hurricanes news from mongabay.com

Proposed coal plant threatens Critically Endangered Philippine cockatoo

2013-04-02T16:37:00Z

One kilometer off the Philippine island of Palawan lays the Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary; here forest grows unimpeded from a coral island surrounded by mangroves and coral reefs. Although tiny, over a hundred bird species have been recorded on the island along with a major population of large flying foxes, while in the waters below swim at least 130 species of coral fish, three types of marine turtles, and that curious-looking marine mammal, dugongs. Most importantly, perhaps, the island is home to the world's largest population of Philippine cockatoos (Cacatua haematuropygia), currently listed as Critically Endangered. But, although uninhabited by people, Rasa Island may soon be altered irrevocably by human impacts.

Typhoon Bopha decimated coral reefs

2013-01-24T19:51:00Z

When Typhoon Bopha, also known as Pablo, ran ashore on Mindanao, it was the largest tropical storm it ever hit the Philippine island. In its wake the massive superstorm left over 1,000 people were dead and 6.2 million affected with officials saying illegal logging and mining worsened the scale of the disaster. However, the Category 5 typhoon also left a trail of destruction that has been less reported: coral reefs.

Getting intimate with a giant, yet poorly known flightless bird: the cassowary

2013-01-23T20:27:00Z

For large, conspicuous, and somewhat notorious animals, relatively little is known about cassowaries, a group of flightless birds that roams the rainforests of Northern Australia and New Guinea. This fact is highlighted in Cassowaries, a recent documentary by Australian journalist and film producer Bianca Keeley. Cassowaries tells the story of cassowaries struggling to survive after a major cyclone destroyed their rainforest home.

Lessons From Sandy: extreme weather will be the new normal

2012-12-21T17:55:00Z

In a recent forum held at the Harvard School of Public Health four expert panelists discussed the most important lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy.

Climate Summit in Doha characterized by lack of ambition

2012-12-09T20:23:00Z

Ahead of the 18th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Doha, Qatar a variety of reports warned that the world was running out of time to avoid dangerous climate change, and that there was a widening gap between what nations have pledged to do and what the science demanded. A landmark report by the World Bank painted an almost apocalyptic picture of a world in which global temperatures have risen 4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, including unprecedented heatwaves and droughts, rising sea levels, global agriculture crises, and a stunning loss of species. In addition, scientific studies released near the two week conference found that sea levels were rising 60 percent faster than predicted, forests around the world were imperiled by increasing drought, marine snails were dissolving in the Southern Ocean due to ocean acidification, and ice melt in Greenland and Antarctica was on the rise.

Illegal logging, mining worsened impact of Philippines' killer typhoon

2012-12-06T16:32:00Z

According to Filipino officials, rampant illegal logging and mining were likely a part of the cause for the high casualty count from Category 5 Typhoon Bopha (Pablo), especially in the Compostela Valley where government officials had warned people to stop the illegal activities. So far, 370 people have been found dead on the island of Mindanao with another 400 missing. Waters rose so high even emergency shelters were inundated.

Obama criticized for lack of urgency on climate change

2012-11-15T20:08:00Z

Following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy—which many scientists say was likely worsened by climate change—and a long silence on the issue of global warming during the Presidential campaign, environmentalists yesterday were disappointed when re-elected President Barack Obama seemingly put action on climate change on the back burner.

Obama breaks climate silence at press conference

2012-11-14T21:02:00Z

At a news conference today, a question by New York Times reporter Mark Landler pushed President Obama to speak at some length about climate change. In his answer, Obama re-iterated his acceptance of climate science and discussed how progress on tackling climate change might proceed in his second term, though he also noted that he wouldn't put action on the climate ahead of the economy. President Obama made a small reference to climate change in his victory speech following his historic re-election last Tuesday, but his answer today was the most the president has talked about the issue at any length since at least Hurricane Sandy.

Hurricane Sandy pushes Haiti toward full-blown food crisis

2012-11-12T20:14:00Z

Although Haiti avoided a direct hit by Hurricane Sandy, the tropical storm caused severe flooding across the southern part of the country decimating agricultural fields. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs now warns that 1.5 million Haitians are at risk of severe food insecurity, while 450,000 people face severe acute malnutrition, which can kill.

It's not just Sandy: U.S. hit by record droughts, fires, and heatwaves in 2012

2012-11-05T13:21:00Z

As the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy—killing over 100 people and producing upwards of $50 billion in damage along the U.S. East Coast—has reignited a long-dormant conversation on climate change in the media, it's important to note that this is not the only weird and wild weather the U.S. has seen this year. In fact, 2012 has been a year of record-breaking weather across the U.S.: the worst drought in decades, unprecedented heatwaves, and monster forest fires. While climatologists have long stated that it is not yet possible to blame a single extreme weather event on climate change, research is showing that rising temperatures are very likely increasing the chances of extreme weather events and worsening them when they occur.

Photos of flooded New York Aquarium released

2012-11-02T17:05:00Z

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) today released pictures showing damage caused earlier this week at the New York Aquarium by Hurricane Sandy. The photos show extensive flooding in parts of the aquarium, which is located on the Coney Island boardwalk and is run by WCS.

Facing 'critical' situation, New York Aquarium closed indefinitely

2012-10-31T23:32:00Z

The New York Aquarium on Coney Island suffered 'serious flood damage' during Hurricane Sandy and will be closed 'indefinitely', according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which runs the aquarium and other zoos in New York City.

New York Aquarium entirely 'underwater'

2012-10-30T14:20:00Z

Hurricane Sandy, which brought storm surges that reached 14 feet to New York City, has put the Wildlife Conservation Society's New York Aquarium "under water," according to a statement from the organization. The aquarium is located on the Coney Island boardwalk, in the heart of an area where rescue operations are currently under way to save people stranded in their homes. There are reports that flooding has reached some people's roofs.

Hours before Hurricane Sandy hit, activists protested climate inaction in Times Square

2012-10-30T13:39:00Z

On Sunday, as Hurricane Sandy roared towards the coast of the Eastern U.S., activists took to the streets in New York City to highlight the issue of climate change. Activists organized by 350.org unfurled a huge parachute in Times Square with the words, "End Climate Silence," a message meant to call attention to the fact that there has been almost zero mention of climate change during the presidential campaign, including not a single reference to the issue in the four presidential debates.

How climate change may be worsening Hurricane Sandy

2012-10-29T17:59:00Z

While scientists are still debating some fundamental questions regarding hurricanes and climate change (such as: will climate change cause more or less hurricanes?), there's no debating that a monster hurricane is now imperiling the U.S. East Coast. A few connections between a warmer world and Hurricane Sandy can certainly be made, however: rising sea levels are likely to worsen storm surges; warmer waters bring more rain to increase flooding; and hotter temperatures may allow the hurricane to push both seasonal and geographic boundaries.

U.S. government raises hurricane outlook for 2012

2012-08-09T19:02:00Z

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) raised its estimate of the number of storms that will likely form during this year's Atlantic hurricane season.

Appeal for help as death toll in Madagascar tops 110 from tropical storm

2012-03-11T00:05:00Z

More than 110 are dead and 330,000 homeless after two tropical storms battered Madagascar over the past month, says the island nation's disaster management agency.

Philippines disaster may have been worsened by climate change, deforestation

2011-12-20T17:43:00Z

As the Philippines begins to bury more than a 1,000 disaster victims in mass graves, Philippine President Benigno Aquino has ordered an investigation into last weekend's flash flood and landslide, including looking at the role of illegal logging. Officials have pointed to both climate change and vast deforestation as likely exacerbating the disaster.

Reducing Disaster Risks: Progress and Challenges in the Caribbean Region

2011-08-23T23:32:00Z

Disaster management is a global policy problem with a critical land-use change component related to settlement patterns, deforestation, and agriculture development. This is further exacerbated by climate change.

Did Haiti's deforestation, hurricane trigger deadly earthquake?

2011-01-04T02:38:00Z

Erosion caused by hurricanes and large-scale deforestation may have contributed to last year's devastating earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people in Haiti, according to a geologist at the University of Miami.

Pictures: Belize Zoo devastated by hurricane

2010-11-15T19:41:00Z

The world famous Belize Zoo is closed until further notice after suffering a direct hit from Hurricane Richard, which leveled trees and inflicted heavy damage on wire fences. The zoo has send out an urgent plea for building materials and funds to help with recovery. None of the facility's animals or staff were injured.

Coastal habitats may sequester 50 times more carbon than tropical forests by area

2009-11-16T23:54:00Z

Highly endangered coastal habitats are incredibly effective in sequestering carbon and locking it away in soil, according to a new paper in a report by the IUCN. The paper attests that coastal habitats—such as mangroves, sea grasses, and salt marhses—sequester as much as 50 times the amount of carbon in their soil per hectare as tropical forest. "The key difference between these coastal habitats and forests is that mangroves, seagrasses and the plants in salt marshes are extremely efficient at burying carbon in the sediment below them where it can stay for centuries or even millennia."

Photos of 10 strongest storms of the 2000s

2009-09-01T23:59:00Z

NASA has released a collection of satellite images showing the strongest storms of each year over the past decade.

New report predicts dire consequences for every U.S. region from global warming

2009-06-17T17:50:00Z

Government officials and scientists released a 196 page report detailing the impact of global warming on the U.S. yesterday. The study, commissioned in 2007 during the Bush Administration, found that every region of the U.S. faces large-scale consequences due to climate change, including higher temperatures, increased droughts, heavier rainfall, more severe weather, water shortages, rising sea levels, ecosystem stresses, loss of biodiversity, and economic impacts.

Tropical storms affect carbon sinks by knocking down forests

2009-04-27T20:46:00Z

Studying nearly a hundred and fifty years of tropical storm landfalls in the United States, researchers have discovered that the storm systems have a sizeable impact on forest carbon sinks due to the large-scale destruction of trees.

Revolutionary new theory overturns modern meteorology with claim that forests move rain

2009-04-01T21:03:00Z

Two Russian scientists, Victor Gorshkov and Anastassia Makarieva of the St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics, have published a revolutionary theory that turns modern meteorology on its head, positing that forests—and their capacity for condensation—are actually the main driver of winds rather than temperature. While this model has widespread implications for numerous sciences, none of them are larger than the importance of conserving forests, which are shown to be crucial to 'pumping' precipitation from one place to another. The theory explains, among other mysteries, why deforestation around coastal regions tends to lead to drying in the interior.

2008 Atlantic hurricane season second costliest on record

2008-12-01T14:30:39Z

Yesterday marked the end of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, which goes down as the second costliest (in nominal terms) on record at $54 billion, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The damages trail only 2005 — the year that Hurricane Katrina and other storms caused $128 billion in damages.

Powerful hurricanes may be getting stronger due to warmer seas

2008-09-03T14:30:39Z

Warming climate is causing the strongest hurricanes to strengthen and more moderate storms to stay the same, claims a new study published in Nature. However the data on which research is based is already facing fierce criticism.

Scientist forecast 4 Atlantic hurricanes in September

2008-09-02T14:30:39Z

Prominent hurricane researchers are forecasting five tropical storms in the Atlantic for September, including four hurricanes. Two of these are expected to be "major" — category 3 or greater. Retired Colorado State University climatologist William Gray and Philip J. Klotzbach, who has taken over Gray's role as lead hurricane forecaster, estimate that Atlantic storms in September will be twice as active as normal.

Could hurricane Gustav be stopped or diverted?

2008-08-31T14:30:39Z

With Gustav threatening to become the second major hurricane to hit New Orleans in three years, the question emerges, is there something that could be done to redirect or at least diminish storms from major population areas? In short, the answer is no, although someday there may be ways to reduce the intensity of these tropical storms. In the meantime, the best option is to avoid new construction in hurricane-prone regions.

69% of Floridians believe coast threatened by rising sea levels

2008-06-24T14:30:39Z

69 percent of Floridians believe that parts of the state's coasts may need to be abandoned due to rising sea levels over the next 50 years according to a new survey conducted by researchers at Yale University and the University of Miami.

2008 hurricane forecast: storm activity will be above normal

2008-05-22T14:30:39Z

The U.S. government's weather agency predicts an above average Atlantic hurricane season this year.

Global warming will produce fewer hurricanes

2008-05-18T14:30:39Z

Global warming will produce fewer Atlantic hurricanes, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Geoscience by a U.S. government meteorologist.

Massive deforestation of mangroves may have worsened scale of disaster in Burma

2008-05-13T14:30:39Z

Weeks after the devastating cyclone Nagris struck Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta on May 2nd, scientists and the media are debating the role in the scale of the disaster played by the region's deforestation of mangroves. According to recent studies, mangrove forests act as a buffer against the effect's of tropical storms like Nagris, though scientists don't yet fully understand the relationship between storm mitigation and mangroves.

Cyclone batters Madagascar

2008-02-22T14:30:39Z

29 people were reported dead after Cyclone Ivan, a category 3 storm, struck Madagascar. The storm flooded key rice-producing regions in the country and comes a month after Cyclone Fame killed 13 on the island.

Natural climate variations have larger effect on hurricanes than global warming

2007-12-12T14:30:39Z

Natural climate variations, which tend to involve localized changes in sea surface temperature, may have a larger effect on hurricane activity than the more uniform patterns of global warming, a report in this week's Nature suggests.

Hurricane forecast calls for 7 hurricanes, 3 major, in 2008

2007-12-07T14:30:39Z

Hurricane forecasters William Gray and Philip Klotzbach are predicting a "somewhat above-average" hurricane season for 2008. The Colorado State University researchers anticipate seven Atlantic hurricanes, three of them "major" (category 3 or higher), during the 2008 season. In total 13 named storms in the Atlantic are expected.

Historical records of Atlantic hurricanes are accurate says study

2007-11-28T14:30:39Z

Counting tropical storms that occurred before the advent of aircraft and satellites relies on ships logs and hurricane landfalls, making many believe that the numbers of historic tropical storms in the Atlantic are seriously undercounted. However, a statistical model based on the climate factors that influence Atlantic tropical storm activity shows that the estimates currently used are only slightly below modeled numbers and indicate that the numbers of tropical storms in the recent past are increasing, according to researchers.

Hurricane Katrina released large amounts of carbon by destroying 320m trees

2007-11-15T14:30:39Z

The destruction of 320 million large trees by Hurricane Katrina reduced the capacity of forests in the Southern United States to soak up carbon, reports a new study published in the journal Science. The research shows that hurricanes and other natural disturbances "can affect a landscape's potential as a 'carbon sink' because the dead vegetation then decays, returning carbon to the atmosphere, and because the old vegetation is replaced by smaller, younger plants."

Felix Death Toll Washes Up on Coastline

2007-09-07T14:30:39Z

Nicaraguan and Honduran officials have announced that upwards of 100 people are confirmed dead, and another 120 still unaccounted for after Hurricane Felix made landfall earlier this week.

Felix: first time two Category-5 storms hit land in same season

2007-09-04T14:30:39Z

Hurricane Felix made landfall in Nicaragua around 7:45 a.m. Eastern Time as a Category 5 storm with top winds at 160 mph (260 km/h), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Dean was 3rd most intense Atlantic hurricane at landfall

2007-08-21T14:30:39Z

Hurricane Dean was the third most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall, according to forecasters at the National Hurricane Center who measured the storm's central atmospheric pressure.

Could a hurricane hit California?

2007-08-20T14:30:39Z

San Diego has been hit by hurricanes in the past and could be affected by such storms in the future according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). While a hurricane in San Diego would likely produce significantly less damage than Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, it could still exact a high cost to Southern California especially if the region was caught off guard.

U.S. government weather agency cuts hurricane outlook

2007-08-10T14:30:39Z

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday reduced its forecast for the number of tropical storms and hurricanes expected during the 2007 Atlantic season. NOAA said it now expected between 13 and 16 named storms, with seven to nine becoming hurricanes and three to five of them classified as "major" hurricanes (categories 3, 4, or 5).

2007 hurricane season downgraded, questions over climate role remain

2007-08-06T14:30:39Z

Hurricane researcher William Gray from Colorado State University cut his 2007 hurricane season outlook, saying there will likely be fewer storms than previously projected due to weak La Niña conditions and more atmospheric dust from Africa.

2007 hurricane season to be weaker than expected says forecaster

2007-07-24T14:30:39Z

WSI Corp, a private forecaster, cut its 2007 hurricane season outlook, saying there will likely be fewer storms than previously projected, reports Reuters.

Hurricanes can help coral reefs

2007-07-17T14:30:39Z

A close call with a hurricane can be beneficial to a stressed coral reef, reports a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Hurricanes may help cool climate

2007-05-31T14:30:39Z

Tropical cyclones and hurricanes play an important role in the ocean circulation patterns that transport heat and maintain the climate of North America and Europe, report researchers from Purdue University.

9 Atlantic hurricanes expected in 2007

2007-05-31T14:30:39Z

Hurricane forecaster William M. Gray of the Colorado State University updated his hurricane predictions for the 2007 storm season, expecting 17 named storms and nine hurricanes in the Atlantic basin. The forecasts were unchanged from his last bulletin.

Hurricanes occur during cool periods as well

2007-05-28T14:30:39Z

A team of scientists have found evidence of intense hurricane activity during both cool and warm periods reports The New York Times. The findings suggest that factors other than sea temperature play a role in the formation and intensity of tropical storms.