A potentially record-breaking El Niño may reduce the likelihood of storms, but the agency still stressed the importance of preparedness.
extreme weather
2026 Has Already Broken Climate Records. El Niño Could Break More.
As the midpoint of the year approaches, several climate records have already been broken. Arctic winter sea ice extent reached a record low. Several countries saw record-breaking winter heat waves. And more than 150 million acres have already burned globally in wildfires.
Resolved Storm-Environment Interactions: Linking Local to Global Scales
Kilometer-scale global climate models offer unprecedented possibilities to simulate thunderstorms and analyze how they interact with their environment across many scales, shaping the climate state.
In 2025, the Ocean Stored a Record-Breaking Amount of Heat, Again
The ocean soaked up more heat last year than any year since modern measurements began around 1960, according to a new analysis published in Advances in Atmospheric Science.
An Ecosystem Never Forgets
A new study in southwestern China shows how ecosystems may exhibit “hydrological memory,” which affects how they react to extreme climate events such as heat and drought.
Trump Administration Plans to Break Up NCAR
The Trump administration is planning to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, one of the world’s leading climate and Earth science research laboratories, according to a statement from Russ Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, to USA Today.
City Dwellers Face Unequal Heat Exposure En Route to the Metro
Socioeconomic factors drive how much extreme heat public transit users in Chicago, NYC, and Washington, D.C., experience as they walk to and from metro stations.
Some Summer Storms Spit Sooty Particles into the Stratosphere
Earth’s typically pristine stratosphere is filling with particles from wildfires and additional moisture due to strong convective storms.
Building Better Weather Networks
A lack of weather data often leaves African communities vulnerable. Convergent efforts to improve observational networks throughout the continent are slowly filling the gaps.
Environmental Hazard Impact Metrics That Matter
Humans acutely experience climate change when they encounter extreme environmental conditions, but scientific definitions of “extreme” often don’t reflect communities’ complex lived experiences.
