The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) prepares 2021 Report for World Governments, Describes it as “Wake-up Call” (BBC, Scientific American)
Scientists are preparing a 40 page report on the state of climate change for 195 countries. This is the 6th official IPCC report since 1990.
The IPCC reports are meant to help inform governments on climate science and impacts, so they can tackle climate change through domestic and international policies.
With recent events in mind, the IPCC has added a new section of the report focused on weather and extreme events in a changing climate.
With COP26 coming up in November, this report is highly anticipated and will likely impact the discussions held in Glasgow.
East Coast Cities Issue Air Quality Warnings due to West Coast Wildfires (The Boston Globe, The Guardian, Associated Press, Axios)
As wildfires continue to rage in the Western United States and Canada, fine particulate due to smoke covered regions of the East Coast in a dense haze.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection issues health warnings for sensitive groups in much of the Greater Boston area. Sensitive groups include those with health concerns, older adults and people with prolonged outdoor activity, among other groups.
This was the second time in two weeks that wind patterns had settled the smoke thousands of miles from the unprecedented fires raging due to climate related heat and drought.
Extreme Flooding in China Brings Role of Climate Change to Forefront (NPR, The Guardian, South China Morning Post)
Extreme flooding and heavy rains in the Henan province of China have displaced over a million people, and claimed the lives of 63 people.
Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, experienced a year's worth of rain within three days, exacerbating a typically rainy summer season.
Official Chinese media outlets have begun linking extreme weather and climate change in their publications.
Biden Nominee for Bureau of Land Management Under Fire by Senate Republicans for Ties to Radical Environmentalists (NPR, Inside Climate News, New York Times)
Tracy Stone Manning, President Biden's pick to manage the Bureau of Land Management, is being accused by senate Republicans of lying about her involvement in a 1989 “tree spiking incident”.
The incident in question was an effort to delay the sale of trees in Clearwater National Forest in Idaho. A graduate student at the time, Tracy Stone Manning sent a letter to the U.S. Forest Service on behalf of one of the activists involved in the spiking.
Senate Democrats have described these accusations as “character assignations” and are determined to bring Ms. Stone Mannings nomination to the senate floor.
Tokyo Games Facing Threat of Extreme Heat for Athletes (The Verge, Popular Science, Associated Press, NBC)
The pandemic plagued Tokyo games began last week with a new threat on the minds of the athletes; extreme heat. Already we have seen athletes suffer as a consequence.
Expected to be the hottest Olympics on record, temperatures have soared well into the 90’s and have many athletes worried about their health.
Extreme heat now kills more people annually than any other weather event, and will only continue to worsen with Climate Change.
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