roads and debris due to forecasted adverse weather conditions.
Overall, the outlook is for disturbed conditions over the next five days bringing high rainfall across the country with highest rainfall expected in the west and southwest.
Cork County Council will continue to monitor this situation.


Residents of far north Queensland are bracing for possible power outages, internet and water supply disruptions with the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
As of about 11am Monday, Jasper had weakened again to a category 1 system and was about 505km east of Cairns and 420km east northeast of Townsville.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Far north Queensland communities brace for Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
Watch the latest news and stream for free on 7plus >>
The Bureau of Meteorology issued its first cyclone warning on Monday morning for winds and heavy rainfall.
Warnings are issued when impacts are expected within 24 hours and will be updated every three hours.
“Jasper is forecast to re-intensify during Tuesday as it approaches the coast,” the bureau said.
Meanwhile, people living between Cooktown and Ingham are being warned to expect damaging 90km/h winds to develop from Tuesday.
The winds could extend as far north as Cape Melville, on the eastern coast of Cape York Peninsula, and as far south as Townsville, the Bureau of Meteorology warned.
Heavy rainfall was also expected to develop along the coast from late Tuesday ahead of Jasper likely making landfall on Wednesday between Cape Flattery and Cardwell, potentially as a category 2 system.
Flooding was possible for the north tropical coast, parts of the Cape York Peninsula and Gulf Country from Wednesday, the bureau warned.
Current image of cyclone Jasper tracking towards the Queensland coast as of Monday morning. Credit: Windy.com
Penny Priest, CEO of the Fitzroy Island Resort situated about 24km off the coast of Cairns, confirmed they had activated their “cyclone management plan” to protect guests and the island’s turtle rehabilitation centre.
“Our team at the resort have activated our cyclone management plan and are currently working through the steps involved,” Priest told 7NEWS.com.au.
“The safety of our guests and staff is our number one priority, we have developed a comprehensive management plan to assist us with these adverse weather events.
“We are working with Jeannie Gilbert, co-ordinator of the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, to assist where possible to protect the turtles and the centre,” Priest said.
A severe weather warning for damaging winds was also in place for Monday in parts of the Herbert, lower Burdekin, central coast and Whitsundays districts, with the bureau predicting gusts of up to 90km/h in some areas.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services on Sunday warned residents between Cape Melville and Townsville strong winds could fell trees and powerlines, blow roofs off houses as well as anything not tied down.
Jasper could also cause phone and internet outages, along with water supplies, the services warned.
Communities could also be isolated.
State Disaster co-ordinator Shane Chelepy said on Friday it was time for those in Queensland living north of Mackay to “start preparing emergency kits”.
“Keep your car topped up with petrol, have enough food in your house to last 72 hours, get some extra bottled water and a power bank for your phone and be aware of what you may need to do,” he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed with 7NEWS.com.au four of its staff had been “safely evacuated” from Willis Island on Saturday.
The forecasters, who were carrying out important front-line tropical cyclone monitoring, were evacuated after the cyclone they were tracking began heading straight for them.
The 7.7ha island is home to four bureau staff and is one of Queensland’s major frontline defences when it comes to keeping the state’s residents informed about cyclones, according to the Queensland Government.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk — before announcing her shock retirement from politics on Sunday — said she had been briefed on the cyclone.
“I can say that all preparations are well and truly in place,” she told reporters in Brisbane.
“It is expected to make land on Wednesday and can I just remind Queenslanders and especially north Queensland to take care.”


What is a hurricane?
A hurricane is a massive swirling storm that is created in the oceans of warmer climates. Hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones are all types of tropical storms, named after where they occur, with no difference other than location. Hurricanes form in the Atlantic of the west coast of Africa, while typhoons most frequently form off the east coast of Asia. However, the generic scientific term for these storms is a tropical cyclone.
You don't have to be a meteorologist to know that hurricanes can cause a lot of damage, but what causes hurricanes? You can say hurricanes are actually like giant engines that get their energy from moist air in oceans in tropical climates.
How do hurricanes form?
To understand entirely how hurricanes form we need to take it step by step; from what allows the hurricane to develop, to what keeps them going, and the classifications of hurricanes.
We would also recommend taking a look at how wind is formed to improve your understanding.
- For a hurricane to form, it needs to meet a set of conditions, e.g., specific latitudes - 5–20 degrees north or south of the equator. It also requires a lot of heat, and ocean surface temperatures of at least 26°C.
- If the above conditions are met, the ocean water begins to evaporate and condense, creating towering clouds and heavy rainfall.
- An area of low pressure is formed due to the rising warm air, leaving less air near the surface of the water. This area of low pressure then 'sucks' the air in, in an attempt to replace the missing air.
- Air from the surrounding area that has higher pressure, floods into the area of low pressure, replacing the missing air with 'new' air, which also becomes warm and moist, causing it to rise and create a continuous up-flow of vapour that rises, cools and condenses into clouds. This is also what causes the hurricane to spin. However, all storms that form north of the equator spin counter clockwise, and storms that form south of the equator spin clockwise. This is due to the Coriolis effect.
- The above steps repeat as the storm grows, rotating faster and faster, creating the eye in the centre of the storm. The eye is the calm, clear, low-pressure centre of the storm and 'pulls' high-pressure air in through the top of the storm - further 'feeding' the storm.
- Tropical storms, although they can cause damage, can't travel far inland. This is because once the storm begins to move away from the water, its energy source starts to dwindle.
- Tropical depression - Winds of 20-34 knots (38 mph or less); accompanied by an area of low pressure and thunderstorms that produce a circular wind flow.
- Tropical storm - Winds of 35-64 knots (39-73 mph); tropical depressions upgrade into a tropical storm when the cyclonic circulation becomes more organised. This is where the naming of storms begins to take place.
- Tropical cyclone - Winds of 64-82 knots (74-95 mph); this is where a tropical storm upgrades into, in this instance, a hurricane, with the eye around 5 to 30 miles wide. This is where they are given categories - category 1 being less intense and category 5 being very severe.
- Category 1 - Wind speeds of 64-82 knots (74-95mph); produces dangerous winds, but with minimal damage to occur at landfall.
- Category 2 - Wind speeds of 83-95 knots (96-110 mph); produces hazardous winds and causes moderate damage to occur at landfall.
- Category 3 - Winds speeds of 96-113 knots (111-129 mph); produces extensive damage to occur at landfall.
- Category 4 - Wind speeds of 114-135 knots (130-156 mph); produces extreme damage to occur at landfall.
- Category 5 - Wind speeds above 135 knots (157 mph); produces catastrophic damage to occur at landfall.
Where and when do tropical cyclones occur?
The distinction between different kinds of tropical cyclones depends entirely on where they are formed. What's interesting, it is possible for more than one cyclone to occur in the same region at the same time.
Hurricanes are formed over waters where temperatures exceed 26°C. They occur over the Atlantic and North-East Pacific Oceans, and the areas that are most exposed to them are the southern parts of the United States and the African coast. Particularly extreme hurricanes are most common along the east coast of the United States, in the Caribbean, less frequently along the west coasts of the United States and Mexico. Cyclones that occur in the Atlantic region and affect the United States regions constitute around 15% of total global tropical cyclone activity.
Typhoons are tropical cyclones that occur in eastern and south-eastern Asia; they are formed over the Western Pacific between 180 and 100 meridians. The word typhoon derives from Chinese and its literal meaning is "wind from Taiwan". Typhoons occur mostly in summer and autumn. The winds of a typhoon can reach very high speeds, bringing extremely heavy rainfall. Typhoons often cause a significant damage due to their great power. Occurring in in the southern hemisphere, winds in a typhoon move clockwise.
Locations of tropical cyclones
- Hurricanes - Atlantic and North-East Pacific Oceans - Occur between June and November
- Typhoon/Super typhoon - North-West Pacific Ocean - Occur all year round, but has a primary season between July and November
- Severe tropical cyclone - South-West Pacific and South-East Indian Ocean - Occur late October/early November to May
- Severe cyclonic storm - North Indian Ocean - Occur between April and December
- Tropical cyclone - South-West Indian Ocean - Occur between Late October/early November to May
Due to the climate change, tropical cyclones have also started occurring in regions that have been generally considered out of the range of such disasters up until recent times, e.g., Hurricane Vince in 2005, which struck southwestern Spain; and Subtropical Storm Alpha in 2020 - northern Portugal.
- Tropical cyclones – metoffice.gov.uk https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/tropicalcyclone/facts
- Hurricane center – baynews9.com http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/weather/hurricane-center/wind-speeds.html
- Hurricanes – nasa.gov https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/hurricanes/en/
- Hurricanes – bbc.co.uk http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/natural_hazards/hurricanes_rev1.shtml
- Hurricanes – nasa.gov https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-are-hurricanes-k4.html
- Hurricanes – scikinks.gov https://scijinks.gov/hurricane/
- Weather – accuweather.com https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/whats-the-difference-between-a/34388


Vredenburg normally receives about 239mm of rain per year and because it receives most of its rainfall during winter it has a Mediterranean climate. The chart below (lower left) shows the average rainfall values for Vredenburg per month. It receives the lowest rainfall (1mm) in February and the highest (45mm) in June. The monthly distribution of average daily maximum temperatures (centre chart below) shows that the average midday temperatures for Vredenburg range from 16.5°C in July to 25.6°C in February. The region is the coldest during July when the mercury drops to 8°C on average during the night. Consult the chart below (lower right) for an indication of the monthly variation of average minimum daily temperatures.


You can use Domo's NOAA Weather connector to retrieve a weather forecast or current observations for a specified latitude and longitude from the public National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data.
You create an NOAA Weather DataSet in the Data Center.
The NOAA Weather connector is a "Cloud App" connector, meaning it retrieves data stored in the cloud. In the Data Center, you can access the connector page for this and other Cloud App connectors by clicking Cloud App in the toolbar at the top of the window.
This topic discusses the fields and menus that are specific to the NOAA Weather connector user interface. General information for adding DataSets, setting update schedules, and editing DataSet information is discussed in Adding a DataSet Using a Data Connector.
Creating an NOAA Weather DataSet
There are two types of reports to choose from:
The Forecast report returns future forecast weather data at either a daily or hourly period.
The Current Observations report returns 1 row of the last recorded values for a specific weather station.
Latitude and Longitude
Provide the latitude and longitude for the coordinates you would like to return data for.
You must select a weather station when choosing the current observations report. The weather station drop-down list is populated with the closest stations to the latitude and longitude provided.
Then, schedule updates for your new DataSet in the Scheduling pane. For information about the remaining sections of the connector interface, including how to configure scheduling, retry, and update options, see Adding a DataSet Using a Data Connector.


The IAP was founded in January 1992. The headquarters is located in Kühlungsborn and a branch in Juliusruh on the island of Rügen. The research topics concentrate on the terrestrial atmosphere, in particular on the dynamical coupling between various layers from the troposphere up to the lower thermosphere (approx. 100 km).
The IAP consists of three departments: Optical soundings, Radar soundings and sounding rockets, and Theory and Modeling. Ground-based remote optical sounding is performed by various laser instruments (‘lidars’ = light detecting and ranging) with wavelengths from infrared to ultraviolet. Atmospheric parameters such as densities and temperatures are deduced from the backscattered laser light. Special emphasis is placed on the investigation of ice particles in the summer mesopause region, known as "noctilucent clouds". The global distribution of ice layers is also investigated by modelling. Instruments on sounding rockets are applied to investigate small-scale structures (turbulence), plasma, and dust particles. Radars with frequencies in the MF and VHF range are used to measure winds and turbulence in the troposphere and mesosphere. Furthermore, physical processes leading to very strong summer and winter echoes in the mesosphere are investigated. Long-term trends of these parameters and in the background atmosphere are also studied. Theoretical methods and numerical models are applied to study physical and chemical processes in the atmosphere. The investigations concentrate on dynamical coupling between various height ranges, and on the generation, propagation, and breaking of atmospheric waves on various scales.
The research topics at the IAP focus on the mesosphere (50-90 km) at middle and polar latitudes. The IAP therefore operates several lidars and radars as part of the ALOMAR observatory in Northern Norway (69°N). The scientific investigations concern processes leading to the thermal and dynamical structure of the atmosphere, including long-term changes.


Weather in the mountains
Strong northerly currents over the Alps.
Cloudy conditions and increasing snowfall during the day on the main Alpine ridge, with the heaviest snowfall in the Zilltertal Alps. On the southern mountain groups mostly dry with strong to stormy northwesterly winds.
Mountain weather tomorrow
The northerly high-altitude current over the Alps is easing and there is a temporary improvement in the weather.
Residual snow showers on the north-eastern mountains in the morning, then dry and partly sunny. New snowfall in the north in the evening. Strong winds, milder.


Cyclone Damien brought wind speeds of 194km/hr but didn’t leave Karratha completely in the dark with 288 GFS-200’s safely illuminating the streets and pathways when mains lighting supplied by the power grid had failed.
Full story here >
Tropical Cyclone Damien struck the WA cast earlier this month as a category 3 severe tropical cyclone at around 3:30pm on Saturday the 8th of February bringing with it severe, destructive winds, torrential rainfall and storm surges. The recorded rainfall for the region was 235.2mm received by 9:00am Sunday with about 10,000 residents affected by power outages and intermittent phone reception and over 100 calls for assistance.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said Karratha and Dampier residents were hit with the brunt of the storm with Karratha residents surviving the hardest impact as the eye wall crossed directly over them. Tropical Cyclone Damien was the third tropical cyclone for the season but the first to be classified as severe.
Weather conditions in the Pilbara region can be some of the harshest in Australia. The City of Karratha had trialed other solar lighting products in the past but few could endure the punishing conditions.
Green Frog Systems have established a name in this space, designing high performance solar lighting to withstand extreme environments such as these and agreed to supply the City with GFS-200 Solar Street Lights. These units carry a cyclone rated structural design (Region D – Severe Cyclonic ) and will reliably continue to operate through extreme temperatures, storms and flooding.
Since 2017 Green Frog Systems have worked with the City of Karratha, deploying almost 300 solar street lights with another shipment set for delivery. The City has been so impressed with the GFS-200 solar street lights that they have identified Green Frog Systems as their preferred supplier for all solar powered lighting.
From nearly 300 installed only three (3) solar street lights were damaged during Cyclone Damien from flying debris.


Department of Applied Environmental Science
Dr. Fernandez is currently working with researchers from NASA Ames who are looking to use the data from the collectors to ground truth satellite images from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors, which have the ability to extract information on the presence or absence of fog. The NASA researchers are hoping to establish long time series of fog to look at its effects on regional ecosystems and to evaluate whether the patterns of fog presence are shifting as a result of climate change.
UC Santa Cruz
Dr. Fernandez is also working with research groups at UC Santa Cruz. One group is looking at fog as an indicator of lizard extinctions throughout the world. That is, some lizards are dependent upon the moisture and cooler temperatures that the fog brings. As these fog regimes shift their spatial and temporal extent, various lizard species are shown to go extinct. Another group at UC Santa Cruz is looking at some of the chemicals present in fog and has identified monomethyl mercury, a biologically “fixed” compound of mercury,as having a concentration several times greater in fog than in rain.


Climate Change Is Real and It’s Happening Now
Climate change is a topic that has been making headlines for decades, and for good reason. It is a global issue that affects every living being on this planet. Despite the overwhelming evidence and scientific consensus, there are still some who deny the reality of climate change. However, the facts speak for themselves – climate change is real and it’s happening now.
What is Climate Change?
Climate change refers to the long-term changes in the Earth’s climate, including temperature, precipitation, and wind patterns. These changes are primarily caused by human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes. These activities release large amounts of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere, trapping heat and causing the Earth’s temperature to rise.
The Evidence of Climate Change
The evidence of climate change is overwhelming and cannot be ignored. Here are some key pieces of evidence that prove climate change is real and happening now:
- Rising Temperatures: According to NASA, the Earth’s average temperature has risen by about 1.1 degrees Celsius since the late 19th century. This may seem like a small increase, but it has significant consequences for our planet.
- Extreme Weather Events: The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, heatwaves, and wildfires, have increased in recent years. These events are a direct result of climate change and have devastating impacts on communities and ecosystems.
- Shrinking Ice Sheets: The Arctic sea ice is melting at an alarming rate, and the Greenland ice sheet is losing an average of 286 billion tons of ice per year. This not only contributes to rising sea levels but also has a ripple effect on the Earth’s climate and ecosystems.
- Changing Seasons: Climate change is causing shifts in the timing and duration of seasons. Spring is arriving earlier, and fall is arriving later, disrupting the delicate balance of ecosystems and affecting plant and animal life cycles.
The Impact of Climate Change
The effects of climate change are far-reaching and have serious consequences for both humans and the environment. Here are some of the impacts of climate change that we are already experiencing:
- Rising Sea Levels: As the Earth’s temperature rises, so do sea levels. This is due to the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, as well as the expansion of seawater as it warms. Rising sea levels threaten coastal communities and low-lying areas, putting millions of people at risk of flooding and displacement.
- Loss of Biodiversity: Climate change is causing the extinction of many plant and animal species. As their habitats change and become uninhabitable, many species are unable to adapt and survive. This loss of biodiversity has a ripple effect on the entire ecosystem and can have devastating consequences for food systems and human health.
- Food and Water Insecurity: Climate change is affecting food production and water availability. Extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, are becoming more frequent, making it difficult for farmers to grow crops and for communities to access clean water. This can lead to food and water shortages, which disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.
- Health Impacts: Climate change is also having a significant impact on human health. Rising temperatures and extreme weather events can lead to heat-related illnesses, respiratory problems, and the spread of diseases. Vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions, are particularly at risk.
What Can We Do About It?
While the effects of climate change may seem overwhelming, there are actions we can take to mitigate its impacts and prevent further damage. Here are some steps we can take to address climate change:
- Reduce Our Carbon Footprint: One of the most effective ways to combat climate change is to reduce our carbon footprint. This can be done by using renewable energy sources, driving less, and consuming less meat and dairy products.
- Support Climate Action: We can also support policies and initiatives that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote sustainable practices. This can include voting for leaders who prioritize climate action and supporting organizations that work towards a greener future.
- Adapt to a Changing Climate: As the effects of climate change are already being felt, it is important to adapt to a changing climate. This can include building resilient infrastructure, implementing disaster preparedness plans, and protecting vulnerable communities.
Question: Is it Too Late to Stop Climate Change?
No, it is not too late to stop climate change. While the Earth’s climate has already changed, we still have the power to prevent further damage and create a more sustainable future. However, it is crucial that we act now and take meaningful steps towards reducing our carbon footprint and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Climate change is real, and it’s happening now. The evidence is clear, and the impacts are already being felt around the world. It is up to each and every one of us to take action and make a positive impact on our planet. By reducing our carbon footprint, supporting climate action, and adapting to a changing climate, we can create a more sustainable future for ourselves and future generations.
Remember, the Earth is our only home, and it is our responsibility to protect it. Let’s take action now before it’s too late.