Paola Rosa-Aquino, Author at Gizmodo

The World’s Largest Sand Desert Is Covered in Lakes After Tropical Cyclone Mekunu

When Tropical Cyclone Mekunu rumbled over Oman in May, it dumped torrential rainfall on the city of Salalah. Now, a new satellite image reveals the extent of unloaded rainfall in the nearby desert of Rub’ al-Khali, the world’s largest sand desert and (normally) one of the driest places on Earth. The image, taken by NASA’s…

Earth Science Paola Rosa-Aquino

Puerto Rican Government’s Own Data Shows Hurricane Maria Death Toll Is Bullshit

Since Hurricane María struck Puerto Rico last September, experts have struggled to tally how many deaths were directly related to the devastating storm. The official death count stands at 64, but various non-governmental efforts to quantify hurricane-related fatalities vastly exceed that number. Newly-released governmental data bolsters those estimates, revealing that 700 additional deaths happened within…

Environmental Justice Paola Rosa-Aquino

You Can Delete Your Weather App After Reading This Book

A blackbird makes its distinctive call. Daisies peeking above the ground shut their petals tight. Billowing clouds loom in the sky. An orchestra of small critters chime below. These are not a random assemblage of observations, but hints you can wield to produce a reliable weather forecast, piecing clues together like a veritable weather Sherlock…

Earth Science Paola Rosa-Aquino

Shark Eats Shark, Scientists Watch

Remember Bruce, the friendly vegetarian great white from Finding Nemo who lives by the “Fish are friends, not food” motto? The great white shark you see pictured above is pretty much the antithesis of him. Last Friday, a cadre of scientists with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science caught a four-foot blacktip shark off the…

Earth Science Paola Rosa-Aquino

Our Capitalist Overlords Are Concerned About Climate Change

As the weather becomes more unpredictable, big business is paying the price. A new report finds that companies are increasingly talking about how climate change impacts their bottom line, with weather and climate more common topics of discussion in the earnings calls of S&P 500 companies than “oil”, “the dollar”, or even “Trump”. The report…

Environmental Justice Paola Rosa-Aquino

Scientists Call For Action to Prevent Right Whales’ Extinction

After a year with at least 17 deaths and a dismal breeding season, things are looking bleak for the North Atlantic right whale, one of the world’s most endangered large whales. The whales’ food is moving north and so are the gentle giants, into waters rife with fishing industry activity. According to a new paper…

Conservation Paola Rosa-Aquino

New Scott Pruitt Scandal Generator Is Way Too Real

Scott Pruitt is so toxic he’s practically a Superfund unto himself. The Environmental Protection Agency administrator has been buffeted by myriad ethical scandals, from cozying up to those he’s supposed to keep in check to general press hostility, spending $24,450 to build a “privacy room”, unanswered FOIA requests, buying a bulletproof desk, and getting a…

Environmental Justice Paola Rosa-Aquino

Giant Iceberg Is Screwed

There’s no shortage of going-ons on Earth that astronauts can see from space: auroras, towering clouds, volcanic eruptions. Now, there’s a grim addition to the list: a (once) massive iceberg that’s got a date with death. In March 2000, the biggest iceberg ever to peel off the Ross Ice Shelf began its 18-year trek in…

Climate Change Paola Rosa-Aquino

How Do Meteorologists Rank Hurricanes, and Will I Die?

It’s that dreaded time of year again: meteorologists are talking about hurricanes for the upcoming season. After the widespread death and destruction these tropical tyrants brought on from Texas to Puerto Rico last year, hurricanes have not been off our minds for long—if at all. I’m shaking in my boots. Knowledge is one of the…

Earth Science Paola Rosa-Aquino

Hawaii Is Owning the Rest of Us On Climate Change

Just over a year after President Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will jettison the Paris climate deal, Hawaii has set the most ambitious climate goal of any state: carbon neutrality in just 27 years. That goal was outlined in a bill signed Monday, along with a bill to create a carbon offset program and another…

Climate Change Paola Rosa-Aquino

Paola Rosa-Aquino

The World’s Largest Sand Desert Is Covered in Lakes After Tropical Cyclone Mekunu

Puerto Rican Government’s Own Data Shows Hurricane Maria Death Toll Is Bullshit

You Can Delete Your Weather App After Reading This Book

Shark Eats Shark, Scientists Watch

Our Capitalist Overlords Are Concerned About Climate Change

Scientists Call For Action to Prevent Right Whales’ Extinction

New Scott Pruitt Scandal Generator Is Way Too Real

Giant Iceberg Is Screwed

How Do Meteorologists Rank Hurricanes, and Will I Die?

Hawaii Is Owning the Rest of Us On Climate Change

Trump Says He’ll Sign Order to Pay TSA

Deadpool Will Deface ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Classics for a New Secret Lair

Apple’s Siri Isn’t Just Going to Use One Chatbot. It’s Going to Use All of Them

Why ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Is the Key to the Rest of the Series

ASUS ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable Monitor Is Now Cheaper Than Black Friday in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

Early Wildfires Are Surging Across the US—and Trump’s New Fire Agency Isn’t Ready

INIU Brings Another Power Bank to the Spring Sale as SnapGo Keychain Portable Charger Drops to Its Lowest Price

Attorney Hit With Historic Fine for Citing AI-Generated Cases

Travelers Experiencing the Longest Security Lines in TSA History

Could There Be a ‘Project Hail Mary’ Sequel?

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Apple Studio Display XDR Review: It Looks So Good, I Wish It Were an iMac

RayNeo Air 4 Pro Review: My Eyes Love These Video Glasses, but My Nose Disagrees