Record-breaking heat amplified waves of student climate protests in 2019
This year was a scorcher. Summer temperatures broke hundreds of all-time records, bringing unprecedented melting to Greenland and helping to fuel wildfires that raged across the Arctic as early as June (SN Online: 8/2/19). And a stark report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned of a bleak future for Earth’s oceans and frozen regions as the planet heats up (SN Online: 9/25/19). 32019 Top 10See full list But climate scientists say that’s not 2019’s only takeaway: This year also saw record-breaking waves of climate activism. “I’ve never seen so much protest,” says glaciologist Eric Rignot of the University of California, Irvine. He’s referring to the climate marches that swept the world and culminated in climate strikes during the September United Nations’ Climate Action Summit in New York City. “It’s actually a very exciting time.” Many of these strikes were led by students, particularly 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Her #FridaysForFuture movement began in August 2018 as...