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Personal experience tells us that weather disasters such as heat waves, droughts, wildfires, floods, and tropical cyclones have been worsening by the year. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has now substantiated this impression with evidence. The WMO Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes (1970 – 2019), just released in… Continue reading Climate change has caused big increase in weather disasters over the past 50 years—Paul Chan

The UN 2020 Emissions Gap Report presents a picture of worldwide carbon inequality—a stark contrast between the rich and poor in carbon emissions. In 2015 the richest 1% of the world population emit 15% of the total carbon emission and about 83 ton/capita (from the right figure below). While the poorest 50% emit 7% of… Continue reading Carbon inequality—the economic divide in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions–Paul Chan

As I write this post, 104 recent fires have burned more than 2.4 million acres in 12 U.S. states. More than 25,000 firefighters are fighting these fires. California is particularly hard hit by fires. The Caldor Fire has burned more than 20,000 acres and the Dixie Fire over 48,000 acres. The fire season in the western states usually… Continue reading Storms of My Grandchildren—Paul Chan

GHG emissions and climate change are directly linked to excessive consumption in affluent countries. The sources of GHG emissions are basically from how we live—the ways and amounts we travel, the amounts of space we occupy, the types of food we eat, and the amounts of goods we consume and waste. The figure below is… Continue reading What are the sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions?–Paul Chan

Climate change is a complex, multi-faceted subject. Scientists that study climate change come from a wide range of disciplines. Atmospheric scientists, oceanographers, and glaciologists study the physical links between increasing atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHG, one of which is CO2) and the responses of the atmosphere, ocean, and glaciers. They also analyze how climate change would… Continue reading Who studies climate change?–Paul Chan

2020 is an extremely unfavorable year for climate change. Disastrous weather ravaged many parts of the world. 2016 and 2020 are the two years with the highest global temperature on record. In early 2021, Biden was elected U.S. President and the Democratic Party won razor-thin majority in both houses of Congress. President Biden declared that… Continue reading Can Biden turn around U.S. climate policies? –Paul Chan