Research briefs

New research provides the first ever threat calculation of tornadoes across the European continent. The study found that between 1950 and 2015, tornadoes in Europe have caused nearly one billion euros worth of damage, over 300 deaths, and over 4400 injuries.

Researchers at MIT have found that climate change may drastically increase the variability in Nile’s annual output. The findings also suggest that there will be substantially fewer “normal” years, with flows between 70 and 100 cubic kilometers per year. There will also be many more extreme years with flows greater than 100, and more years of drought.

In a new study, researchers from Stanford outline a four-step “framework” for testing whether global warming has contributed to record-setting weather events. The new paper is the latest in a burgeoning field of climate science called “extreme event attribution”.

To improve eruption forecasting and warnings to save lives, a new report identifies research priorities for better monitoring of volcanic eruptions. Three grand challenges facing the volcano science community include integrating observations with models, quantifying the life cycles of volcanoes, and building a coordinated volcano science community.

Current wildfire policy can’t adequately protect people, homes and ecosystems from the longer, hotter fire seasons climate change is causing. The authors of a new study urge policymakers and communities to embrace policy reform that will promote adaptation to increasing wildfire and warming.

Flood-hit communities are the best placed to collect information about flash flooding which might otherwise be underestimated or missed altogether, scientists at Newcastle University say. The citizen science approach offers the public an exciting opportunity to work alongside scientists, share valuable local knowledge and help foster a greater sense of community

Cholera cases in East Africa increase by roughly 50,000 during El Niño, the cyclical weather occurrence that profoundly changes global weather patterns, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests. The findings, researchers say, could help health ministries anticipate future cholera surges during El Niño years and save lives.

New research suggests that the 2013-2015 droughts and unusually wet California winter could be associated with a distinctive wave pattern that emerges in the upper atmosphere and circles the globe. Part of a body of research on seasonal weather patterns, the finding indicates that an understanding of this pattern could help with early warning predictions.

A worrying increase in the number of new influenza viruses infecting humans means the risk of pandemic is higher than ever, a new study by UNSW researchers shows. In the past five years alone, four novel subtypes and three novel variant strains of influenza have emerged in humans.

Carbon dioxide concentrations are heading towards values not seen in the past 200m years. The sun has also been gradually getting stronger over time. Put together, these facts mean the climate may be heading towards warmth not seen in the past half a billion years.