India is often ground zero for extreme heat events, and the urban heat island effect makes these events even more severe in cities, which are warmer than surrounding areas due to concentrated human activity and construction. Cities' buildings have a lot to do with the heat residents feel.
Climate, Energy & Transport
September brought alarming signs of a changing climate, including record-breaking hurricanes and reports on rapid loss of snow and ice, a steep decline in U.S. bird species and risks to wheat crops.
U.S. states, cities and businesses are an essential part of the response to the global climate crisis – and their role is ever more crucial as the Trump administration moves to pull the United States from the historic Paris Agreement.
Mass public mobilization on display during September UN summits on climate action and sustainable development showed the intertwined nature of the climate crisis with crises in justice and democracy. Advocates around the world are telling government leaders that they want urgent, just, inclusive climate action.
Pennsylvania's planned entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative marks the first time a major fossil-fuel producing state has joined the cooperative, which aims to cap carbon dioxide emissions from electric power plants. It won't solve all the Keystone State's energy challenges, but it's a big step forward.
A new analysis reveals that the ocean is not just a victim of climate change, it is also a powerful source of solutions. Given political will, appropriate policy and investment in technology, the ocean could be a new ally in the fight.
Scores of countries are expected to announce plans at next week's UN Climate Action Summit to accelerate and scale up global ambition to implement the Paris Agreement. Twelve have already shared their long-term strategies to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by midcentury. Climate Watch's new Long-term Strategy Tracker offers a look.
World leaders are gathering New York City for a summit on an urgent challenge that affects every aspect of our lives, from the economy to jobs, security and migration and our health. It is, of course, the climate crisis. National leaders will have three main tasks to accomplish.
This Friday, young people in the United States are joining with the global youth climate movement to go on strike to demand that adults act responsibly to protect their future. They also want adults to join the strike in solidarity.
Frances Seymour, a WRI Distinguished Senior Fellow, and Nancy Harris, Research Manager at Global Forest Watch, offer their expert perspective on tropical deforestation in the journal Science as the world's attention is riveted on fires in the Amazon and around the globe.