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Lauren Sommer

Stories

  • Evacuation lessons to be learned from the L.A. fires

    Residents feeling the Palisades Fire abandoned their cars in gridlock traffic as the wildfire approached. Evacuation planning is central to saving lives in wildfires, but many communities are behind.

  • caption: The average temperature across the globe in 2024 set a record. Climate change is helping drive longer and more intense heat waves.

    2023 was extremely hot. Then came 2024

    It's looking like 2024 will be the hottest year since record-keeping began, unseating 2023 for the top spot. Climate change is playing a role, and scientists say it was even hotter than expected.

  • Now in overtime, UN climate talks continue

    UN climate negotiations are in overtime in Azerbiajan as countries scramble to land a deal on how to finance the damages brought on by climate change. The impacts often are felt most by poor countries that have contributed the least to global warming.

  • Richer countries are starting to pay poorer ones for climate change damages

    A big question in the COP29 negotiations is how much rich countries should compensate less wealthy nations. That's because richer countries are responsible for the majority of climate change. After a historic announcement last year setting up a loss and damage fund, countries will still be hashing out how it works at this COP. But on the ground examples are starting to emerge. Scotland has given funds to compensate vulnerable countries for climate disasters and that money has been given out to residents in Malawi who lost their homes in a destructive cyclone.