Tag - climate-change

 
 

CLIMATE CHANGE

Summer in Japan is now consistently brutal enough to drive you indoors and keep you there until autumn.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 27, 2024
When did summer in Japan stop being fun?
Summer in Japan used to be something to enjoy. Now, it’s something to endure.
Waves crash against the coast of Sansha town in Ningde, Fujian province, China, on Thursday as Typhoon Gaemi approaches.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 26, 2024
Climate change driving change in rainfall and fiercer typhoons
About 75% of the world's land area has seen a rise in "precipitation variability," or wider swings between wet and dry weather, scientists have found.
A cyclist cools off at a fountain at Madrid Rio park during a heat wave in Madrid, on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 26, 2024
U.N. demands action on extreme heat as world registers warmest day
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urges governments to "heatproof" their economies, critical sectors such as health care, and the built environment.
A construction worker during a heat wave in Folsom, California.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 25, 2024
What the temperature doesn’t tell you about extreme heat’s hazards
After its nationwide rollout in April, the HeatRisk forecasting tool is getting a real-world test as deadly temperatures stress much of the U.S.
Gas and steam rise out of an oil refinery in the Siberian city of Omsk, Russia, on Feb.  8, 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 24, 2024
Russia 'killing' climate, say activists awaiting top rights court ruling
Despite signing the Paris Climate accord, Moscow's fossil fuel extraction and war in Ukraine have spiked its greenhouse gas emissions.
Smoke from a fires in the Pantanal, the world's largest wetland, in Corumba, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil, on June 12.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 24, 2024
From floods to fire: On Brazil's climate front line
Brazil faces months of record wildfires, with devastation already under way and set to worsen in coming months as high heat and winds tear through the midwest.
A lone tree stands near a water trough on the outskirts of Walgett, in New South Wales, Australia, in 2018. Energy analysts said high construction costs, plus Australia's lack of nuclear expertise and abundant land and sunshine, make nuclear a less logical choice in the country.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024
Nuclear wildcard reignites Australia's climate wars
Ahead of expected polls, the country's federal opposition has unveiled plans to slow the roll-out of renewable energy and build a network for nuclear reactors.
Scientists drive their snowmobiles cross the arctic during dawn near Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Norway, on April 10, 2023.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2024
Pentagon to bolster response to China and Russia in Arctic
Measures are needed "to ensure the Arctic does not become a strategic blind spot,” the Defense Department said in its 2024 Arctic Strategy released Monday.
Green products must meet customer needs at competitive prices to succeed. If such technologies gain traction, both the planet and consumers will benefit.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2024
Going green doesn’t have to be a giant money suck
Green products must meet customer needs at competitive prices to succeed. If such technologies gain traction, both the planet and consumers will benefit.
Homes are surrounded by flood waters after Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Sargent, Texas, on July 8.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2024
The great climate change wealth transfer is here
Fossil fuel profits are sky-high, as are the costs of climate change. By subsidizing oil and gas while putting tariffs on green tech, governments are making things worst.
At a waste center in Kamikatsu, Tokushima Prefecture, residents separate trash into 45 different categories as the town aims to become "zero waste."
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 22, 2024
How circular economy initiatives are changing the world
From Asia to Europe to Africa, public and private entities are finding new ways to revolutionize the economic paradigm from a linear to a circular model. In Japan, too.
A pedestrian walks past air conditioning units in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 21, 2024
Japan bakes as temperatures across the country rise above 35 C
In Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, the mercury hit 38.2 C, while Miyazu, Kyoto Prefecture, saw the temperature rise to 37.3 C.
Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jul 21, 2024
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals
Can a 700-year-old dance have an effect on extreme heat or torrential rain? Probably not. When you're feeling powerless, though, any little thing helps.
Passersby holding parasols walk through Tokyo on July 9 amid a heatstroke alert in the capital and other prefectures.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Jul 19, 2024
Boiling Point
This special series focused on this year’s scorching summer will also lay the groundwork for enhanced heat coverage in future years.
A solar farm in Shilin, China. Last year, China installed more solar panels than the United States has in its entire history.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 19, 2024
Why the era of China’s soaring carbon emissions might be ending
The biggest factor in the shift is changes to how China produces its electricity.
The potential of AI in fighting climate change is immense. It can accelerate progress by redesigning industrial processes, optimizing transport systems, maximizing energy efficiency and significantly reducing emissions.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2024
Embracing the AI-energy-climate nexus
AI's potential to fight climate change is immense. It can accelerate progress by redesigning industrial processes, maximizing energy efficiency and reducing emissions.
An air conditioning unit being installed in Kotor, Montenegro, on June 22. Life almost stopped in Montenegro’s capital Podgorica earlier this summer, with cars and buses getting stuck in gridlock as traffic lights went out, the internet crashed and security alarms blared in reaction to a sudden loss of power supply.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jul 15, 2024
The world’s power grids are failing as the planet warms
Hotter summers cause spikes in demand for cooling, but upgrades to power infrastructure haven’t kept pace with climate change.
Storage tanks at the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project controlled by oil companies Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies in Norway. The Norwegian government is funding 80% of the initial investment for the state-of-the-art facility.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2024
A giant carbon dump gives glimpse into net-zero future
As the cost of renewables declines at pace with fossil fuel use, the need for carbon, capture and storage tech will diminish, making cost reductions a challenge.
Dolphins Arena in Nagoya. While the new IG Arena will almost certainly provide a more enjoyable experience for fans, the hope is that action on the raised ring will retain the heat that Dolphins Arena has long been famous for.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jul 10, 2024
A farewell to a Nagoya sumo arena known for heat — inside and outside the ring
The upcoming Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament will be the last to be held at Dolphins Arena, which has been the scene of numerous memorable moments over the years.
Olympic rings are displayed on Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris ahead of the city hosting the 2024 Olympic Games. One way of reducing the carbon emissions of mega sporting events is to limit the attendance of spectators traveling by air.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 10, 2024
Only locals should be allowed to attend the Olympics
The single best way of reducing the carbon emissions of an Olympics? Limiting ticket sales to locals. Evidence from the Tokyo Games shows how far-reaching the impact is.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?