Filtered by category: The Conversation, tag: extreme weather × Clear
Climate change may be making us lonelier: How heat waves and extreme weather disrupt social connections everyone relies on
Matched: climate
Extreme heat and severe storms are driving people indoors and disrupting communal events, festivals, and shared spaces that foster social bonds. Researchers warn this climate-driven isolation compounds existing loneliness problems. Vulnerable groups, including the elderly and low-income residents lacking air conditioning, face the greatest risk, as repeated disruptions to community traditions and gathering places can permanently erode social ties.
‘Was this heatwave caused by climate change?’ – we’re asking the wrong question
Matched: climate
Scientists say framing extreme weather events as simply "caused or not caused" by climate change is misleading. A better question is how much worse climate change made an event. Research shows heatwaves are now hotter and more frequent due to fossil fuel emissions. Attribution science can quantify this difference, giving a clearer picture of climate change's real-world impact on extreme weather.
‘The fire has such power’: why the wildfires gripping France and Spain are off the charts
Wildfires in France and Spain are becoming increasingly difficult to control due to hotter, drier conditions linked to climate change. Fires are burning more intensely and spreading faster, overwhelming firefighters. Experts warn that traditional suppression methods are less effective against these "mega-fires," which generate their own weather systems, making them nearly impossible to extinguish until conditions change.