💤 Climate Change Increases Cases of Sleep Apnea

💤 Climate Change Increases Cases of Sleep Apnea

According to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, rising temperatures amplified by climate change are contributing to an increase in sleep apnea cases, a condition in which breathing repeatedly stops during sleep. If temperatures continue to rise, the burden and prevalence of sleep apnea may increase by 20-100%. The study followed 115,000 people for up to two years, measuring sleep quality and cross-referencing weather data. When comparing 80F days to 40F days, there was a 40-45% increase in the frequency or severity of sleep apnea. Using health-economic models, researchers estimate over 788,000 healthy years of life were lost or disabled in 2023 due to temperature-related increases in obstructive sleep apnea, equivalent to a loss of $68 billion.

Dr. Ilann Kokotek, ABC News

👣 Efforts to Slash Concrete’s Carbon Footprint

One of the most common types of cement, Portland cement, is responsible for around 8% of all carbon pollution. One company, Terra CO2, recently closed a $124.5 million deal to help bring its low-carbon cement to the market. The funding will be used to build a facility in Dallas capable of making 240,000 tons of its supplementary cementitious material (SCM) annually. Their version of SCM cooks widely available silicate-containing rocks until they melt into glass. The glassy powders react similarly to Portland cement. Terra CO2 says its SCM can replace up to 40% of the Portland cement used in concrete, and the SCM generates 70% less carbon dioxide.

Tim De Chant, TechCrunch

ENSO Forecast

In late June, Columbia Climate School issued their ENSO quick-look forecast. As of mid-June, the equatorial Pacific remains in an ENSO-neutral state, with sea surface temperatures near average. Historically, El Nino and La Nina events tend to develop during the April-June period, but the IRI ENSO plume forecast indicates an 84% chance of ENSO-neutral conditions remaining for June-August. For the October-January time frame, ENSO-neutral probabilities decrease to just under 50%, but remain higher than either La Nina or El Nino. Looking ahead to the first few months of 2026, ENSO-neutral conditions are favored with 50-66% probabilities between December-April compared to La Nina and El Nino.

The International Research Institute for Climate and Society, Columbia University Climate School