Of the many factors that cause wildfires, the influence of climate change and human activities is growing

Although there are multiple things at play when it comes to wildfires, climate change is becoming increasingly important. Wildfires are the result of complex interactions between biophysical and human factors, and it only takes one poorly managed campfire to cause a serious, widespread wildfire disaster. Many wildfires are indeed the direct result of human activities. However, many more and much worse wildfires are now possible because of climate change, leading to greater environmental and economic negative impacts.


Authorities undertaking climate action targeted by viral “Climate lockdowns” narrative on social media

The increasing number of measures to limit greenhouse gas pollution that can be expected in the future will certainly present opportunities for future weaponization and misrepresentation. Writers, editors, and journalists should be aware of these manipulation tactics when discussing the aftermath of COVID-19 restrictions or future climate policies, knowing that some actors are trawling for any evidence to boost the manufactured ‘climate lockdown’ outrage.


What’s in a number? The significance of the 1.5°C warming threshold and reporting on its possible breach in popular media

These findings were widely covered by popular media outlets, including in articles published by The Guardian, CNN, and BBC, which all reported that this temperature increase would represent a breach of the key IPCC threshold. However, this is missing some important context. 
“A single year above 1.5°C does not mean the world has passed that particular warming level”, said Zeke Hausfather. Such nuance was better captured by articles published in Reuters and Axios, which both correctly did not report that these new temperature projections, if realized, would constitute a breach of the threshold.




Google’s demonetization of misinformation: one year on

ProPublica finds that Google still monetizes many websites and articles that promote harmful misinformation, much of which is in direct breach of its stated demonetization policy. Enforcement of its own rules on languages other than English is particularly lacking.


Here’s what we know about how climate change impacts hurricanes – and what we don’t

The uncertainty surrounding how hurricane frequency could change as the climate warms has been brought up in claims seeking to undermine climate change’s impact on hurricanes. These claims are examples of straw man arguments: noting that climate change may not lead to a higher number of hurricanes in the future does not mean that climate change has had – or will have – no impact on hurricanes at all.


Different parts of the planet warm more quickly than others. That doesn’t mean climate change isn’t happening.

If you’re even a casual consumer of climate news, you probably know that some parts of the globe are warming more rapidly than others. Scientists have known for years, for instance, that the Arctic is heating up at a faster clip than the global average, and recently, the region made headlines after a study showed that the northernmost reaches of our planet are warming four times faster than the rest of the Earth.


Introducing the Climate Science Desk, Science Feedback’s new portal to help journalists verify climate claims

Supported by the Climate Misinformation Grant Program from the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at the Poynter Institute, Science Feedback is launching the Climate Science Desk, an initiative aimed at helping fact-checkers and journalists connect with scientists to review the veracity of climate change-related claims. The Climate Science Desk features a portal where fact-checkers can submit … Continued