| Warmer Arctic, Colder America: The rapidly warming Arctic has been shifting the polar vortex away from North America toward Eurasia for the past three decades, a new studyshows. The shift could bring harsher winters to North America and parts of Europe by enabling colder temperatures to reach further south. The Arctic is warming at a rate more than twice the global average, driving this climatic change. (TIME, Christian Science Monitor, ClimateWire $, Xinhua)
Wind Sector Soars: A record 20 gigawatts (GW) of wind capacity is currently under construction in the US, joining the existing 75 GW fleet, the American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) quarterly report shows. Iowa also became the first state to generate more than one-third of its electricity from wind power. Though new wind installations fell in the third quarter of this year compared to 2015, continued investment in renewables is driving new construction. The recent five-year extension of the tax credit for wind projects has considerably lowered the deadline pressure for developers. (Reuters, Quad City Times, Recharge, Politico Pro $)
Mediterranean’s Desertifying Future: Southern Europe’s landscape could undergo an unprecedented transformation by the end of the century if global warming continues unchecked, according to a new study. Even a 2°C rise in temperatures would alter the region’s ecosystems on a scale “unmatched in the past 10,000 years.” According to computer models used by the scientists, a worst-case scenario of 5°C warming would cause forests in southern Spain and North Africa to be completely overtaken by desert. The average temperature in the region has already increased by 1.3°C since the late 19th century. (Guardian, Carbon Brief, Nature, InsideClimate News, AP) |
