Climate Change

USA Today reports: The world’s population is expected to grow to an estimated 10.3 billion people in the mid-2080s, according to a new report from the United Nations. That’s up from the current global population of 8.2 billion people. The estimated size of the world’s population at the end of the century (2100) is now expected to be 6% smaller …

CNN reports: The weekend is off to a sizzling start as more than one-third of US residents face heat advisories and additional cities are expected to see record temperatures in the coming days. The list includes customarily hot Las Vegas, where temperatures are expected to be near 114 degrees Saturday and even hotter Sunday, when it could break the daily …

USA Today reports: Climate change is taking a dramatic toll on glaciers in Alaska: Glacier melt in a major Alaskan icefield has accelerated and could reach an irreversible tipping point earlier than previously thought, a new scientific study released this week suggests. Alaska has some of our planet’s largest icefields, and their melting is a major contributor to sea-level rise. …

USA Today reports: All of Jamaica was about to feel the power of Hurricane Beryl on Wednesday as the eye of the Category 4 storm reached the island of 3 million people, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its 5 p.m. ET advisory. The hurricane’s outer bands had lashed Jamaica earlier Wednesday after hurtling across warm waters in the …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Hurricane Beryl’s track beyond the next three days is getting increasingly challenging to predict, and the “cone of uncertainty” once the storm enters the Gulf shifted north Tuesday afternoon to include Texas. The Category 5 storm had winds of 155 mph at 5 p.m. CST Tuesday and is expected to weaken some due to wind …

The Weather Channel reports: Hurricane Beryl became the earliest Atlantic Category 5 on record overnight following a historic Windward Islands landfall earlier Monday. It’s not done yet, with Beryl likely to spread its impacts across Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and the Yucatan Peninsula before facing an uncertain future in the Gulf of Mexico. Current status: Beryl remains a Category 5 …

Axios reports: Hurricane Beryl, which formed Saturday evening, rapidly intensified into a major Category 4 storm Sunday, and is nearing the Windward Islands Monday morning as a Category 3 major hurricane. The storm is rewriting hurricane history. Its early formation, rapid intensification and location are all record-breaking. Hurricane Beryl is expected to bring “Potentially catastrophic hurricane-force winds” and “a life-threatening …

CNN reports: Beryl, the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, intensified into a “very dangerous” Category 3 storm on Sunday morning as it churned toward Barbados and the Windward Islands, promising destructive hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge, according to the National Hurricane Center. The National Hurricane Center says Beryl is expected to be an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 …

Orlando’s ABC affiliate reports: Florida property owners are paying roughly four times the national average for insurance. And more than a million policyholders could soon pay even more. Earlier this week, Citizens Property Insurance announced it is pushing for a rate hike for its most common policy type. If approved, owners of single-family homes would see an average 13.5% rate …

Florida Politics reports: The intense rainfall across the southern part of the state has prompted Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency in more southern counties due in part to flash flooding. The downpour also caused significant standing water on those farms with many farms facing repairs due to the damage of the rushing water during the storms. …

ABC News reports: Parts of southern Florida continued to get inundated with heavy rainfall Wednesday, with Gov. Ron DeSantis declaring a state of emergency tonight for several counties, including Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota. The National Weather Service in Miami said Wednesday evening that portions of Broward and Miami-Dade counties — including Hallandale and Hollywood — are continuing to …

Axios reports: Flooding — which has gotten increasingly severe in an era of extreme weather — costs the U.S. economy an estimated $179.8 to $496 billion per year in 2023 dollars, according to new data from Democrats on the Senate Joint Economic Committee. The estimates are the equivalent of over 1% of 2023’s gross domestic product, the report notes. It …

CNN reports: The planet just marked a “shocking” new milestone, enduring 12 consecutive months of unprecedented heat, according to new data from Copernicus, the European Union’s climate monitoring service. Every single month from June 2023 to May 2024 was the world’s hottest such month on record, Copernicus data showed. The 12-month heat streak was “shocking but not surprising” given human-caused …

CNN reports: Daily temperature records will tumble as sizzling early season heat from a summerlike heat dome sends thermometers skyrocketing into the triple digits in parts of California and the West this week. Death Valley, the hottest place in the world, is likely to reach a high temperature of at least 120 degrees by Thursday. The Southwest will start to …

The Dallas Morning News reports: Power outages caused by severe weather Tuesday morning in Dallas County will likely span days as more storms approach the region, officials said. County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins signed a declaration of disaster as more than 322,000 residents were without electricity. Oncor reported more than 600,000 of its customers, including those in Dallas and Tarrant …

CNN reports: Powerful storms are delivering yet another round of violent weather to Texas on Tuesday after an almost unrelenting parade of destructive and sometimes deadly storms in recent weeks. Additional storms will pound more of the Southern Plains throughout the day. Storms were roaring through the Dallas-Fort Worth metro early Tuesday morning, delivering hurricane-force wind gusts and stirring tornado …

USA Today reports: The start of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is just over a week away, and federal forecasters Thursday predicted an “extraordinary” season with as many as 25 named storms possible. This is the most storms the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has ever predicted in a preseason outlook. “All the ingredients are in place for an active …

Florida Politics reports: U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott wrote a letter to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell demanding answers on whether FEMA has the resources needed to assist people in Florida and beyond when tropical systems wreak their inevitable havoc. “It is our understanding that your agency expects the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) to run …

USA Today reports: A wave of sweltering temperatures continues to swamp South Florida with heat index, or “feels like” temperatures, expected to reach 109 degrees in West Palm Beach today and continue with triple digits into Sunday. The National Weather Service in Miami issued a heat advisory for its entire coverage area today, which includes Palm Beach, Broward, Collier, Glades, …

The Washington Post reports: Florida will eliminate climate change as a priority in making energy policy decisions, despite the threats it faces from powerful hurricanes, extreme heat and worsening toxic algae blooms. On Wednesday, the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, signed the legislation, which is set to go into effect on July 1. The measure also removes most references to climate …