Latest news with #DayAfterTomorrow
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
OPINION - The London Question: What happens if climate change gets out of control?
When you think about climate change, you probably imagine our world getting hotter. Ice melting, sea levels rising, miserable looking polar bears on lonely ice floes — you know the drill. For climate scientists like me that is likely where we're heading — but there's also a world in which the opposite happens and London actually gets colder… much colder. According to recent studies that's something that could happen in many of our lifetimes. In fact, even as early as 2025. Given that is literally this year, it's worth considering seriously. I know it seems strange to speak of London getting colder when January felt like a Siberian winter and February very much picked up where that left off. London's cold, what's new? Fair question. To explain what I'm talking about we need to go on a quick jaunt around the Atlantic. This is all about a giant, invisible, ocean current in the Atlantic Ocean. If we could see it, it would look like a huge piece of spaghetti draped from the northern to southern hemispheres and back again. It's called the AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation) and it works like our planet's central heating system. It circulates water from north to south and back again in a long cycle within the Atlantic Ocean. Its primary job is to move heat around the world, pushing 17 million cubic meters of water northwards every second. It makes sure the climate of Western Europe is much warmer than it would otherwise be. London is about the same distance from the equator as the cold regions of Canada, yet enjoys a much warmer climate because of this system. But there's a problem — the AMOC is slowing down, stopping it doing all that stuff well. It's actually in its weakest state in nearly 2,000 years. How do we know this? Well there's a really big cold blob (no, seriously, it even has its own Wikipedia page) in the North Atlantic that we can actually see. It's the only place on Earth to have cooled in the past 20 years — indicating that heat transfer magic I mentioned before isn't doing what it should be doing. Some scientists have taken this a step further and think AMOC may even collapse. The Day After Tomorrow was based on this exact event. Is the day after tomorrow, actually now tomorrow, or next week? This big, old, invisible ocean current is a tricky customer because no one can quite agree on when that might be or how quickly it's slowing. We haven't been measuring it long enough to get actual estimates and instead have to rely on ice sheet data from 60,000 years ago. Depending on which scientist you speak to, you get dates as early as 2025, others offer up something around the 2050s and the official line from the IPCC (the fun people at the UN's climate team) is 'sometime before 2100' — not very helpful. Reading between the lines and on the balance of probability, most, if not all, climate scientists seem to suggest we're looking at a case of when — and not if — here. I'll say right now, I'm pretty confident it's not going to be this year (don't cancel the in-laws at Christmas just yet) but it could very feasibly be something that happens in the mid-century and that makes it a very real problem, and a problem some of us will witness. Remember the film in 2004, The Day After Tomorrow, the one that gave us early Jake Gyllenhaal? Well, that film was based on this exact event — an AMOC collapse. Is that where we're heading? Is the day after tomorrow, actually now tomorrow, or next week? It would leave London looking like northern Canada, with temperatures falling to -20C All of that is a lot to digest, sorry. You're going about your day, already worried about climate change and I've just told you a giant invisible thing you can't see, and that maybe you hadn't even heard of, is suddenly going to plunge us into a deeper ice age. Well, let's start with the good news: the events in that film happen over the course of a Hollywood two weeks. Even if the AMOC went belly up tomorrow, we wouldn't begin to feel the effects for several decades. So in that respect the film is just that: fiction. At some point though, things would eventually kick in… While a snow day might sound fun, it would present dire consequences for agriculture, leaving us unable to grow many crops A full-scale collapse would be nothing short of a planetary disaster: London and the rest of England could see temperatures drop by up to 10 degrees celsius. London would start looking like northern Canada (where winters regularly go below minus 20 degrees celsius). While a snow day might sound fun, it would present dire consequences for agriculture, leaving us unable to grow many crops; it'd be like trying to grow potatoes in Norway. Not happening. Land suitable for arable farming could plunge by a quarter, reducing crop value by £346 billion a year. There'd be a big increase in winter storms, because while we get cooler, the southern hemisphere gets warmer. Plus, there rainfall would reduce substantially — by 123mm during the growing season of crops. The sea level in the Atlantic Ocean would also rise as much as 70cm, submerging pretty much every borough along the Thames. So there we go, maybe the day after tomorrow isn't actually tomorrow, but it may come sooner than you think. This system is as delicate as it is powerful, as fragile as it is strong and the scales are so finely balanced. Much like so many other things on Planet Earth, the AMOC joins the long list of those we urgently need to take care of, and in my view has to be near, or even at the top of that list. James Stewart is a broadcaster and climate scientist
Axios
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Asteroids, zombies and nukes: Virginia's apocalypse survival odds
The probability of that asteroid everyone's talking about hitting Earth days before Christmas 2032 and ending life as we know it isn't likely. But it got us thinking about how Virginia would fare in an apocalypse, and spoiler: According to apocalypse movies, which frequently mention us because of our proximity to D.C. and military bases, our odds aren't great. Threat level: Our location makes us likely targets in nuclear wars. For climate disasters or asteroids hitting the Atlantic Ocean, Virginia's coastal areas are devastated first. In zombie or contagion scenarios, cities like Richmond are doomed. Rural Virginia is usually the best place to hole up. We've rounded up five apocalypse-related movies, shows or games mentioning Virginia to break down our survival chances in each scenario. Deep Impact (1998) Apocalypse type: Giant comet. Virginia mentions: The 7-mile comet set to collide with Earth is discovered by an astronomer in Richmond. Survival chances: Low unless you can make it to the Appalachian Mountains because a comet fragment hits Cape Hatteras and causes a 1,000-foot tsunami to destroy most of the East Coast. Day After Tomorrow (2004) Apocalypse type: Climate. Virginia mentions: There's a scene around the 1:04 mark where the protagonist played by Dennis Quaid draws a line across the U.S. and says to evacuate everyone south of it. Virginia is the first state on the East Coast below the line. Survival chances: NoVa: Low because of the extreme cold. Richmond: Moderate if people can get further south. Hampton Roads: Moderate if it's not flooded. Fallout 3 (2008) Apocalypse type: Nuclear. Virginia mentions: The game takes place in D.C., Maryland and Virginia in an area called "Capital Wasteland." Survival chances: Extremely low, unless you're in a fallout shelter, because of radiation storms and mutants. The Walking Dead (2010-22) Apocalypse type: Zombies. Virginia mentions: Multiple settlements or "safe zones" are located in Virginia, including the main one throughout the series, which is in Alexandria. The series spinoff was also filmed in Richmond, which is name-dropped in Season 5 of the original show. Survival chances: Low unless you find a settlement. Falling Skies (2011-15) Apocalypse type: Alien invasion. Virginia mentions: The main characters seemingly walk through the state in Season 5 and stay in Richmond for at least a week. There's a shot of two of them looking out onto Richmond's skyline and the James River. Another resistance group was also based out of a Norfolk naval base. Survival chances: It does not look good for Richmond considering one character says "it's like a ghost town out here." NoVa: Low because of high alien presence. Hampton Roads: Moderate. Norfolk has a resistance group but it's messy.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Day After Tomorrow: A Night to Rebuild, Reconnect, and Restore
Outstanding in the Field Sets Communal Table to Benefit Communities of Altadena and the Pacific Palisades LOS ANGELES, Feb. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As a step towards the redevelopment and long-term revitalization of the communities impacted by the Pacific Palisades and Eaton Fires, Outstanding in the Field will produce a special Day After Tomorrow community table at the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium on Saturday, March 8, 2025, to benefit the Altadena Community Fund and the Palisades Community Fund. With a focus on resilience and the power of community, supporters, first responders, and impacted community members will share a family-style, farm-to-table meal prepared by the city's most beloved chefs. 100% of the proceeds from the ticketed dinner will be distributed between the two community funds, which were established as vehicles for both immediate relief and long-term community restoration and stewardship. "This is a powerful act of kindness by the food community to nourish the people of Altadena and the Palisades," said Outstanding in the Field Founder, Jim Denevan. "We feel privileged to set this healing table just miles from where the Eaton Fire burned with the participation of the farmers and winemakers that care for our land. The Day After Tomorrow dinner was envisioned as a call to action and an opportunity for the community to rally around those impacted by the wildfires. Supporters can cement their place in the unprecedented restoration of Los Angeles by purchasing event tickets, making cash donations, or bidding for items and experiences during a live auction at the dinner or online through Charitybuzz. Donors are urged to "buy one and gift one" to seat a first responder or affected member of the community at the table. Mickey Segal, chairman of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation and Founder of NKSFB, said, "I am honored to be part of this amazing team that is driven to help those families that lost their homes in the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire. Our event at the Rose Bowl, America's stadium, will be a giant step forward in raising funds to help those who lost their homes. Sam Bakhshandehpour, Pacific Palisades Resident, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of José Andrés Group will provide additional support for the event. "In the spirit of community and resilience, I'm proud to work alongside Outstanding in The Field to support rebuilding efforts in Los Angeles. The power of food to connect, heal and inspire is what our city needs, now more than ever. While our neighborhoods may be devastated, our community has never been stronger," said Bakhshandehpour Tickets for the event are on sale at Outstanding in the Field. Additional details, including more ways to contribute to relief efforts, are available at and Auction coming soon at The Community Funds were founded by a group of local residents who saw an opportunity to empower Altadena and Pacific Palisades residents to have agency over their own fundraising and rebuilding efforts. Fund founding members include Kate Fishel and Bill Fishel, an Executive Vice Chairman with Newmark and current Chairman of the Board for Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles; Paul Fuhrman, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Miramar Capital, Sam Bakhshandehpour, Global CEO of José Andrés Group; Mickey Segal, Founder and Managing Partner, NKSFB and Lindsay Petersen, Associate, Miramar Capital. The Altadena Community Fund has been established to provide emergency-support to the Altadena community following the devastating 2025 wildfires, including to victims and their family members, as well as to support the ongoing economic, cultural and environmental revitalization of Altadena and the greater Los Angeles County region. The Fund is being operated as a fiscally sponsored project of the Edward Charles Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity which incubates charitable programs. The Fund intends to raise tax-deductible contributions to advance its vital mission, which includes grantmaking and establishing an enduring nonprofit which can support the well-being and redevelopment of the Altadena community. The Palisades Community Fund has been established to provide emergency-support to the Pacific Palisades community following the devastating 2025 wildfires, including to victims and their family members, as well as to support the ongoing economic, cultural and environmental revitalization of the Pacific Palisades and the greater Los Angeles County region. The Fund is being operated as a fiscally sponsored project of the Edward Charles Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity which incubates charitable programs. The Fund intends to raise tax-deductible contributions to advance its vital mission, which includes grantmaking and establishing an enduring nonprofit which can support the well-being and redevelopment of the Pacific Palisades community. Outstanding in the Field is a roving, outdoor culinary experience founded by renowned land artist Jim Denevan in 1999 to connect people to the land and the origins of their food. A radical reconceptualization of the dining experience, Outstanding in the Field was at the forefront of the sustainability movement and has achieved global cult status. Its iconic communal table has been set throughout the US and in 25 countries, and continues to expand internationally. More than 700 of the world's most notable and award-winning chefs have accepted the challenge of helming the field kitchen. MEDIA CONTACTS Denise SullivanOutstanding in the FieldChief Communications Officerdenise@ Lauren RenschlerWilliam Raymond Communicationslauren@ 310-463-0863 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Community Funds
