More Hot Days Are Coming With Climate Change. Our Choices Will Decide How Many

Summer still has a month to go, but extreme heat has been a major storyline through June and July. Sweltering temperatures have grounded planes, sparked wildfires and set records from coast-to-coast.

This report has a strong American bias, but it takes
 little imagination to give it an Australian slant.

These stories are becoming annual rites of passage as the world warms. And the number of hot days is projected to increase in the coming decades.

Climate Central has developed a new web-interactive tool that brings the reality of future heat to hometowns across the U.S.  Simply enter the name of your city, town or hamlet — or any place in the Lower 48 that piques your curiosity — to see how the number of days above summer temperature thresholds will change throughout the rest of the century. The interactive also shows how reducing greenhouse gas emissions can help reduce the heat.

Read research report by Climate Central - “More Hot Days Are Coming With Climate Change. Our Choices Will Decide How Many.”

An Australian icon feels the heat

An Australian icon - koala populations
are rapidly declining in many parts and 
matters are worsened by our changing climate.

Koalas are a much-loved Australian icon and a tourism moneyspinner too, contributing more than A$1 billion each year to Australia’s economy.

Worryingly, however, there is growing evidence that koala populations are declining rapidly in many parts of Australia. They are thought to be declining in all but one bioregion (a way of classifying ecosystems) in Queensland and New South Wales.

They also face the growing threat of climate change. Recent modelling found that koala habitat could be considerably reduced as the world warms, particularly due to heatwaves and rainfall.

These declines are deeply concerning and failure to reverse them can result in only one outcome: the loss of koalas from many parts of the Australian landscape. But conserving koalas is a complex job.

Read about the challenges facing koalas on The Conversation - “Koalas are feeling the heat, and we need to make some tough choices to save our furry friends.”