Environment

Global temperature briefly exceeds 2 C above pre-industrial average

Global temperature briefly exceeds 2 C above pre-industrial average

Dec. 2 (ZFJ) — Earth’s temperature exceeded 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels on Nov. 17-18, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). Nov. 17 marked the first day in the ERA5 dataset, the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts’ climate record, that global temperatures exceeded 2 C above the average temperature before the extensive use of fossil fuels. Nov. 17 exceeded the 1850-1900 average by 2.
Ørsted pulls out of two NJ offshore wind farm projects

Ørsted pulls out of two NJ offshore wind farm projects

Nov. 10 (ZFJ) — Ørsted has pulled out of developing two offshore wind farms, set to have been New Jersey’s first ones, due to economic challenges, the company announced on Tuesday, Oct. 31. “Macroeconomic factors have changed dramatically over a short period of time, with high inflation, rising interest rates, and supply chain bottlenecks impacting our long-term capital investments,” said David Hardy, group executive vice president and CEO of Ørsted Americas.
July 2023 confirmed hottest month on record globally

July 2023 confirmed hottest month on record globally

Aug. 14 (ZFJ) — July 2023 was the hottest month on record globally, confirmed the Copernicus Climate Change Service on Tuesday, Aug. 8. The monthly average temperature worldwide was 16.95 degrees Celsius (62.51 degrees Fahrenheit), exceeding July 2019’s previous record of 16.63 C (61.93 F) and meeting the Paris Agreement threshold of 1.5 C (2.7 F) warming above preindustrial levels. The 29 days from July 3-31 were the hottest days on record, exceeding the previous daily global mean surface air temperature record of 16.
Canadian wildfire smoke descends on US East Coast

Canadian wildfire smoke descends on US East Coast

EDISON, N.J., June 7 (ZFJ) — Smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted into the eastern and central U.S., tinting the sky orange and triggering air quality alerts on Wednesday. Canadian authorities are battling “one of the worst wildfire seasons on record,” said Steven Guilbeault, Canadian minister of environment and climate change. The country is currently facing over 400 wildfires, with over half out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
Supreme Court limits federal authority over wetlands with stricter test

Supreme Court limits federal authority over wetlands with stricter test

May 28 (ZFJ) — The federal government can only regulate wetlands with “a continuous surface connection” to adjacent “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act (1972), ruled the Supreme Court on Thursday, May 25, in Sackett v. EPA (21-454). The CWA is the primary federal law regulating water pollution and prohibits the “discharge of any pollutant,” including “chemical wastes,” “rock,” and “sand,” into “navigable waters,” defined as “the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.
66% chance world exceeds warming threshold before 2027, WMO says

66% chance world exceeds warming threshold before 2027, WMO says

May 18 (ZFJ) — There is a 66% chance that the annual global surface temperature will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels before 2027, said the World Meteorological Organization on Wednesday. The UN weather agency also predicted that there is a 98% chance that one of the next five years will be the warmest on record. “These new highs will be fuelled almost completely by the rise of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but the anticipated development of the naturally-occurring El Niño event will also release heat from the tropical Pacific,” said Dr.