State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tag: famine

  • Europe’s ‘Great Famine’ Years Were Some of the Soggiest in Centuries

    Europe’s ‘Great Famine’ Years Were Some of the Soggiest in Centuries

    Unrelenting rains led to a miserable famine in Europe from 1315-1317. Just how wet was it? A new study reveals that the beginning of the famine included some of the wettest years in the last 700 years.

  • What Caused the Great Famine?

    What Caused the Great Famine?

    Scientists are unraveling the driving forces of one of the worst environmental disasters in human history, in hopes of predicting and preparing for the next global drought.

  • The Sahel Is Getting Wetter, But Will It Last?

    The Sahel Is Getting Wetter, But Will It Last?

    New research gives a unifying explanation of the Sahel’s past, present and future climate patterns.

  • Video: Is Drought In East Africa The New Normal?

    Video: Is Drought In East Africa The New Normal?

    A video interview with climate scientist Bradfield Lyon, who explains his latest research on what’s driving rainfall patterns in parts of East Africa.

  • Climates Services: Must Help Us Understand Risks

    Climates Services: Must Help Us Understand Risks

    The point is setting priorities right, and for an agency like the World Food Programme, our focus is of course vulnerable people in the most vulnerable countries, countries where climate change is a multiplier of hunger risk. –- WFP’s Carlo Scaramella, in the fifth in a series of video interviews.

  • Health Risks From Famine Likely to Persist

    Health Risks From Famine Likely to Persist

    Video Short: IRI’s Madeleine Thomson discusses the short- and long-term health risks of the East Africa famine

  • Hybrid Climate Data for East Africa

    Hybrid Climate Data for East Africa

    In our latest video interview, climate scientist Tufa Dinku talks about his work on combining weather station data with satellite information to generate high-resolution data sets. These data could be used for making more accurate forecasts and can feed into other climate risk management activities, such as early-warning systems. With funding from Google.org, Dinku and…

  • Climate Underpinnings of East Africa Drought

    Climate Underpinnings of East Africa Drought

    Watch a video interview of climate scientist Brad Lyon on the conditions leading up to the ongoing drought in East Africa. He says there’s a chance of La Niña forming later in the year, which could have devastating consequences for a region already plagued by widespread famine.

  • Somali Drought; Harbinger of Hard Times

    Somali Drought; Harbinger of Hard Times

    For all its problems, Southern California has been a wonderful home for a lot of people over the past 100 or so years. It has nice beaches, good roads, plenty of places to eat, and, for now, a reliable supply of drinking water. Now imagine the L.A. riots had spread across the entire region, plunging…

Science for the Planet: In these short video explainers, discover how scientists and scholars across the Columbia Climate School are working to understand the effects of climate change and help solve the crisis.
  • Europe’s ‘Great Famine’ Years Were Some of the Soggiest in Centuries

    Europe’s ‘Great Famine’ Years Were Some of the Soggiest in Centuries

    Unrelenting rains led to a miserable famine in Europe from 1315-1317. Just how wet was it? A new study reveals that the beginning of the famine included some of the wettest years in the last 700 years.

  • What Caused the Great Famine?

    What Caused the Great Famine?

    Scientists are unraveling the driving forces of one of the worst environmental disasters in human history, in hopes of predicting and preparing for the next global drought.

  • The Sahel Is Getting Wetter, But Will It Last?

    The Sahel Is Getting Wetter, But Will It Last?

    New research gives a unifying explanation of the Sahel’s past, present and future climate patterns.

  • Video: Is Drought In East Africa The New Normal?

    Video: Is Drought In East Africa The New Normal?

    A video interview with climate scientist Bradfield Lyon, who explains his latest research on what’s driving rainfall patterns in parts of East Africa.

  • Climates Services: Must Help Us Understand Risks

    Climates Services: Must Help Us Understand Risks

    The point is setting priorities right, and for an agency like the World Food Programme, our focus is of course vulnerable people in the most vulnerable countries, countries where climate change is a multiplier of hunger risk. –- WFP’s Carlo Scaramella, in the fifth in a series of video interviews.

  • Health Risks From Famine Likely to Persist

    Health Risks From Famine Likely to Persist

    Video Short: IRI’s Madeleine Thomson discusses the short- and long-term health risks of the East Africa famine

  • Hybrid Climate Data for East Africa

    Hybrid Climate Data for East Africa

    In our latest video interview, climate scientist Tufa Dinku talks about his work on combining weather station data with satellite information to generate high-resolution data sets. These data could be used for making more accurate forecasts and can feed into other climate risk management activities, such as early-warning systems. With funding from Google.org, Dinku and…

  • Climate Underpinnings of East Africa Drought

    Climate Underpinnings of East Africa Drought

    Watch a video interview of climate scientist Brad Lyon on the conditions leading up to the ongoing drought in East Africa. He says there’s a chance of La Niña forming later in the year, which could have devastating consequences for a region already plagued by widespread famine.

  • Somali Drought; Harbinger of Hard Times

    Somali Drought; Harbinger of Hard Times

    For all its problems, Southern California has been a wonderful home for a lot of people over the past 100 or so years. It has nice beaches, good roads, plenty of places to eat, and, for now, a reliable supply of drinking water. Now imagine the L.A. riots had spread across the entire region, plunging…