Climate

Prof. Maria Zuber, Vice President for Research, speaks with WGBH Morning Edition host Bob Seay about MIT’s plan to confront climate change. Underscoring the need to engage everyone in the solution -- academic research institutions, governments and industry -- Zuber remarked, "MIT, although we're a top institution, we are humble enough to realize that we can't do this alone. Climate change is a complex problem, it's a global problem, and it's going to require all the smart people... to scale up and make this a global solution."

In an article for USA Today, Colin Chilcoat highlights a study co-authored by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir that indicates that climate change could cause the Persian Gulf to experience severe heat with greater regularity. Greenhouse-gas buildup could raise “temperatures to intolerable seasonal highs and [increase] the frequency and severity of extreme heat waves,” writes Chilcoat. 

Prof. Kerry Emanuel speaks with Chris Mooney of The Washington Post about the formation of a rare tropical cyclone off the coast of Yemen. “While it is unusual for Arabian Sea TCs to affect Yemen, it is not unprecedented,” explains Emanuel.

“A study predicting deadly heat waves in the Persian Gulf by the century’s end has underscored concerns about the effects of rising global temperatures on cities in other parts of the world, including the United States,” writes Joby Warrick of a new study co-authored by MIT researchers in a piece for The Washington Post. 

Brandon Miller reports for CNN on an MIT study that indicates that climate change could drastically increase the frequency of extreme heat events in the Persian Gulf. By 2100 temperatures could be “31°C on an average summer day and the most extreme days could exceed the lethal value of 35°C,” writes Miller.

Doyle Rice writes for USA Today about a new MIT study that finds evidence that heat in the Persian Gulf region could reach intolerable levels due to climate change. The researchers found that “extreme heat that might occur 1 out of 20 days now will be the normal summer day of 2070 and beyond.”

Nitya Rajan reports for The Huffington Post on a new study co-authored by MIT researchers that found that climate change could raise temperatures in the Persian Gulf region to fatal levels by the end of this century. “Beyond a certain threshold, the human body loses the ability to get rid of heat,” writes Rajan.

A new study by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir indicates that climate change could cause the Persian Gulf region to warm to lethal levels of heat and humidity, reports Alan Kasujja for BBC’s Newsday. “The ability of a human body to adapt to that kind of environment becomes very limited,” explains Eltahir.

In a new study, Prof. Elfatih Eltahir warns that unmitigated climate change could increase the frequency of high-temperature events in the Persian Gulf by 2100, writes Chris Arsenault for Reuters. "If greenhouse gas emissions continue on their current trajectory, then temperatures in that region will reach levels intolerable to humans," says Eltahir.

Research by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir indicates that, if climate change goes unchecked, the Persian Gulf could see deadly high temperatures by 2100, writes Damian Carrington for The Guardian. Gulf countries “have a vital interest in supporting measures that would help reduce the concentration of CO2 in the future,” says Eltahir.

New Scientist reporter Fred Pearce writes about a new study by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir that indicates the Persian Gulf region could see lethally high temperatures by the end of the century. The study predicts the region could see temperatures rise to levels where “the human body can no longer get rid of heat,” explains Eltahir.

Prof. Elfatih Eltahir’s new study predicts that "temperatures as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit would become the norm during the summer in the low-lying region of the Persian Gulf,” writes Michael Casey for Fox News. Eltahir’s findings were based on several climate models.

New research by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir indicates that climate change could result in lethal heat waves in the Persian Gulf, according to the Associated Press. "You can go to a wet sauna and put the temperature up to 35 (Celsius) or so,” explains Eltahir. “You can bear it for a while, now think of that at an extended exposure."

A study by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir indicates that climate change may make deadly heat waves a more common occurrence in the Persian Gulf, writes Alex Nussbaum for Bloomberg Business. Eltahir explains that the heat waves may “exceed what a human body may be able to tolerate.”

New York Times reporter John Schwartz writes that a new study co-authored by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir has found that extreme heat events will be far more common in the Persian Gulf by the end of the century due to climate change. “When they happen, they will be quite lethal,” says Eltahir.