Last fall, an expose on extensive research into what Exxon knew regarding the petroleum industry’s impact on climate change was published, including evidence that they conducted extensive research into the issue in the 1970s and 1980s. Their findings resulted in exhaustive efforts to cover up what they had discovered, and to staunch public debate on the subject.
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Breaking yet another record, the global average temperature for April of 2016 marked the 12th consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th century average, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reporting levels a full 1.10ºC above normal. This makes for the longest streak of record-breaking monthly temperatures — a full year’s worth — since record-keeping began in the 19th century.
That 1.10ºC above average (1.12ºC according to NASA) also places last month as the hottest April on record, and also stands to mark 2016 as the hottest year on record, with the January through April period seeing 1.14ºC above average around the globe.
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A new study has highlighted a disaster that is brewing for countries in Africa due to the issue of global warming: the study’s climate models show that extreme heat waves may become an annual occurrence detrimentally impacting both life expectancy, and crop production in as little as two decades. With much of the continent lying within tropical latitudes, the heat experienced by Africa is infamous; with heat-caused drought, and famine already being an all-too common occurrence.
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A new study has found that five previously-charted small islands in the Solomon Island chain have slipped beneath the ocean, due to the effects of climate change-related sea level rise, and from the erosion caused by the encroaching ocean. These small islands were thankfully uninhabited, but the study also shows that another six islands in the chain are experiencing severe shoreline recession, with two villages having been lost as a result, forcing the residents to relocate.
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