As we change the calendar to a new month, it seems like a good time to review how meteorology has made news headlines this summer. While the weather often makes the news as a front-page headline when there is a high-impact event, the work that meteorologists and other scientists do on a day-to-day basis can help to keep the public safe, project changes in climate that can lead to positive changes in public policy, and engage with schoolchildren and teachers to encourage learning in the field of meteorology. This week, we highlight just a sampling of the many ways that weather, climate, and meteorology has made news headlines recently:
- July 2019 may have marginally exceeded July 2016 as the hottest month on record. The record-breaking heat across the northern Hemisphere has broken long-standing high temperature records across Europe, enhanced melting of the Greenland ice sheet, and exacerbated ongoing wildfires in the Arctic.
- From NOAA:
- With school starting in the next few weeks for many children across the U.S., NOAA has highlighted many of its invaluable resources for teachers. Check out this link for cloud charts, topic ideas for meteorology units, and the very-exciting ‘Science on a Sphere’ mobile app for visualizing global meteorological data.
- From the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR):
- A congressional panel paid a visit to NCAR headquarters in Boulder, Colorado to discuss climate change and improving public resilience with scientists.
- The New York Times published a story on an algae bloom on New Jersey’s largest lake which is having direct impacts on the local economy.
- NBC News reported on evacuations in England due to a possible dam failure after heavy rainfall.
- Science Daily reports on work by scientists at the University of California/Riverside on the possible impacts of a changing climate on the famous and historic Joshua trees which can be seen at Joshua Tree National Park.
- NOAA’s satellite branch, NESDIS, has been tracking Saharan dust, as well as smoke from African agricultural fires as it blows westward into the Atlantic Ocean.
- Science Daily reports on the very relevant work of scientists at Texas Tech University on the effect of warm temperatures on the materials that often make up children’s playground equipment. They focus on realistic ways that schools and day cares can mitigate the risk to the children who play at their facilities.