How does the ocean drive weather and climate extremes?
Wednesday, August 31, 2016 - 07:31
in Earth & Climate
There's been a change in the weather. Across the globe, extreme weather events—severe heat waves, heavy precipitation, lengthy droughts and deadly wildfires—appear to be on the rise. December 2015 was the wettest month in the United Kingdom since record keeping began in 1910. More than 5,000 miles west, California recently entered its fifth year of drought. These events threaten the health and welfare of communities, and they're costly. Losses related to the flooding in the U.K. are expected to exceed five billion pounds, while the Golden State's drought drained about $2.7 billion from its coffers in 2015 alone.