July Was The Hottest Month Ever Recorded – while recent El Niño effects have contributed to recent warming, NOAA scientists say this affect was over in June and that we are still on track for 2016 to be the warmest year on record.
Alaskan Village Decides to Relocate as Seas Rise – as the town of Shishmaref, Alaska has lost up to 3,000 feet of land to coastal erosion in the last 35 years, its residents have voted to relocate the town to a new site.
Exxon Mobile Halts Production as Louisiana Floods Threaten Facilities – the area around Exxon’s Baton Rouge 502,500 barrel per day refinery, received 22 inches of rain, 19 above normal for this time in August, forcing it to shut down four production units.
Extreme Weather and Labor Prices Lead to Price Surge for Cashews – extreme heat and low precipitation in Africa and Asia coupled with rising labor costs in India have led to lower production and prices have increased 20% since the beginning of the year, affecting retailers and food processors around the world.
Zika Virus Damages Puerto Rican Economy – new figures show that tourism in Puerto Rico earlier this year fell due to worries about the Zika virus. 42,000 room nights were lost between March and May 2016.
FEMA Seeks to Move Construction Away from Flood Zones – a FEMA proposal would require federally funded projects to be built 2 feet about the 1-percent-chance annual flood level while for projects like hospitals and nursing homes, FEMA could use tougher standards or apply the best available climate science to determine potential future flood conditions over the lifetime of the project.
NIH Warns Texas, Louisiana Could be Next in Zika’s U.S. Spread – and rising temperatures that lengthen mosquito seasons may contribute to this.
Plastics Industry in Turkey is Worried About Impact of Unrest on Exports – Turkish plastics processors are worried they will lose business as global manufacturers grow nervous about their sourcing in Turkey in the wake of the failed military coup that killed 300 people.
World Bank Report Details Growing Water Scarcity – among its many warning, water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change, could cost some regions up to 6% of their GDP.
US Administration Proposes Requiring Companies to Disclose Climate Risks – the administration recently proposed requiring that all companies doing business with the federal government publicly disclose what they know about their climate-risk exposure. This information will be a factor in taxpayer-funded contracting decisions.
Earthquake in Central Italy Levels Towns – 240 people have died with many more injured after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake. Many of the buildings in the towns hit hardest were made of unreinforced brick or concrete frames, making them vulnerable to earthquakes.
Climate Change may halve the world’s regions suitable for growing coffee – a new report claims that without significant efforts to reduce rising global temperatures, half of the global area suitable for coffee production could become unsuitable for growing coffee by 2050.
Climate Change is Likely to Cause Allergy Misery for Millions – research from the UK points to a doubling of allergies to ragweed across Europe by 2050. The authors simulated how ragweed is likely to expand across the continent as temperatures rise.