320 news posts related to Climate

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Antarctic sea-ice models improve for the next IPCC, UW study shows 

The world of climate modeling is complex, requiring an enormous amount of coordination and collaboration to produce. Models feed on mountains of different inputs to run simulations of what a future world might look like, and can be so big — in some cases, lines of code in the millions — they take days or weeks to run. Building these models can be challenging, but getting them right is critical for us to see where climate change is taking us, and importantly, what we might do about it. 

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First results from NASA’s ICESat-2 map 16 years of melting ice sheets

Antarctic ice sheet

Using the most advanced Earth-observing laser instrument NASA has ever flown in space, a team of scientists led by the University of Washington has made precise measurements of how the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have changed over 16 years. In a new study published April 30 in the journal Science, researchers found the net loss of ice from Antarctica, along with Greenland’s shrinking ice sheet, has been responsible for 0.55 inches (14 millimeters) of sea level rise to the global ocean since 2003. 

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Agricultural pickers in US to see unsafely hot workdays double by 2050

Blueberry pickers

The global pandemic has put a focus on essential workers, those we rely on for basic services. Workers who pick crops, from strawberries to apples to nuts, already face harsh conditions harvesting in fields during summer harvest months. Those conditions will worsen significantly over the coming decades. A new study from the University of Washington and Stanford University, published online in Environmental Research Letters, looks at temperature increases in counties across the United States where crops are grown. 

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Study synthesizes what climate change means for Northwest wildfires

Smoke plume from forest fire.

Recent years have brought unusually large and damaging wildfires to the Pacific Northwest – from the Carlton Complex Fire in 2014 that was the largest in Washington’s history, to the 2017 fire season in Oregon, to the 2018 Maple Fire, when normally sodden rainforests on the Olympic Peninsula were ablaze. Many people have wondered what this means for our region’s future. 

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UW Quad cherry blossoms expected to peak last week of March

Students walking through the Quad.

Note: Thousands of people usually visit campus each spring to see the cherry blossoms. The University is asking people to avoid coming to campus this year to comply with orders by Public Health – Seattle & King County and Gov. Jay Inslee that prohibit gatherings of more than 50 people as our region combats the spread of COVID-19. Stay tuned for virtual options to enjoy the blossoms this year, including UW Video’s live feed of the Quad below. 

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