News & Research Highlights

As greenhouse gas emissions have risen, Arctic sea ice has declined. But natural variability influencing winds can also affect sea ice. A recent study finds the atmospheric mode associated with likely melt is a summertime “Figure-8” high pressure centered over the Arctic and extending over Greenland.

Ocean currents affect life in the ocean and climate over the surrounding continents. For more than 20 years an observatory at 23°W on the equator has measured local ocean current velocities. These data have now been made publicly available for the first time.

NOAA has released the Spring 2022 Mid-Atlantic Regional Climate Impacts Summary and Outlook. The summary covers significant weather events, temperature and precipitation, and an outlook for summer 2022.

The Climate Resilience Fund will provide up to 20 competitive $10,000 grants to organizations interested in using the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit’s Steps to Resilience. Applications are due July 22, 2022.

The worst megadrought in 1,200 years has gripped most of the western United States, driven in part by climate change. Partnering with federal, tribal, state, and local leaders, NOAA will host a drought and heat webinar on July 21, 2022.

A new study finds that more frequent rocket launches may harm Earth’s ozone layer. The finding highlights the need to better understand the impact of space travel on ozone and climate.

A new study finds that global warming contributed to a 13-percent decline in tropical cyclones worldwide over the 20th century. The North Atlantic bucked this trend, though. More frequent North Atlantic hurricanes could be caused by decreasing human-caused aerosols.

Sparked by lightning on May 31, the East Fork Fire spread swiftly across the Alaskan tundra, threatening four Yup’ik villages by mid-June. NOAA updated local residents, as well as state and national news media about the rapidly evolving situation. Though unrelated to the fire’s source, climate change likely contributed to the fire’s rapid growth to historic proportions.

June 8, 2022 was World Ocean Day. The global ocean covers roughly 70 percent of Earth’s surface and produces at least half of the world’s oxygen. It’s home to most of Earth’s biodiversity, and the main source of protein for more than a billion people.

A virtual workshop, “Heat + Housing + Health Equity Network” for the Southeastern U.S. (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi), will take place on June 23, 2022. It will be the first of a two-part initiative to develop a regional network of communities, practitioners, and researchers.