2024 is another record-breaking year—global temperatures continue to rise; a particularly active hurricane season wreaks havoc on the U.S.; catastrophic floods devastate Spain and Central Europe; wildfires devastate parts of North and South America—just to name a few headlines.
But it’s also a year filled with exciting opportunities for collaboration, as people from across academia, policy and research, as well as community members, come together during New York Climate Week to discuss new ways to address, mitigate and prevent the impacts of climate change. approach, initiatives such as COP29 and the World Water Film Festival. For the first time in nearly nine years, the seismic vessel R/V Marcus G. Langseth also made a stop in New York City for some much-needed TLC, inviting visitors aboard to showcase the vessel’s valuable research results.
At Climate School, we celebrate our graduating class of students who will now contribute their education and experience to building a better world. We also recently announced the launch of a new climate master’s program for young and mid-career professionals and future academics who want to become climate leaders at the community, state, national and international levels. At State of the Planet, we publish hundreds of stories about current, past, and future climate, as well as individuals who are helping us understand and work toward a more sustainable and equitable future. You can read a brief summary of our most viewed articles below.
Some of our most popular posts from 2024
Bottled water may contain hundreds of thousands of previously uncountable tiny bits of plastic, study finds: In a groundbreaking study, scientists were able to use a new technique to identify extremely tiny bits of plastic in bottled water—much smaller than we previously assumed. 10 times more. If you want to find out just how much you know about this “material with a thousand uses,” you can also take our Plastics 101 quiz.
Unexplained heat wave “hotspots” are emerging around the world: repeated extreme heat waves in different regions that cannot be explained by climate models. A study provides the first global map of such regions, which occur on every continent except Antarctica.
The Cascadia Subduction Zone is raising concerns about one of the greatest hazards on Earth: a region where tectonic plates collide near the coasts of the western United States and Canada, where massive earthquakes and tsunamis can occur. The last time was 324 years ago. When will we see the next one?
Solar geoengineering to cool the planet: Is it worth the risk? Once considered a crazy idea, solar geothermal engineering is gaining acceptance in some circles. But it’s not without its drawbacks.
An earthquake changed the course of the Ganges. Will it happen again? An earthquake 2,500 years ago changed the course of the mighty Ganges, a new study shows. The area remains vulnerable to similar incidents.
Protect our planet: 5 strategies to reduce plastic waste: Think globally, act local: Some tips for reducing your plastic footprint.
How climate change affects renewable energy: Because renewable energy depends on the environment, both supply and demand for renewable energy are affected by climate impacts such as heat, drought, changing precipitation patterns, flooding, extreme weather and wildfires.
Twelve years after Sandy, are we better at responding to disasters? Jeffrey Schlegelmilch, director of Colombia’s National Disaster Preparedness Center, considers how lessons from Hurricane Sandy can be applied to recent disasters.
Video Highlights
This year, we’re adding new stories to our Earth Science video series, including brief explanations from Climate School researchers who are understanding the impacts of climate change.
That’s all for now. See you in 2025!
