Year: 2026

Effect of climate change at least as large as El Niño in strengthening Hurricane Polo 

Hurricane Polo off the coast of Mexico on September 23 2026. Image: MODIS - Nasa Earth Observatory

Hurricane Polo developed into a tropical depression on 20 September and rapidly strengthened into a Hurricane within 24 hours. By 22 September, the National Hurricane Center had upgraded the storm to Category 5, making it one of the fastest-strengthening storms observed in the Eastern Pacific (Copernicus, 2026). Exceptionally warm ocean waters supplied the heat and … Continue reading “Effect of climate change at least as large as El Niño in strengthening Hurricane Polo “

Rapid Warming in the Himalaya Exacerbates Geohazard Cascades Beyond Adaptation Limits

Views of settlements in central northern Nepal covered in mud following the devastating flash floods that swept through the area on 26 August, causing widespread destruction to homes, roads and other infrastructure.

A catastrophic rock-ice avalanche that transitioned into a debris flood in the Himalayas along the Nepal–China border on 26 August 2026 has caused widespread destruction across Nepal and neighbouring regions. In Nepal, at the time of writing (14 September 2026) the disaster has resulted in over 1,300 confirmed deaths, with only a small fraction of … Continue reading “Rapid Warming in the Himalaya Exacerbates Geohazard Cascades Beyond Adaptation Limits”

Climate change is reducing early wet season rainfall in Puerto Rico and Jamaica

Cracked earth at a farm in Puerto Rico. Photo: USDA Forest Service photo by Preston Keres

Since May 2026 Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and smaller islands including St Lucia, St Vincent, the US Virgin Islands, Grenada and St Kitts have experienced increasingly severe drought conditions, following a wetter-than-normal late winter and early spring (Drought.gov, 23 July, 2026). Persistent rainfall deficits and near-record temperatures have driven critically low river flows, declining reservoir and … Continue reading “Climate change is reducing early wet season rainfall in Puerto Rico and Jamaica”

Climate change is driving unprecedented European ocean temperatures, with severe impacts for marine life

The waters surrounding Europe are heating faster than the climate as a whole with implications for nature, food systems and coastal communities.

July 2026 has been the month with the world’s seas hitting their hottest surface temperature on record (The Guardian, 2026). Record high sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were measured in the Atlantic along the European coast and in the Western Mediterranean (Copernicus, 2026), and SSTs were as much as 6°C hotter than normal in the Mediterranean … Continue reading “Climate change is driving unprecedented European ocean temperatures, with severe impacts for marine life”

Flood impacts in Assam driven by high exposure and structural vulnerability, amid uncertain rainfall trends

Flooding in Assam State in August 2026. Photo: Facebook/CMO Assam

Between late June and early August 2026, the region of Upper Assam (specifically the primary districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo, and Jorhat) and the surrounding hill catchments of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India witnessed multiple spells of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall that triggered repeated waves of flash flooding and widespread inundation across the … Continue reading “Flood impacts in Assam driven by high exposure and structural vulnerability, amid uncertain rainfall trends”