But the "explosion in fire catastrophes that we’ve seen in recent years is not inevitable," top climate scientist says.
Dec 29, 2020 - ScienceThe UN is urging U.S. citizens to do “everything you can” to curb emissions faster.
Dec 2, 2020 - ScienceThere is virtually no such thing as a cooler than average year on Earth anymore.
Updated Jun 7, 2018 - Energy & EnvironmentAn Indonesian man helps a woman navigate a heavy current in a flooded neighborhood of Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: Ed Wray/Getty Images
Severe monsoon flooding across several areas of Indonesia's capital forced more than 1,300 people to evacuate on Saturday, Reuters reported.
The big picture: The country's meteorology agency warned that conditions are expected to worsen as the heaviest rain of the season could fall in and around Jakarta over the next week, per Reuters.
Long-haul trucks waiting in traffic caused by historic cold weather in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 15. Photo: Montinique Monroe/Getty Images
President Biden declared a major disaster in Texas after severe winter storms struck the state, causing millions of residents to lose power and water.
Why it matters: The declaration clears the way for more federal funds to be spent on relief efforts across the state.
Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios
The deadly winter storm in Texas has bombarded hospitals throughout the state.
Why it matters: Doctors have been working to conserve resources, pause non-emergency surgeries, evacuate patients and push back coronavirus vaccine shots.
A line outside a Fiesta Mart grocery store in Houston, Texas, Feb. 17. Texans have been running out of food and other supplies, and the cold weather has "wiped out" the state's citrus and vegetable crops, the Texas Tribune reports. Photo: Thomas Shea/AFP via Getty Images
Millions of Americans are still without power during the winter weather emergency that's sweeping the U.S. — including nearly 1.8 million Texans, per utility tracker poweroutage.us. Some have also lost water services.
The big picture: Texas has been particularly badly hit by the deadly storm, with infrastructure damaged and pipes frozen. Officials told some 7 million Texans Wednesday to boil tap water before drinking it.
Austin, Texas, on Monday. Photo: Montinique Monroe/Getty Images
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing on Wednesday that the Biden administration is sending emergency generators to Texas amid ongoing power outages and freezing weather.
Why it matters: Huge swaths of Texas have been without electricity for days due to critical failures in the state's power grid. The outages come while a winter storm continues to pummel the state, causing unsafe conditions and a desperate need for heat.
Photo: Montinique Monroe/Getty Images
More than 4.3 million Texas homes and businesses are without power as of Tuesday morning, per the tracking service poweroutage.us.
Why it matters: Bitter cold temperatures and winter storms are wreaking havoc on the power system in Texas and its refineries, and affecting other states too.
Vehicles and people traverse through snow and ice in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday. Photo: Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
Over 150 million Americans are under winter storm warnings, as a subfreezing cold snap sweeps across the U.S., bringing with it heavy snow and dangerous, icy conditions.
The big picture: Hundreds of flights have been canceled and millions were without power across the U.S. Monday. Controlled outages were scheduled to take place in 14 central states to prevent uncontrolled cuts amid record freezing conditions. At least two people have died in Texas during the storm.
The scene in New York City's Times Square on Feb. 1. After lashing the Midwest and parts of California earlier, the storm system moved into the Northeast overnight, affecting some 70 million people. Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
The first major winter storm of 2021 was lashing much of the Eastern U.S. over Monday night, with up to 30 inches of snow falling in some places.
The big picture: COVID-19 vaccination sites and schools closed across the Northeast, including in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York City, where the outdoor subway service was suspended. New Jersey's Transit also paused its bus and rail operations. Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed in NYC, Philadelphia and Boston. At least three deaths have been attributed to the storm in Pennsylvania, per AP.
A firefighter hosing flames during the Creek fire in Madera County, California, in September 2020. Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
More than 57,ooo wildfires have torched roughly 10,357,000 acres — around 16,000 square miles — in the United States to date this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).
Why it matters: 2020 was one of the most active fire seasons on record in terms of total number of fires and acres burned, coinciding with drought conditions driven increasingly by climate change across much of the Western U.S., and one of the hottest years on record.