As the 2023 spring season goes into full swing, you may be noticing the warmer than average weather we are having this year. In fact, 

March 2023 was Earth’s second-warmest March since global record-keeping began in 1850."

The only March that was warmer was from recent years, specifically in 2016 near the conclusion of the El Niño event. New research allows us to compare global temperature records back to 1850, showing how March 2023's report is one of the hottest since then.

Written by Andy Fell, September 27, 2021

Sept. 30, 11 a.m. — Fire has always been part of the Western landscape, but the fire season gets longer and more severe every year. So far this year, California has seen four of the largest wildfires in its history, and the Dixie Fire, the second-largest in state history, is still burning after two months. 

Climate change has recently been reaffirmed as human-driven in the recently released Working Group 1 contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (which our adaptation experts will be discussing virtually on August 30th).

This year, wildfires in California have burned a record 4.2 million acres, damaged or destroyed over 10,000 structures and killed 35 people — and the season hasn’t even concluded. The situation has become increasingly dire, with six of the top 20 wildfires in state history taking place this year, including the largest wildfire on record. California’s top wildfire and climate researchers are responding to this incredible challenge, but they are also realizing there is a need to take a more collaborative, holistic and proactive approach to their work.

While 2020 has brought a myriad of challenges to the world, the UC Davis Climate Adaptation Research Center has continued to pursue research that can support the communities affected by our changing climate. Co-Director Dr. Eric Chu's work has stood out to several renowned journals and is being recognized for his well-supported analyses.

It’s widely known through the Air Quality Research Center that outdoor air pollution leads to untimely deaths throughout the world, however, a recent publication by Dr. Erwan Monier, Associate Professor of Climate Change Impacts in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, and associates demonstrated that many of these deaths are a result of cross-state air pollution.