Brian Kahn, Author at Gizmodo

Eclipsecane! Solar Eclipse Photobombs Hurricane in Stunning Satellite Shots

Earth had itself a day yesterday. Chile and Argentina got a prime look at a total solar eclipse while the Pacific Ocean played host to Hurricane Barbara, the strongest storm on Earth at the moment. It’s a double feature eclipsecane nobody on the ground would have any hope of capturing in a day, but satellites…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Jul 3 '19

Last Month Was the Hottest June Ever Recorded, European Satellite Data Shows

The planetary heat bender we’re on just hit a new milestone. Fueled by relentless heat in Europe to end the month, this June was the hottest June ever recorded, according to data analyzed by Europe’s space agency. The planet was more than 1 degrees Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-industrial average and Europe…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Jul 2 '19

The Alaska Governor’s Proposed Budget Cuts Would Be a Disaster for U.S. Climate Research

It’s not just the Alaskan landscape that’s on fire right now. The university system could also go up in smoke if the Governor Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget cuts go through. That includes crucial research into how the U.S. Arctic is shifting as temperatures rapidly rise. Last week, Dunleavy took a red pen to a budget…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Jul 2 '19

A Freak Storm Buried Parts of Guadalajara in Nearly Five Feet of Hail This Weekend

Guadalajara’s streets became rivers briefly over the weekend. A powerful storm dumped rain and hail over the central Mexico city, and when the slurry finally settled, parts of it were buried up to five feet deep in hail. The scenes on Sunday and Monday as the city’s work crews dug out looked like ones that…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Jul 1 '19

France Just Obliterated Its All-Time Heat Record

France has never been hotter. The intense dome of high pressure sitting over Europe has shattered heat records across the continent. At least five countries set June heat records on Thursday and on Friday, France smashed its all-time temperature record at at least a dozen weather stations. Heat has built across Western Europe all week…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Jun 28 '19

Everyone Flopped on Climate Change During the First Democratic Debates

If there is one thing glaring clear from this week’s Democratic debates, it is this: We need a goddamn climate debate. Wednesday and Thursday were like an SOS flare fired into the night sky, showing that the political journalists asking the questions and the politicians answering are not prepared to discuss the most serious existential…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Jun 28 '19

Photo: Integrated Remote and In-Situ Sensing (IRISS), University of Colorado Boulder

Scientists Are Probing Tornadoes With Drones to Save Lives

This spring saw one of the worst tornado outbreaks in recent years. More than 300 twisters touched down from Texas to North Dakota to Pennsylvania, scarring the landscape, causing widespread damage, and at least eight fatalities. The widespread danger also offered an opportunity for a group of scientists looking to help ensure people in tornadoes’…

Earther Brian Kahn Jun 26 '19

Oregon Climate Bill Appears Dead After Some Ridiculous Bullshit You Can’t Make Up

A landmark climate change bill that appeared on the brink of passing the Oregon state legislature last week now seems to be dead. The state’s senate was set to take up a vote on a cap-and-trade bill that would have used a market mechanism (favored by conservatives) to reduce carbon pollution when Republicans deserted their…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Jun 25 '19

The Everglades Are on Fire

The Democratic National Committee refuses to hold a climate change-focused debate despite calls for one from activists and candidates. And now, it would seem the Everglades are also helping to make their case. Ahead of the first presidential debate in Miami on Wednesday, part of the Everglades about 30 miles northwest of downtown caught fire. Lightning…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Jun 25 '19

A Potentially Record Setting Heat Wave Is About to Scorch Europe

Last year’s climate change-fueled European heat wave shrunk mountains and and revealed ancient history. So it’s with great trepidation that Europe is bracing for another scorching heat wave to descend this week. Monthly records could fall in many locations, with the most intense heat centered on France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and Belgium according to national…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Jun 24 '19

Jay Inslee’s Latest Climate Plan Would Be the Beginning of the End For Fossil Fuels

Jay Inslee entered the presidential race as the climate candidate and on Monday, he released his most aggressive plan to deal with the crisis yet. His so-called Freedom from Fossil Fuel plan shows how the U.S. government could go toe-to-toe with the fossil fuel industry and start to wind it down. The plan includes ending…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Jun 24 '19

Why Chennai, India’s Sixth Biggest City, Has Run Out of Water

In what’s becoming an increasingly common story, a major city has run out of water. Chennai, India is home to 4.65 million and a severe deficit of water to serve their needs. Reservoirs have turned into muddy splats on the landscape and the city is relying on mix of desalination plants and water being brought…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Jun 21 '19

Oregon State Police Are Searching for Republican Lawmakers Afraid of Voting on Climate Policy

Democrats hold supermajorities in both houses of Oregon’s legislature and the governorship. That means that they can pass basically whatever the hell they want unless, of course, Republican legislators decide to desert the capital. With a vote due today on a bill that would create a carbon cap and trade system—a market-based climate solution favored…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Jun 20 '19

America Could Spend $400 Billion on a Wall to Hold Back the Rising Seas—and It Might Not Be Enough

At the end of the day, everything about climate change is a choice. And among the most serious choices are the ones we’ll face are along our coasts. A new report and interactive website released on Thursday by the Center for Climate Integrity lays out some the stakes for increasingly inundated coastal communities. The group’s…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Jun 20 '19

Cold War Spy Satellite Reveals Just How Fast the Himalayas Are Losing Ice

During the Cold War, spy satellites were constantly circling the Earth. But while the intent of those satellites is generally to track human activities, the imagery they captured has also proved to be a trove of scientific data. The latest use of Cold War imagery has revealed a huge acceleration in Himalayan ice loss. The…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Jun 19 '19

Canada’s Climate Emergency Declaration Is Just Empty Words

On Monday, Canada’s Liberal Party voted en masse to declare a climate emergency in the House of Commons. Then on Tuesday, the Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau approved the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion that, when completed, will pump 590,000 barrels of highly-polluting tar sands oil from Alberta to British Columbia. Producing and processing the tar…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Jun 19 '19

Why Is It Raining so Much This Year?

The atmosphere has been heaving rain at the eastern U.S. like kids lob water balloons at a water fight. The never-ending barrage of rain has left the Midwest flooded, the Gulf of Mexico primed for a huge dead zone, and New Yorkers who walk everywhere stuck with perennially soggy shoes. And the rain won’t stop…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Jun 18 '19

Boaty McBoatface Just Helped Solve a Deep-Sea Mystery

The internet was a purer place in 2016, and there’s no more perfect distillation of that truth than the spontaneous, crowdsourced effort to name a £200 million state-of-the-art research vessel Boaty McBoatface. The British government eventually decided to go with the more stately RRS Sir David Attenborough, but it offered the public an olive branch…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Jun 18 '19

This Striking Climate Change Visualization Is Now Customizable for Any Place on Earth

When University of Reading climate scientist Ed Hawkins released his warming stripes visualization for the globe last year, people freaked (in a good way). The minimalist graphic stripped out unnecessary clutter and told the story of global warming in blue and red stripes. On Monday, Hawkins released a new website that allows users to create…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Jun 17 '19

That Study About the Health Benefits of Nature Comes With an Important Caveat

On Thursday, a new study in Scientific Reports found just two hours a week spent in nature can help improve a person’s health and well-being. The widely-reported findings reinforce what many instinctively know: nature can be rejuvenating. But a less-publicized aspect of the study is the finding that not everyone experiences nature the same way…

Earther Brian Kahn Jun 14 '19

Brian Kahn

Eclipsecane! Solar Eclipse Photobombs Hurricane in Stunning Satellite Shots

Last Month Was the Hottest June Ever Recorded, European Satellite Data Shows

The Alaska Governor’s Proposed Budget Cuts Would Be a Disaster for U.S. Climate Research

A Freak Storm Buried Parts of Guadalajara in Nearly Five Feet of Hail This Weekend

France Just Obliterated Its All-Time Heat Record

Everyone Flopped on Climate Change During the First Democratic Debates

Scientists Are Probing Tornadoes With Drones to Save Lives

Oregon Climate Bill Appears Dead After Some Ridiculous Bullshit You Can’t Make Up

The Everglades Are on Fire

A Potentially Record Setting Heat Wave Is About to Scorch Europe

Jay Inslee’s Latest Climate Plan Would Be the Beginning of the End For Fossil Fuels

Why Chennai, India’s Sixth Biggest City, Has Run Out of Water

Oregon State Police Are Searching for Republican Lawmakers Afraid of Voting on Climate Policy

America Could Spend $400 Billion on a Wall to Hold Back the Rising Seas—and It Might Not Be Enough

Cold War Spy Satellite Reveals Just How Fast the Himalayas Are Losing Ice

Canada’s Climate Emergency Declaration Is Just Empty Words

Why Is It Raining so Much This Year?

Boaty McBoatface Just Helped Solve a Deep-Sea Mystery

This Striking Climate Change Visualization Is Now Customizable for Any Place on Earth

That Study About the Health Benefits of Nature Comes With an Important Caveat

The Puppeteer Behind Rocky in ‘Project Hail Mary’ Is Oscar Eligible

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic Drops to All-Time Low at Nearly 30% Off, Way Easier Than Buying a Rolex

Mint Mobile Is Giving Away the Samsung S26, Here’s How to Get One for $0

A Newspaper Is Allegedly Slapping Humans’ Names on AI Stories Without Their Permission

Scientists Figured Out Why These Monkeys Eat Dirt. The Key Is Tourists

A Ransomware Negotiator Pleads Guilty to Being a Double Agent

CyberGhost VPN Practically Became FREE: This $1.75/mo Deal Made All VPNs Absurd

Some Unknown Group Is Reportedly Using Claude Mythos Without Permission

SpaceX Obtains Option to Buy Cursor for $60 Billion

The ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ Reboot Snags an Exciting Director

I’ve Tested a Lot of Bad Smart Glasses and These Are the Worst Yet

Roborock’s Qrevo Curv 2 Flow Is the Ultimate Robot Mop—If You Don’t Have Corners or Walls

Alienware’s $350 QD-OLED Gaming Monitor Nixes Everything for a Pretty Screen

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go