CU Extreme Wx Blog

By Jaclyn Rabinowitz and Neo Monese On November 1st and 2nd, the Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate hosted the Air Pollution Extremes Workshop on Columbia University’s Morningside Campus. The two-day event brought together experts in observation-based, laboratory, and modeling, research, as well as public health and policy, to discuss current events and innovations on […]

A NOAA News Research piece by Ali Stevens examines a new study by Columbia Scientists. The study suggests that California’s abnormal winter rainfall could have been predicted using the subseasonal timescale. The study, using model data from the International S2S Prediction Project, indicates that S2S forecasts can accurately predict high impact weather events. The research […]

On April 12th and 13th 2018, The Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate hosted Urban Floods: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. This unique two-day event created a space for leading scientists, historians, economists, and social scientists to participate in lively discussions about topics of concern across all sectors. Organized by Anupama Rao (History, Barnard; MESAAS; Associate Director for […]

Researchers from Columbia University’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) have collaborated with researchers from the World Bank’s Climate Change Group, the City University of New York (CUNY) Institute for Demographic Research (CIDR), and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) to produce a new report, Groundswell: Preparing for Internal Climate Migration. […]

A new study looks at the mental biases that prevent people from taking adequate safety measures when a hurricane is on the way. Over the past few decades, advances in hurricane forecasting, construction codes, and evacuation procedures have helped to save lives and mitigate property damage. Yet economic damage from hurricanes has steadily increased. Researchers […]

Seismic Sensors Record Hurricane Intensity, Study Finds Blog post by Sarah Fecht The earth is a noisy place. Seismometers, which measure ground movements to detect earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and manmade explosives, are constantly recording smaller vibrations caused by ocean waves, rushing rivers, and industrial activity. “We call this ‘ambient seismic noise’ because for people interested […]

Historically, biggest disasters are ones that are rare, says scientist Adam Sobel From the Times of India Adam Sobel, director and chief scientist of Columbia University’s Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate, was boarding a plane from New York last Monday when he heard the forecast: Cyclone Ockhi was heading to Mumbai too. Fortunately, the […]

In light of the recent publicity surrounding the air pollution crisis in India, Columbia Professor, Dr. Faye McNeill, co-wrote these three articles on the situation: No, You Do Not Become ‘Immune’ To Air Pollution. Yes, It Can Kill You! Tips On How To Pick And Optimise The Use Of Air Sensors, Air Purifiers And Masks […]

From October 23-25, leading scientists, government officials, members of the private sector, and other professionals participated in three days of presentations, lively panel discussions and an evening poster reception on Columbia’s Morningside campus as part of the 2017 Conference on Fire Prediction Across Scales. Organized by Robert Field of NASA GISS, Katia Fernandes of the […]

On May 2, 2017, the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School partnered with the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory to create a space for business leaders and climate scientists to understand how new advances in climate science are influential to investments in certain sectors of the global economy. The conference explored topics addressing […]