❄️ How Snowfall is Changing Across the United States

🛰️ The Role of Satellites in Climate Adaptation

An international study involving University of Galway researchers revealed the unique and powerful roles satellites play in tracking climate adaptation. The research team is combining data from satellites with AI to measure actions that help communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure adjust to current and future climate impacts in the global agrifood sector. The study focused on four key sectors: agriculture, biodiversity, extreme events, and health. Satellites monitor water productivity, irrigation efficiency, and crop migration patterns in the agriculture sector. Platforms like Global Mangrove Watch and Global Forest Watch provide crucial geospatial information on ecosystem extent and changes. Satellites characterize flood extent, drought anomalies, and urban heat islands at scales impossible with ground-based stations alone. Earth observation data on land surface temperature and air quality inform heat exposure assessments and disease outbreak forecasting. Overall, the space-based data offers truly global coverage with objective and repeatable measurements spanning up to 60 years.

University of Galway, Phys.org

❄️ How Snowfall is Changing Across the United States

A new analysis by The Washington Post found that around 70% of states in the contiguous U.S. have seen declining snowfall over the last five years. The Plains, Midwest, and East Coast have received much less snow than average over the past five winters. The biggest snow shortages have occurred near the East Coast, with several states seeing snow decrease by at least 35% since 2020. Winter snowfall has increased in parts of the western and southern U.S., as well as Alaska. The ingredients needed to generate bigger snowstorms or persistently snowy winters such as freezing temperatures and moisture are linking up less frequently now. As the world trends toward warmer temperatures, more mixed precipitation or rain has occurred in areas that typically would see more snow. Lower snowfall totals may cause problems in the West and elsewhere that depend on it for drinking water, irrigation, and electricity. In central and eastern states that depend on snow for recreational sports and scenic appeal may face an economic loss.

Ben Noll and Daniel Wolfe, The Washington Post

🇮🇸 Possible Atlantic Current Collapse Deemed a Security Risk

Iceland has designated the potential collapse of a major Atlantic Ocean current system a national security concern and an existential threat. This designation enables the Icelandic government to strategize for worst-case scenarios spanning energy, food, infrastructure, and transportation sectors. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, brings warm water from the tropics northward to the Arctic, helping to keep Europe’s winters mild. As temperatures warm, Arctic ice thaws at a faster rate and causes meltwater from Greenland’s ice sheet to pour into the ocean. The cold freshwater could disrupt the current’s flow and could trigger a modern-day ice age. The AMOC has collapsed in the past, notably before the last Ice Age that ended about 12,000 years ago. If the AMOC does collapse, it could have ripple effects across Africa, India, and South America.

Alison Withers and Stine Jacobsen, Reuters