2026 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #03

Stories we promoted this week, by category:

Climate Change Impacts (10 articles)

• As a climate scientist, I know heatwaves in Australia will only get worse. We need to start preparing now "During black summer, my daughters were too young to know what was happening. Now, amid another Australian heatwave, they deserve answers" Comment is Free, The Guardian, Opinion by Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, Jan 8, 2026.
• Ocean Warming Breaks Record for Ninth Straight Year "Scientists warn the ocean’s accumulation of energy is fueling extreme weather patterns and destabilizing marine ecosystems." Science, Inside Climate News, Johnny Sturgeon, Jan 9, 2026.
• The western US is in a snow drought, raising fears for summer water supplies CNN, Andrew Freedman, Jan 9, 2026.
• ‘Profound impacts’: record ocean heat is intensifying climate disasters, data shows "Oceans absorb 90% of global heating, making them a stark indicator of the relentless march of the climate crisis" Environment, The Guardian, Damian Carrington, Jan 9, 2026.
• Himalayas bare and rocky after reduced winter snowfall, scientists warn BBC News, Navin Singh Khadka, Jan 11, 2026.
• New Climate Reports Show ‘Unprecedented Run of Global Heat’ "Data from multiple international agencies shows the reality of a rapidly warming world." Inside Climate News, Bob Berwyn, Jan 13, 2026.
• 2025: The fourth warmest year in U.S. history was full of deadly weather extremes "It was the first year in a decade without a U.S. hurricane landfall – but it still ranked third for billion-dollar disasters." Yale Climate Connections, Bob Henson, Jan 13, 2026.
• WMO confirms 2025 was one of warmest years on record "The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has confirmed that 2025 was one of the three warmest years on record, continuing the streak of extraordinary global temperatures. The past 11 years have been the 11 warmest on record, and ocean heating continues unabated." World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Press Release , Jan 14, 2026.
• Copernicus: 2025 was the third-hottest year globally and in Europe - with two main drivers "The past 11 years have been the warmest on record globally. Europe is warming significantly faster than the global average." EuroNews, Servet Yanatma, Jan 14, 2026.
• World warming faster than forecast as pollution cuts remove hidden cooling effect "Experts have sounded the climate alarm after discovering that global temperatures are accelerating faster than predicted." EuroNews, Liam Gilliver, Jan 15, 2026.

Climate Policy and Politics (10 articles)

• Senate Climate Hawks Aren't Ready To Stop Talking About It “We need to talk about it in ways that connect directly to voters’ lives right now,” Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a top environmentalist, said of global warming. HuffPost, Igor Bobic, Jan 6, 2025.
• Trump taking ‘drill, baby, drill’ plan to Venezuela ‘terrible’ for climate, experts warn " ‘Everybody loses’ if production supercharged in country with largest known oil reserves, critics say" The Guardian, Dharna Noor & Oliver Milman, Jan 6, 2026.
• Trump assails 'windmills' and wind energy as junk: 'They're losers' USA TODAY, Dinah Voyles Pulver, Jan 9, 2026.
• Damn the torpedoes! Trump ditches a crucial climate treaty as he moves to dismantle America’s climate protections The Conversation US, Gary W Yohe, Jan 10, 2026.
• Richest 1% have ‘blown through’ their carbon budget for 2026 in just 10 days - experts warn "Governments are being pressured to ban carbon-intensive luxury items and tax fossil fuel profits to meet climate targets." euronews, Liam Gilliver, Jan 10, 2026.
• Pulling out of 66 international organizations, Trump turns his back on science, facts, reason The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Benjamin Santer, Jan 12, 2026.
• US carbon pollution rose in 2025 in reversal of previous years’ reductions "Study from research firm finds that US greenhouse gas emissions grew faster than economic activity last year" The Guardian, AP, Jan 13, 2026 .
• Trump’s EPA is setting the value of human health to $0 "The agency’s new math to favor polluters, explained."Trump’s EPA is setting the value of human health to $0 Vox, Umair Irfan , Jan 14, 2026.
• Prof Ben Santer: Trump administration is `embracing ignorance` on climate science The attacks on climate science by the Trump administration means the US is now “part of the problem” on global warming and “not part of the solution”, says Prof Ben Santer. Carbon Brief, Robert McSweeney, Jan 15, 2026.
• Spain’s meteorologists subjected to ‘alarming’ rise in hate speech, minister warns "Environment minister says attacks on social media affect perceptions of meteorology and denigrate researchers’ work" The Guardian, Sam Jones, Jan 15, 2026.

Miscellaneous (4 articles)

• 2026 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #02 A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 4, 2026 thru Sat, January 10, 2026. Skeptical Science, Bärbel Winkler, John Hartz & Doug Bostrom, Jan 11, 2026.
• Photos Capture the Breathtaking Scale of China’s Wind and Solar Buildout Yale Environment 360, Unknown, Jan 13, 2026.
• Analysis: Coal power drops in China and India for first time in 52 years after clean-energy records " Coal power generation fell in both China and India in 2025, the first simultaneous drop in half a century, after each nation added record amounts of clean energy." Carbon Brief, Lauri Myllyvirta, Jan 13, 2026.
• Trump’s freeze of an offshore wind project faces scrutiny from a judge he appointed AP News, Michael Phillis & Jennifer McDermott, Jan 14, 2026.

International Climate Conferences and Agreements (2 articles)

• Climate Cooperation Will Suffer as the U.S. Disengages From International Commitments "Experts say pulling the U.S. out of more than 60 global organizations will weaken international governance structures and lead to further fragmentation of global power." Inside Climate News, Bob Berwyn, Jan 10, 2026.
• Australia’s Cop31 chief negotiator plans to lobby petrostates on fossil fuel phaseout "Exclusive: Chris Bowen says key to next UN climate summit will be ‘engagement, engagement, engagement’ with countries such as Saudi Arabia" The Guardian, Dan Jervis-Bardy, Jan 10, 2026.

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (1 article)

• Climate Variability Emerges as Both Risk and Opportunity for the Global Energy Transition "Climate variability and long-term climate change are increasingly shaping the performance and reliability of renewable energy systems worldwide, according to the WMO–IRENA Climate-driven Global Renewable Energy Resources and Energy Demand Review: 2024 Year in Review, released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)." World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Press Release, Jan 13, 2026.

Public Misunderstandings about Climate Solutions (1 article)

• Fact brief - Does clearing trees for solar panels release more CO2 than the solar panels would prevent? No - Clearing trees to build solar farms does not negate their climate change benefits, because one acre of solar panels prevents far more CO2 emissions than an acre of forest absorbs. Skeptical Science, Sue Bin Park, Jan 13, 2026.

Posted by BaerbelW on Sunday, 18 January, 2026

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