Scientists say a record-smashing March heat wave in the U.S. Southwest shows climate change is already driving more dangerous weather extremes. World Weather Attribution said Friday that the heat would have been virtually impossible without human-caused warming. Experts say extremes now hit more often, in odd seasons, and in unusual places. NOAA data shows a much larger share of the country sees extreme conditions than decades ago. An analysis by The Associated Press finds the U.S. breaks far more heat records than in past decades. One former FEMA official said disasters now fall outside old planning models and noted insurers pulling back.
Visitors are flocking to Death Valley National Park in California and Nevada to take in a rare phenomenon known as a superbloom. Thousands of long-dormant flowers have popped through the desert soil, transforming the barren landscape in carpets of gold. The bloom is a result of steady rain in the fall and winter, and experts don't expect the blooms to last long. Ecologists say the superbloom, though not a real scientific term, proves that there is life in the desert, even in a place known for death.
El Nino warps weather worldwide. Meteorologists say the natural El Nino cycle is both adding to and feeling the heat of a warming world. A new study says a shift from a rare three‑year La Nina to a strong El Nino recently helped trap extra heat in the climate system. Study authors say between warming from greenhouse gases and that La Nina to El Nino change, it explains three-quarters of Earth's energy imbalance, which leads to extra heat. Warmer waters are also causing NOAA to shift how it calculates and labels this cycle, which likely means more La Ninas and fewer El Ninos.
