Another Month, Another Climate Record

Earthcare Mission to Measure Influence of Clouds on the Climate

One of the greatest uncertainties in climate models is how the climate will respond to increasing levels of greenhouse gases. Some climate models suggest cloud cover will go down in the future, meaning clouds will reflect less sunlight back to space and more will be absorbed at the surface, amplifying the warming. However, some low-level clouds have been known to cool the planet, while higher-altitude clouds could act as a blanket. A new, sophisticated European-Japanese satellite has launched to try and better measure how clouds influence the climate. The satellite mission, known as Earthcare, will use a laser and a radar to probe the atmosphere to see precisely where the balance lies between clouds that cool and clouds that warm. This mission has taken 20 years to go from mission approval to launch.

Jonathan Amos, BBC News

Another Month, Another Climate Record

May 2024 was the 12th straight month of record-warm temperatures for the planet. That is the second-longest streak on record. Scientists say the primary reason for this remarkable stretch of record heat is due to human-caused climate change, as well as natural cycles in the planet’s climate and other scientific oddities. El Nino has been named as a big source of warming in recent months. Some experts say an attempt to clean up shipping pollution may have had unintended consequences of boosting warming. Lingering impacts from a volcanic eruption in Tonga in January 2022 could have also played a small role. Still, a lot of questions remain and scientists remain active in searching for more answers for the extreme warmth in the past year.

Doyle Rice, USA Today

Texas Droughts Become More Expensive

According to a new analysis of federal crop insurance data, the financial cost of droughts in Texas have risen significantly over recent decades. As temperatures rise, droughts intensify, and costs increase for the heavily subsidized crop insurance program. Farmers in Texas say they would not be able to continue their businesses without it. Drought has accounted for more crop insurance payouts than any other weather phenomenon, and Texas has drawn more payouts than any other state. Payouts due to drought in Texas rose from an average $251 million per year in the 2000s to $516 million per year in the 2010s, and now to $1.1 billion per year in the first four years of the 2020s. Data shows payouts are rising at more than twice the rate of inflation. As temperatures continue to rise, so will the costs and payouts.

Dylan Baddour, Inside Climate News; Alejandra Martinez, Texas Tribune

What’s in the works for ClimateWatch?

Our goal is to bring you the latest in climate issues, trends, forecasts, innovations, and more. One way we’re hoping to do that in the future is by including an in-depth analysis from one of our experts! Stay tuned for that, you won’t want to miss it.