Tornadoes Are Traveling in Packs

Tornadoes Travel in Packs

Researchers believe that the total number of tornadoes in the U.S. has stayed relatively consistent over the last several decades. However, they seem to be happening more in clusters now and over fewer days of the year. In the 1950s till the 1970s, on average, about 69% of tornadoes in the US happened on days with fewer than 10 tornadoes, and about 11% happened on days with 20 or more tornadoes. These percentages have shifted significantly in recent decades, according to a 2019 study. The researchers found that since 2000, on average, only about 49% of tornadoes have happened on less busy days, and about 29% have happened on days with 20 or more tornadoes. The two main ingredients to tornadoes are atmospheric instability caused by warm, moist air close to the ground meeting colder, dry air above and vertical wind shear, or changes in wind speed and direction at different altitudes. As the climate changes, there might be fewer days with both these ingredients. But when we have conditions that are favorable, they’re almost supercharged leading to more tornadoes on fewer days.

The Straits Times

World’s Largest Vacuum Sucks Climate Pollution Out of the Air

A large plant designed to suck planet-heating pollution out of the atmosphere like a giant vacuum began operating in Iceland on Wednesday. The plant is called “Mammoth” and is the second commercial direct air capture plant opened by Swiss company Climeworks. Mammoth will be able to pull 36,000 tons of carbon from the atmosphere a year at full capacity, according to Climeworks. That’s equivalent to taking around 7,800 gas-powered cars off the road for a year. Climeworks did not give an exact cost for each ton of carbon removed, but said it was closer to $1,000 a ton than $100 a ton – the latter of which is widely seen as a key threshold for making the technology affordable and viable. As the company scales up the size of its plants and bring costs down, the aim is to reach $300 to $350 a ton by 2030 before hitting $100 a ton around 2050, said Jan Wurzbacher, co-founder and co-CEO of Climeworks, on a call with reporters.

Laura Paddison, CNN

Venomous Snakes May Spread into Vulnerable Communities Because of Climate Change

New research warns that climate change is pushing venomous snakes out of their typical ecosystems and into new, unprepared regions where they will pose a bigger threat to humans. The study suggests that if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced, many snake species will lose their habitats and move to places they are not currently found by 2070. The regions impacted most by this movement would be sub-Saharan Africa and portions of Asia. Rural communities would be especially impacted because of how people make a living - farming. In these places where snake bites are already a significant problem, adding new, venomous species would compound the issue.

Barbara Pinho, Scientific American

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