Latest news with #JenniferMarlon
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
NOAA predicts ‘above normal' Atlantic hurricane season. CT experts say outlook is a call to action.
Experts are predicting the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season to be 'above-normal' this year, as scientists say warm sea surface temperatures may lead to more frequent and intense storms, urging those along the East Coast to be prepared. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said the outlook for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, predicts a 30% chance of a near-normal season, a 60% chance of an above-normal season and a 10% chance of a below-normal season, according to officials. Hurricanes, fueled by warm ocean waters and thunderstorms, often form at sea and then move toward land where they can cause catastrophic damage and loss of life, according to Dr. Jennifer Marlon, senior research scientist at the Yale School of the Environment. According to NOAA, the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season produced 18 named storms. Of those, 11 became hurricanes and five strengthened into major hurricanes. Bob Child / ASSOCIATED PRESSThese boats broke from their moorings and were blown onto rocks in New London, Connecticut on Friday, Sept. 27, 1985, during Hurricane Gloria. Winds of more than 90 miles per hour battered Connecticut's coast during the storm, but damage was minimal. John Long / Hartford CourantScenes like this one, at Groton Long Point during Hurricane Gloria last Sept, may become more common in CT as the green house effect causes the sea level to rise. Michael McAndrews / Hartford CourantHurricane Gloria's damage seen on the shoreline in Milford. Stephen Dunn / Hartford CourantHurricane Gloria hit the coast line hard sending dozens of pleasure boats up onto the railroad tracks looking like parallel parked cars in Stonington. Show CaptionBob Child / ASSOCIATED PRESS1 of 5Boats lie on the shore in Milford harbor on Sunday, Sept. 29, 1985, two days after Hurricane Gloria hit Connecticut. The same thing happened to boats all along the Connecticut more as they were torn from moorings by the hurricane winds in excess of 90 NOAA is forecasting 13 to 19 named storms this year with winds of 39 mph or higher. Of those, six to 10 are expected to reach hurricane strength, officials said. 'The projected above-normal activity is due to warm sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Atlantic (Ocean),' said Marlon. NOAA said that additional factors including weaker winds and the potential for higher activity from the West African Monsoon, a primary starting point for Atlantic hurricanes, is another reason for the projection. All of these elements tend to favor tropical storm formation. The higher heat on the ocean surface provides more energy to fuel storm development, while weaker winds allow the storms to develop without disruption, Marlon said. 'In my 30 years at the National Weather Service, we've never had more advanced models and warning systems in place to monitor the weather,' said NOAA's National Weather Service director Ken Graham. 'This outlook is a call to action. Be prepared. Take proactive steps now to make a plan and gather supplies to ensure you're ready before a storm threatens.' The last hurricane to make landfall in Connecticut was Category 1 hurricane Gloria in 1985 that brought heavy rainfall and winds of 74–95 miles per hour, according to NOAA. The commonly called 'storm of the century' killed at least six people, caused power outages for about 700,000 residents, and was considered the worst hurricane to hit Connecticut since 1938. Connecticut has been impacted by several strong tropical storms over the past few decades. Tropical Storm Irene impacted the state in August 2011. As a result of its 96 miles of coastline, some Connecticut towns are subject to storm surges during major weather events. While it was a hurricane initially, it weakened to a tropical storm by the time it hit the state. Hurricane Sandy hit Connecticut in 2012, but it was also not a hurricane by the time it reached the state. Tropical Storm Isaias, which hit the state in 2020, caused widespread power outages and over $50 million in damage. The names in the 2025 hurricane season are Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dexter, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Imelda, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van, and Wendy, according to the National Hurricane Center. Recommendations from the National Weather Service include understanding whether your home is vulnerable to storm surge, flooding, or wind and this should be checked long before any storm might hit. Know your zone: Find out if you live in a hurricane evacuation area by contacting your local government/emergency management office or by checking the evacuation site website. Because of the coastline along Long Island Sound, Connecticut has multiple evacuation areas, data shows, Assemble Emergency Kit: Put together a basic emergency. Check emergency equipment, such as flashlights, generators and storm shutters. Have a Family Emergency Plan: Before an emergency happens, sit down with your family or close friends and decide how you will get in contact with each other, where you will go, and what you will do in an emergency. Keep a copy of this plan in your emergency supplies kit or another safe place where you can access it in the event of a disaster. Start at the emergency plan webpage. Review insurance 'policies to ensure that you have adequate coverage for your home and personal property.' Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@
The Hindu
23-05-2025
- Climate
- The Hindu
71% Indians experienced severe heatwave in last 12 months: study
A survey conducted across Indian cities found that 71% of Indians have experienced severe heatwaves. The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (YPCCC) and CVoter (an international survey company headquartered in New Delhi) surveyed 10,751 people above the age of 18 from December 5, 2024, to February 18, 2025. The survey revealed that Indians have recently experienced extreme heat waves, floods, water shortages and irregular monsoon patterns. These events not only harm lives and livelihoods but also shape how people perceive both climate change and extreme weather, the report said. The survey was conducted by a team of researchers: Marija Verner, Jennifer Marlon, Jagadish Thaker, Jennifer Carman, Seth Rosenthal, Yashwant Deshmukh, Gaura Shukla, Emily Richards, Emily Goddard and Anthony Leiserowitz. Most respondents in the field survey said they had personally experienced at least one extreme weather event or related impact in the past 12 months. Marija Verner said, 'While Majorities of Indians said they had experienced severe heat waves (71%), 60% said they had suffered agricultural pests and diseases, 59% faced power outages, 53% faced water pollution, 52% faced droughts and water shortages, and 52% faced severe air pollution.' The survey said that large majorities of Indians are worried about extreme weather or related impacts harming their local area. The paper said, 'More than half of Indians say they are 'very worried' about extinctions of plant and animal species (61%), severe heat waves (56%), agricultural pests and diseases (62%), droughts and water shortages (58%), water pollution (55%), severe air pollution (54%), and famines and food shortages (51%).' Jagadish Thaker said that during the survey, they found that the majority of people think global warming is affecting extreme weather and related impacts in India. '64% Indians said global warming is affecting extinctions of plant and animal species, causing severe heat waves (62%), droughts and water shortages (60%), 59% feel its leading to severe air pollution, water pollution (57%), severe cyclones (54%), famines and food shortages (53%), severe floods (53%), monsoons (52%), and severe storms (50%) are happening a lot.' Additionally, 43% of Indians think global warming affects electricity power outages a lot. Extreme weather events and related impacts are common and deeply worrisome for many people in India, Emily Richards said. 'Climate and weather-related risks are not abstract concerns for many Indians but are part of people's day-to-day lives. Moreover, worry about local impacts is widespread and reflects people's experiences with these events. After hearing a definition of global warming, most respondents said it affects these events, especially plant and animal extinctions, heat waves, and agricultural disruptions.' However, 32% of people in India have never heard of global warming, the report said. Jennifer Marlon emphasised, these findings highlight the critical need to raise public awareness about climate change and local climate impacts and reinforce the urgency of both reducing carbon pollution and preparing for future extreme events.
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Miami Herald
‘You are not alone': Most Nevadans worry about climate change, poll shows
LAS VEGAS – In the state with the nation's two fastest-warming cities, most residents believe in climate change and think officials should do something about it, new polling has found. Answers from Nevadans rank similarly to national averages, with more widespread belief in climate change in Clark and Washoe counties, where almost 87% of the state's population resides. For instance, in the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication's poll, 63% of Nevadans said they are worried about climate change - identical to the national average. That number was 1% higher in Clark County and 6% higher in Washoe County. "If you're worried about it, you are not alone," said Jennifer Marlon, senior research scientist and director of data science at the Yale School of the Environment. "The vast majority of people are worried about it, and it's many more people than you think. We're not talking about it, because everyone thinks they're going to end up picking a fight. But, by and large, that's not true." The idea of a warming climate - and the burning of fossil fuels as the main cause - is supported by more than 99% of peer-reviewed research. It was a science nonprofit's 2025 Earth Day analysis of temperatures that designated Las Vegas and Reno as the two fastest-warming cities in the United States for the third year in a row, when comparing annual average temperatures since 1970. Yale researchers based their poll numbers on surveys of more than 32,000 people from every state and 2,379 of the country's 3,144 counties. To map the whole country by county, they used a statistical model that considers location and sociodemographic factors like political affiliations, race, gender and age. Following are the highlights: Extreme heat potent example Scientists and officials have said Nevada is ground zero for human-caused climate change, perhaps most evident in the summer when temperatures regularly stay in the triple digits, even at night. Sixty-eight percent of Nevadans agree that climate change is affecting the weather, which is 3% more than the country at large. In Clark County, extreme heat's death toll last year was 527 - higher than it's ever been because of a record hot summer and the adapting standards of the county coroner's office. Tom Albright, Nevada's deputy state climatologist and a professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, is planning Northern Nevada's first extreme heat summit that will take place next month. In the absence of a coordinated response to extreme heat in the region, Albright said he hopes it can inform people and help them brainstorm ideas for local leaders. Helping find solutions for the one-third of Nevadans who aren't worried about climate change is a priority, too. Albright said using the words "climate change" or "global warming" can turn some people off because of politics - reflected in the polling results from some rural, deep red counties, where only half of the residents are concerned about it. "It doesn't matter if you call it 'global warming,' 'climate change,' 'drought' or 'extreme heat': These are issues that people experience," Albright said in an interview Thursday. "People don't talk about climate change that much, and they don't hear about it in the news as much as you might expect. They tend to underestimate the concern or interest of their neighbors." Next generation The strongest positive response the Silver State had to a question was whether schools should teach about climate change. More than three in four Nevadans feel it should be, and a similar amount of them agree that climate change will harm future generations. Dr. Debra Hendrickson, a board-certified pediatrician in Reno, is the author of "The Air They Breathe." The book is geared toward the challenges children and their parents will experience in the face of climate change, especially as it relates to air quality. Wildfire is a particular challenge in Washoe County, where smoke can come from the region's fires, as well as nearby ones from California. This year, the American Lung Association gave Clark and Washoe counties an F for particle pollution and days with high ozone levels. Whether it's extreme heat, allergies or wildfire smoke, Nevadans' health is directly tied to climate change that has made these issues more prominent, Hendrickson said. "These events that seem big and global are tied to why your kid is coughing and wheezing during a wildfire event," the pediatrician said in an interview Friday. "That's the message that people need to understand: Everybody in the state of Nevada has been affected by climate change. There's no one in the state who's been untouched by this." What Nevadans can do A broader section of the polling results focuses on policy solutions, with more than half in agreement that Congress, Gov. Joe Lombardo, local officials, corporations and private citizens should do more to address climate change. The country's transition to cleaner energy sources still remains highly popular, according to the poll. For those interested in doing something about their concerns on climate change, Hendrickson recommends taking an inventory of what in Nevadans' own lives may be contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, from the food they eat to the way they travel. Learning about local issues and solutions can be inspiring, she said, especially when residents can attend meetings for public utility commissions and city or county government. The best solution to inaction is getting educated without feeling responsible for solving the problem of climate change on a large scale, Hendrickson said. "If you can give people concrete steps that they can take, I think that really activates people," Hendrickson said. "There is such a sense of helplessness because it is such a huge problem." ___ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Axios
30-04-2025
- Climate
- Axios
Louisiana's climate anxiety, mapped
New Orleanians are stressed about climate change, recent estimates find. Why it matters: The rest of Louisiana isn't as anxious. The big picture: 74.1% of adults in New Orleans say they are "somewhat" or "very" worried about climate change, per estimates from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication based on survey data. In Jefferson Parish, it's 64.3% of adults. The national average is 63.3%, with higher anxiety levels in coastal communities and large cities. The findings paint a stark picture of how attitudes toward climate change vary nationwide. Zoom in: About 53% of adults in Louisiana's coastal parishes, which face the brunt of hurricanes and coastal erosion, report feeling anxious about climate change. Cameron Parish had the lowest rate of concern (44.4%), with Jefferson Parish having the highest. Catch up quick: South Louisiana has endured one extreme weather event after another in recent years. Residents have dealt with saltwater intrusion, extreme drought, super fog, flooding, tornadoes and marsh fires. Hurricane Francine made landfall here last year, and the region was battered by Hurricane Ida in 2021. The historic snowfall was magical, but it was a nightmare for the region's infrastructure. What they're saying: While the map above may look like a sea of purple, "it's crucial to remind people that the vast majority of the population exists in some of these green places," says Jennifer Marlon, executive director of the Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions and senior research scientist at the Yale School of the Environment. Zoom out: A Gallup survey this month showed an uptick in the number of Southerners who have experienced an extreme weather event where they live, writes Axios' Andrew Freedman. 28% of respondents said they experienced a hurricane in the past two years, up from 18% in 2023, the survey showed. Climate change is projected to lead to more frequent occurrences of severe hurricanes (though not more frequent hurricanes overall) and is already showing a tie to increased instances of rapid intensification of storms. Climate change is also causing these massive storms to deliver more rainfall than they used to, leading to inland flooding disasters. How it works: The findings are based on statistical modeling using data from nationally representative Ipsos surveys. Between the lines: Individual attitudes about climate change are not based entirely (or perhaps even primarily) on local risk, with politics, education, and other factors playing big roles.
Axios
21-04-2025
- Climate
- Axios
Indiana's climate change anxiety
When it comes to climate change, a new study reveals that many Hoosiers outside of Indy aren't sweating it. The big picture: Climate anxiety is concentrated in many large U.S. metros and some coastal regions. About 63.3% of U.S. adults overall are "somewhat" or "very" worried about global warming as of 2024, per survey data from Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. The findings paint a stark picture of how attitudes toward climate change vary by location. Zoom in: Marion County residents are slightly more concerned about climate change than the national average, with a state-leading 66% of residents saying they are "somewhat" or "very" worried. Monroe is the only other Indiana county concerned about climate change at a rate higher than the national average at 65%. Residents in Boone (56%) and Hamilton (54%) counties are slightly less concerned. In 59 of Indiana's 92 counties, fewer than 50% of residents say they're worried about climate change. Zoom out: Some of the U.S. counties with especially high shares of adults worried about global warming — like Queens, New York (79.8%) — are coastal areas vulnerable to climate-driven threats like flooding. They also tend to be relatively populous, with 4 of the 10 most-worried counties having at least 1 million residents. Many major metro areas, like Columbus, Ohio, and Salt Lake City, Utah, also show up on the map above as pockets of relatively higher climate concern compared to surrounding areas. What they're saying: While the map above may look like a sea of purple, "it's crucial to remind people that the vast majority of the population exists in some of these green places," says Jennifer Marlon, executive director of the Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions and senior research scientist at the Yale School of the Environment. Between the lines: Individual attitudes about climate change are not based entirely (or perhaps even primarily) on local risk, with politics, education, and other factors playing big roles. Threat level: In Indiana, studies show that human-driven climate change is making rainstorms in Indianapolis more intense.
