Heart

Subterms

    More stories

    • 113 Shares129 Views

      in Heart

      Climate change could double U.S. temperature-linked deaths by mid-century

      by

      Heat-related deaths in the United States are on the rise. But how bad will it be 20, 30 or 40 years from now? Scientists now have a clue.

      Currently, an estimated 8,000-plus deaths in the United States every year are associated with extreme temperatures, both hot and cold. Within the next few decades, that number could double or even triple, largely due to heat, researchers report September 20 in JAMA Network Open.

      “As the climate warms, the frequency, duration and intensity of heat waves is increasing. Understanding how this will impact our health is crucial,” Sameed Khatana, a cardiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, says. Our bodies are capable of bearing sweltering temperatures, but as temperatures rise, this ability is pushed to its limit (SN: 6/21/24). More

    • 100 Shares99 Views

      in Heart

      Earth’s ancient ‘greenhouse’ conditions were hotter than thought

      by

      Over the last 485 million years, Earth has been both a lot colder and a lot hotter than once thought.

      A new temperature timeline that combines geologic data with computational simulations reveals a rich, detailed and dramatic picture of the ebb and flow of icehouse and greenhouse conditions on Earth throughout this span of time, which includes most of the Phanerozoic Eon. The timeline shows Earth’s average temperature dropping to as low as 11° Celsius and rising to as high as 36° C, researchers report in the Sept. 20 Science. More

    • 88 Shares179 Views

      in Heart

      Can solar farms and crop farms coexist?

      by

      Transcript

      James McCall: Solar production in the US really started to pick up around 2012. As solar really became mainstream, there was a lot more concerns of land use changes.

      Ravi Sujith: If you look at the type of land that’s been converted for solar installations, over 60 percent of those landscapes are converted croplands.

      Chong Seok-Choi: They both require flat areas with a lot of sun, and that’s close to transmission infrastructures. So in this context, it is important for us to figure out how to combine farming and solar power production so that both can exist in harmony. More

    • 125 Shares99 Views

      in Heart

      Mega El Niños kicked off the world’s worst mass extinction

      by

      A barrage of intense, wild swings in climate conditions may have fueled the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history. A re-creation of how ancient sea surface temperatures, ocean and atmosphere circulation, and landmasses interacted revealed an Earth plagued by nearly decade-long stints of droughts, wildfires and flooding.

      Researchers knew that a spike in global temperatures — triggered by gas emissions from millions of years of enormous volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia — was the likely culprit behind a mass extinction roughly 252 million years ago (SN: 8/28/15). But it was the resulting catastrophic “mega El Niños” that whiplashed ecosystems, ultimately wiping out some 90 percent of all ocean species and 75 percent of those on land, researchers report in the Sept. 13 Science. More

    • 125 Shares119 Views

      in Heart

      How much is climate change to blame for extreme weather?

      by

      This video was supported by funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

      TRANSCRIPT

      Maria Temming: In 2021, a historic heat wave baked the Pacific Northwest killing hundreds of people and fueling wildfires. Researchers later reported that human-caused climate change made this heat wave at least 150 times more likely.

      But how do scientists figure out how much climate change is to blame for a specific weather event?

      Researchers use a variety of techniques for this work, which is called extreme event attribution. One method compares the world we have today–which has warmed 1.2 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution –with what the world would look like without climate change. Researchers estimate what that second world would look like based on historic trends in weather data and climate models. More

    • 100 Shares129 Views

      in Heart

      Fiddler crabs are migrating north to cooler waters

      by

      This video was supported by funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

      TRANSCRIPT

      David Johnson: So in 2014, we were on a muddy bank in the marsh up here in Massachusetts, and I saw this small crab scuttle across the mud bank and pop into a hole. And so I dug out the crab, and it was a fiddler crab. I was shocked. I had worked a decade in this marsh and had never seen a fiddler crab up here. More

    • 125 Shares119 Views

      in Heart

      Summer-like heat is scorching the Southern Hemisphere — in winter

      by

      It’s winter in the Southern Hemisphere — but you wouldn’t know it from the thermostat.

      On August 26, a remote stretch of the coastline in Western Australia experienced the highest winter temperature ever recorded anywhere in the country: a blistering 41.6° Celsius (107° Fahrenheit).

      In Bidyadanga, an Aboriginal community in Western Australia, the overnight low temperature on August 28 was a staggering 27.2° C (81° F). That’s in winter, when the long-term average nighttime temperature has been around 15° C (59° F). Such heightened nighttime temperatures can disrupt sleep, leading to decreased cardiovascular and mental health (SN: 8/6/23). More

    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Heart

      Extreme heat and rain help send dengue cases skyrocketing

      by

      When it rains, it pours. And when it pours, mosquitoes pop up. 

      A series of storms slammed the northeastern United States on August 18, unleashing torrents of rain and causing flash floods across parts of New York and Connecticut. In Oxford, Conn., a potentially record-breaking rainfall of roughly 38 centimeters (15 inches) fell in 24 hours. The National Weather Service is confirming whether the measurements beat the state’s single-day record, set 69 years ago when Hurricane Diane dumped about 32 centimeters of rain.

      Meanwhile, millions of people were under excessive heat warnings as Texas and the Southwest baked under a heat dome last week. Phoenix extended its ongoing, record-long streak of triple-digit Fahrenheit temperatures, and air conditioner use across Texas on August 20 pushed energy demand to a record high (SN: 8/12/24). More