El Niño is starting to lose strength after fueling a hot, stormy year, but it’s still powerful − an atmospheric scientist explains what’s ahead for 2024

The strong El Niño that started in 2023 will still have big impacts at least through March. Here’s what to watch for next.

Paul Roundy, Professor of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York • conversation
Feb. 8, 2024 ~7 min

Fuel poverty: as government support dries up, communities are taking action

Energy bill discounts have failed to meet the scale of the problem, research shows.

Tolu Olarewaju, Economist and Lecturer in Management, Keele University • conversation
Feb. 6, 2024 ~7 min


How can I get ice off my car? An engineer who studies airborne particles shares some quick and easy techniques

When you’re running late in the winter, you don’t want to have to spend time scraping frost off your windshield. Try some expert-recommended techniques instead.

Suresh Dhaniyala, Bayard D. Clarkson Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, Clarkson University • conversation
Feb. 2, 2024 ~5 min

Swimming pools could slash bills by harvesting heat from servers – here’s how to make it work

Computer data centres produce vast amounts of heat that often gets wasted - now that’s being harnessed to warm swimming pools and improve overall energy efficiency.

Amin Al-Habaibeh, Professor of Intelligent Engineering Systems, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
Jan. 25, 2024 ~6 min

2023's billion-dollar disasters list shattered the US record with 28 big weather and climate disasters amid Earth's hottest year on record

An atmospheric scientist explains how rising temperatures are helping to fuel extreme storms, floods, droughts and devastating wildfires.

Shuang-Ye Wu, Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, University of Dayton • conversation
Jan. 9, 2024 ~8 min

UK ban on boilers in new homes rules out hydrogen as a heating source

Hydrogen will not be used to heat UK homes in the future in any meaningful way.

Ran Boydell, Associate Professor in Sustainable Development, Heriot-Watt University • conversation
Dec. 22, 2023 ~7 min

2023's extreme storms, heat and wildfires broke records – a scientist explains how global warming fuels climate disasters

The US saw a record number of billion-dollar disasters in 2023, even when accounting for inflation. The number of long-running heat waves like the Southwest experienced is also rising.

Shuang-Ye Wu, Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, University of Dayton • conversation
Dec. 19, 2023 ~9 min

More vulnerable people live in Philadelphia neighborhoods that are less green and get hotter

An interdisciplinary group of researchers at Penn State ran computer models on two Philadelphia census tracts. The neighborhood with more vulnerable residents was also hotter.

Ute Poerschke, Professor of Architecture, Penn State • conversation
Dec. 18, 2023 ~6 min


How a hybrid heating system could lower your bills and shrink your carbon footprint

Oil and gas must be eliminated from heating systems over the coming years.

Jovana Radulovic, Head of School of Mechanical and Design Engineering, University of Portsmouth • conversation
Dec. 4, 2023 ~6 min

Lizards, insects and other species are evolving with climate change, but not fast enough

From dark dragonflies becoming paler to plants flowering earlier, some species are slowly evolving with the climate. Evolutionary biologists explain why few will evolve fast enough.

James Stroud, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolution, Georgia Institute of Technology • conversation
Nov. 21, 2023 ~10 min

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