According to new research, the number of people who will suffer as a result of extreme droughts is expected to increase to more than 2 times its current levels in the latter half of this century.

This new information comes from research performed by a global network of scientists begin led by a team at Michigan State University. More than 20 helped to author the results.

Currently about 3 percent of the world population is greatly impacted by severe drought. Much more than just a lack of clean water, the drought conditions lead to food shortages for those in the areas.

The new research predicts that this number will increase to around 8 percent by the late 21^st century. The results were recently published in Nature Climate Change.

“More and more people will suffer from extreme droughts if a medium-to-high level of global warming continues and water management is maintained in its present state,” said Yadu Pokhrel – civil and environmental engineer and lead author of the research paper.

“Areas of the Southern Hemisphere, where water scarcity is already a problem, will be disproportionately affected. We predict this increase in water scarcity will affect food security and escalate human migration and conflict.”

Additionally, the scientists are projecting that two-thirds of the planet will see a large reduction in natural land water storage. This includes the water which normally accumulates in snow and ice, rivers, lakes and reservoirs, wetlands, soil and groundwater. All of which is being driven by climate change.

This land water storage, represents critically important components of the world’s water and energy supply. “Our findings are a concern,” Pokhrel said.

“To date, no study has examined how climate change would impact land water storage globally. Our study presents the first comprehensive picture of how global warming and socioeconomic changes will affect land water storage and what that will mean for droughts through the end of the century.”

The post Suffering from Extreme Droughts will Double appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

Bordeaux is well known for its structured, age-worthy red wines, made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with few other varieties as supporting actors, including Petit Verdot and the rarer Malbec and Carménère.

Although Bordeaux may not want to change its ways, global warming is real, and that means adapting or death. With increasing temperatures during the grapes’ growing season, the future does not look bright for Bordeaux producers.

Early January 2021, the INAO, the department in charge of French wine’s quality, finally authorized a set of new grapes for Bordeaux: Arinarnoa, Castets, Marselan and Touriga Nacional. Two white grapes were included as well, Alvarinho and Liliorila.

While this may not sound like much to the average person, this is a very big deal. For wine purists, this is like saying Italians will now make pizza with apple puree instead of tomato sauce. What does this mean for Bordeaux wines? It means survival trumps tradition, and that climate change affects us in more ways than we thought.

Wine books will have to be rewritten, and wine lovers will need to reassess their knowledge about classic wine regions and their grapes, starting with Bordeaux.

The world of wine is ever-evolving, and nothing is set in stone. Do you think you know Bordeaux? Think again.

The post How Climate Change may Change Your Wine appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

Published in the Nature, the study is based on work done by scientists from the University of Buffalo. Researchers, led by geologist Jason Briner, developed models of the ice melt. These models are able to reconstruct the climate thousands of years ago, and use that information to produce their findings.

With their data and the models, they are able to more accurately understand the Greenland ice sheet. Not only do the models let them better understand the past in the area, but also better predict the future.

What they have found in their predictions of the future, and their understanding of the present, is astounding.

“Basically, we’ve altered our planet so much that the rates of ice sheet melt this century are on pace to be greater than anything we’ve seen under natural variability of the ice sheet over the past 12,000 years,” says Briner.

“We’ll blow that out of the water if we don’t make severe reductions to greenhouse gas emissions.”

The results of this study, add to the mountains of climate change data that scientists have amassed in recent years. Unfortunately, many politicians still choose to ignore or discount the findings.

Based on their data, Briner and his team are urging leaders in countries world-wide to make the necessary changes to slow the decline of ice sheets and their impact on sea level rise.

The post Greenland Ice Sheet Melting at Historic Rates appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

Apparently, there’s no need to ask the question anymore thanks to a team led by Tewodros Asefa, a chemist at Rutgers University. 

The team has created ultra-small titanium dioxide crystals – nanoparticles – which can convert carbon dioxide into methane and other fuels. The other interesting property of the crystals is their ability to hold a charge for expended periods of time. This could make them ideal for use in quantum computers.

“Our findings are important and intriguing in a number of ways, and more research is needed to understand how these exotic crystals work and to fulfill their potential,” said Asefa.

Titanium dioxide is widely available with thousands of tons of it being produced every year for use in a wide array of products. It’s used in everything from sunscreens, cosmetics and paints to paper, plastics, ceramics and much more.

Another very interesting property of the crystals is that, for some reason, they ‘blink’ when exposed to energy.

Research are still trying to understand exactly why, but they believe it may be because individual electrons become trapped for many seconds within a crystal and then jump to another where they again become temporarily trapped. 

This ‘blinking’ response to electrons is what could make the crystals useful in electronics, solar cells and other technology.

The post Crystals may Remove Green-House Gases, Make Fuel, and More appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

Yes, you heard that right. The coldest regions in the world are experiencing a heatwave and wildfires this year. Temperatures in the Arctic have reached 95°F. One direct result of this is that the ice in the ocean is melting.

The entire Arctic Circle is experiencing extremely hot weather, even towns that have never seen such heat and are the coldest in the region. Many cities and places all over Russia are experiencing this increase in temperature.

It is not just Russia, even Scandinavia, and Northern Canada are experiencing heat this year. So, what does this say about the future of the world, and why are these changes happening?

Why The Temperature Is Getting Hotter

Firstly, let’s understand how a heat wave works. At first, the pressure in the atmosphere keeps increasing in a specific area. This pressure forces the clouds to move away from the area and so direct sunlight hits the ground.

The ground then consistently starts absorbing direct sunlight and because of less wind and constant heat, the temperature starts increasing. A good analogy of this is the heat within the oven when something is baking.

The heat is trapped with nothing going in and nothing coming out. The same way heat on the ground gets trapped and this causes a heatwave. Places near the Arctic such as Russia are experiencing this now because these places have long sunlight hours in the summer.

The sunlight is there even at night-time and so there is constant heat. This year it turned into a heatwave and wildfires because there was very little snow. The winter was not that cold this year, with a touch of warmth in the air and so all the snow quickly melted away once summer came.

This lack of snow and constant sunlight has caused a heatwave this year and wildfires all across. Wildfires are not unusual in Siberia but a cause for concern as they are a result of climate change.

Impact On Climate Change

These fires are expanding and spreading every year in Siberia. The top reason for this is climate change. We all know the effects of global warming with temperatures increasing every year and this is exactly what has happened here.

However, one thing to note here is that the rate of climate change is different in every part of the Earth. The Arctic is experiencing double the rate than any other place on Earth.

This is why the people and places that will be first affected by climate change are near the Arctic. These countries foreshadow what will soon happen to the rest of the world.

These are grave consequences and one that will impact the whole world extremely negatively. These events are likely to become more normal in the future and that shouldn’t be the case. This is why all of us collectively should do our part in slowing down climate change so wildfires and heat waves don’t happen and ruin the land.

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