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Noah Molotch in Grist: Scientists define a new category of heat wave: ‘Snow eaters’

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:08:01 +0000

Noah Molotch in Grist: Scientists define a new category of heat wave: ‘Snow eaters’ Gabriela Rocha Sales Tue, 08/18/2026 - 10:08

Article copied for archival purposes.

Kate Yoder Senior Staff Writer

Published Aug 12, 2026

Scientists define a new category of heat wave: ‘Snow eaters’

Unseasonably warm weather that rapidly melts snowpack is becoming more widespread in the U.S. West and happening earlier in the year.

Matthew LaPlante doesn’t have to go to a lab to see his research in action. On some mornings, he can just look out his own window in the mountains high above Salt Lake City. After a warm night when the temperature stays above freezing, he’ll wake up and see that the snow level has dropped by inches, revealing more of the aspens he taps for syrup.

“It feels like a monster came and just in the middle of the night, took a bite out of a snowpack,” said LaPlante, a journalist and climate scientist at Utah State University.

So it’s fitting that scientists have started calling these kinds of heat waves, marked by unusually high temperatures in the spring and early summer, “snow eaters.”

LaPlante was part of a recent study, published in the journal Science Advances, that attempted, for the first time, to identify what conditions exactly make for a “snow eater.” Compared to normal warm spells or heat waves, the researchers determined that these events happen when temperatures stay above freezing through both day and night for multiple days, typically three to five. These events can roughly double the rate at which snow melts, causing flooding and making it challenging to manage water resources.

“Snow eaters” appear to be occurring earlier in the year and becoming more widespread in the Western United States as the climate warms. Since the 1850s, the study found, the area affected by snow eaters has increased by an average of about 40,000 square miles per century, and the first snow eater of the season has been arriving about one month earlier per century.

The term “snow eater” has a murky history. By at least the 1880s, people in the West were talking about “snow-eating” chinooks, warm mountain winds that make snow disappear quickly. More recently, the phrase “snow-eater heat wave” first made headlines in March, when an early heat wave enveloped much of the West, quickly wiping away snowpack in the Colorado Rockies and California’s Sierra Nevada. The scientists hope the catchy, evocative term can help draw more attention to this type of heat wave, since there’s still a lot to learn. The study only looked at the Western U.S., but snow eater heat waves almost assuredly occur elsewhere, LaPlante said.

Solar radiation is a major, but sometimes overlooked, driver of snowmelt, said Noah Molotch, a professor of geography at the �鶹ӰԺ who was not involved in the new study. When it interacts with heat waves, those impacts are amplified. As snow crystals warm up, they lose some of their structure and light-reflecting abilities, causing snowpacks to absorb more sunlight and melt faster. “It’s a little bit of a — no pun intended — a snowball effect,” he said.

Much of the Western U.S. saw record-low snowpack this spring. What was really unusual about it, Molotch said, was how widespread it was. Colorado received less precipitation than normal this winter, while California got lots of precipitation, but in the form of rain instead of snow. But across the region, “the one thing in common was above-average air temperatures,” Molotch said.

These conditions have likely helped fuel exceptionally severe wildfires in the West, from Utah to Spokane, Washington, where hundreds of homes burned earlier this month. “Drought stress for mountain forests around the Western U.S. is heavily dictated by the snow that accumulates each winter and then melts through the spring and summer,” Molotch said. “There is a direct connection there in terms of the water availability and drought stress that can provide one of the important ingredients for increases in wildfire intensity and frequency.”

If scientists are able to better predict what will happen to snowpack, it could help water managers plan for what’s coming. Early or rapid snowmelt poses problems for managing water resources in the West, where snowpack serves as a key source of fresh water in the drier summer months. “Water that would otherwise be stored as snow comes out early, and then we have to deal with it as a hazard instead of a resource at our reservoirs and along the rivers and streams,” said Ben Hatchett, a co-author on the study and a scientist at Colorado State University’s Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere.

Snow-eater heat waves also may pose risks to skiers, hikers, and anyone else on or near mountains. They could be linked to hazards such as avalanches, glacial collapses, and permafrost melt, Hatchett said, though scientists are still investigating those connections. He lives in the Sierra Nevada, and he’s noticed one tangible change over his lifetime: The soundscape has changed.

“At night, it used to be quiet,” he said. “And now it’s not quiet, because everything’s melting all the time.”

“Drought stress for mountain forests around the Western U.S. is heavily dictated by the snow that accumulates each winter and then melts through the spring and summer,” Molotch said. “There is a direct connection there in terms of the water availability and drought stress that can provide one of the important ingredients for increases in wildfire intensity and frequency.”

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Sara Meerow in Colorado Newsline: Environment Heat-related illnesses spike in Colorado as climate change fuels record temperatures

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 17:32:12 +0000

Sara Meerow in Colorado Newsline: Environment Heat-related illnesses spike in Colorado as climate change fuels record temperatures Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 08/17/2026 - 11:32

Chase Woodruff

Article copied for archival purposes.

Heat-related illnesses spike in Colorado as climate change fuels record temperatures

Extreme heat can be ‘invisible’ compared to wildfires and drought — but it’s more dangerous by far

By Chase Woodruff - August 17, 2026 4:00 am

As temperatures reached 97 degrees Fahrenheit in Colorado Springs on Aug. 8, breaking a 57-year-old daily record, attendees at a music festival held at Blocktickets Park felt the heat.

More than 70 people in attendance at the Tacos and Tequila Festival were treated for heat-related illnesses, including at least seven who were hospitalized after “experiencing serious symptoms of dehydration and/or intoxication,” according to the Colorado Springs Fire Department, which declared the festival a “mass casualty” event.

The festival-goers were among a record number of Coloradans who sought medical treatment for heat-related illnesses this summer, amid unprecedented extreme heat fueled by climate change — a trend that’s projected to continue to intensify for years to come, as governments around the world struggle to curb the greenhouse gas emissions pushing global temperatures higher and higher.

Between May 3 and Aug. 8, a total of 1,124 patients in 18 of Colorado’s most populous counties were hospitalized or visited an emergency department or urgent care because of heat stroke, heat exhaustion or another heat-related illness, according to data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Syndromic Surveillance Program. Data for the state’s other 46 counties is not collected as part of the program.

Those figures put Colorado on track for a heat-related illness rate of 13.6 per 10,000 medical visits in summer 2026 — surpassing the previous record of 8.9, set in 2024, and more than double the rate observed when CDPHE began tracking HRI data in 2019.

Last month was Colorado’s second-hottest July in 132 years of record-keeping, and a heat wave lasting from July 25 to 28 was the state’s hottest four-day period on record, according to a report from the Colorado Climate Center last week.

More frequent, more intense heat waves are the most direct and unambiguous result of human-caused climate change to be felt in Colorado, state climatologists found in a 2024 report. Rising levels of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, mostly the result of burning oil, gas and coal, caused average global temperatures to rise by more than 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit over pre-industrial levels as of 2024, according to federal data — and parts of Colorado, including much of the Western Slope, are among the areas in the U.S. where average temperature increases have been most severe.

What may sound like small upticks in monthly or yearly average temperatures can in fact mean big swings in the likelihood of extreme heat events. In the half-century before 1930, Denver recorded a high of 100 degrees or more less than once every seven years on average, according to the National Weather Service; since 2020, those days have occurred on average four times a year.

Globally, extreme heat kills more people each year than floods, hurricanes, wildfires and other weather-related disasters combined. But despite being one of the most straightforward impacts of a warming climate, this increasingly dangerous heat can be “invisible” to the public and to policymakers, said Sara Meerow, an associate professor of geography at the �鶹ӰԺ who studies planning and governance in an era of extreme heat.

“You don’t get the same dramatic photos that you do, say, from a wildfire or a hurricane, of devastation and destruction,” Meerow said in an interview. “People who are suffering from heat are often suffering alone. It doesn’t lend itself to the same sort of visible imagery, and also doesn’t always have really visible infrastructure damage.”

Communities that haven't historically thought a lot about about heat now really have to ... When it starts to become a chronic issue for a community, then you really have to figure out how to live with this.

– Sara Meerow, associate professor of geography at the �鶹ӰԺ

That may be especially true in Colorado, where the impacts of drought and wildfire often take center stage — and where residents are less accustomed to dealing with extreme heat, even as they quickly become more frequent. One 2017 city of Denver study estimated that if global greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise, the average number of 100-degree days could reach 34 per year by 2080.

“Communities that haven’t historically thought a lot about about heat now really have to,” said Meerow. “If it’s just a couple of days, people can change their routines. They can maybe escape to the mountains, go to the pool — you can adapt quite easily to that. When it starts to become a chronic issue for a community, then you really have to figure out how to live with this.”

Worker safety

Colorado’s hazardously hot summer comes as state lawmakers have struggled to pass a law requiring employers to take concrete steps to mitigate risks from extreme temperatures in the workplace. A bill introduced in 2025 would have required employers to provide shade or shelter in extreme conditions, implement temperature-related safety plans for job sites and make water available for workers. Amid opposition from business groups, it failed to advance out of committee.

A scaled-back version of the bill, introduced earlier this year, aimed to provide employers more “flexibility” in developing their own plans to be submitted to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment for approval. But lawmakers eventually stripped out that provision, too, passing an even narrower version requiring CDLE to collect data on temperature-related injuries and publish a “model” injury prevention plan on its website.

Injury risks for workers begin to rise at a daily heat index of 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and increase sharply above 90 degrees, according to a 2025 study that analyzed Occupational Safety and Health Administration data.

At the federal level, OSHA under President Donald Trump is moving to rescind Biden-era rules requiring employers to take steps like mandatory breaks and providing access to water and shade, The New York Times reported earlier this month.

Milton Jones, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, last week accused the Trump administration of “bowing to special interests and leaving workers at risk.” The UFCW represents tens of thousands of Colorado workers employed at meatpacking plants and grocery stores.

“Whether a UFCW member works in harvesting at a meatpacking plant in the summertime or fulfilling grocery orders outside in the sun, heat poses a potentially fatal risk to every worker,” Jones said in a statement. “Despite the progress made to establish a federal standard, the Trump administration has made it clear that it intends to side with big businesses fighting these protections rather than workers in danger of heat-related illness and death.”

Older people and people experiencing homelessness are also among those at significantly higher risk of injury, illness or death from extreme heat. Denver joined a growing number of U.S. cities when it began operating free cooling centers in 2021; all city recreation centers now open their doors as daytime cooling centers when the NWS issues a heat advisory for the region, though some advocates say the hours are too limited.

Cities like Denver — through its Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency — are taking more proactive approaches to mitigating and managing extreme heat in the future, including through the hiring of “chief heat officers” and the development of heat action plans.

“I think all communities are going to have to do that — not just the larger, better-resourced cities in the state,” Meerow said. “The climate and the heat that we have experienced in the past is just no longer a good precedent. It’s no longer what we can expect in the future.”

"Communities that haven't historically thought a lot about about heat now really have to ... When it starts to become a chronic issue for a community, then you really have to figure out how to live with this." – Sara Meerow, associate professor of geography at the �鶹ӰԺ

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Yuying Ren and Alek Berg Win the 2026 Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Summit Student Pitch Competition

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:16:24 +0000

Yuying Ren and Alek Berg Win the 2026 Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Summit Student Pitch Competition Gabriela Rocha Sales Wed, 08/12/2026 - 12:16

Congratulations to Yuying Ren and Alek Berg for winning the 2026 Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Summit Student Pitch Competition!

WUI fires present a complex set of challenges that require an interdisciplinary set of solutions. As such, a major goal of the 2026 WUI Fire Engineering Summit is to encourage collaboration between researchers from different engineering subfields and related backgrounds. Find out more about the competition here.

Their proposal "WUI-LLM: A decision Support Dashboard for High-Quality Wildland-Urban Interface Data" won the main prize, courtesy of support provided by the United Engineering Foundation and the SFPE Foundation. The project was supervised by their advisor, Stefan Leyk.

Project Description: Our group has published high-quality and peer-reviewed maps of wildland urban interface (WUI) and fire exposure probability maps through time (1990 to 2020) for WUI properties in the contiguous United States. These maps present a detailed view into how U.S. WUI areas have evolved through time and what present wildland fire exposures they may face. A key gap is the dissemination of our high-fidelity information to decision makers and stakeholders. We propose a unified, decision support dashboard, “WUI-LLM,” that collates these data into a clear presentation of how built environments across the U.S. interact with flammable wildlands. WUI-LLM will map structure level WUI classifications and fire exposure probabilities and allow users to interact with these data using a large-language model enhanced query system to allow for on-the-fly spatial analysis. Our dashboard will remove technical barriers in quantifying community risk to wildland fire and how that risk has changed over time.

WUI White Paper Knowledge Gaps Addressed: Our proposed WUI-LLM decision support dashboard combines peer reviewed high-resolution WUI and wildfire probability layers tied to individual structures across the conterminous U.S. Our proposed work, directly addresses key gaps identified in the white paper, specifically the “lack of standardized methodologies for the calculation of quantitative values of parcel-level fire exposure...”, the need for “categorization of fire exposure scenarios…based on their likelihood of occurring,” and “a need for peer reviewed risk assessment tools at the WUI property level” (Section 3.4). Overarchingly, our temporal WUI (1985-2020) data fill the need for systematic historical datasets to validate wildfire risk and vulnerability (Section 4.4), while our structure-level exposure data respond to the need for accessible parcel-level risk assessments (Risk Assessment at the Parcel Level). WUI-LLM further bridges the gap between complex fire engineering tools and decision-making by enabling interactive, multi-scale analysis through an LLM-driven platform.

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Peter Blanken Elected 2027 American Meteorological Society Fellow

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:54:02 +0000

Peter Blanken Elected 2027 American Meteorological Society Fellow Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 08/10/2026 - 07:54

Congratulations to Geography Professor Peter Blanken for being elected as a 2027 American Meteorological Society (AMS) Fellow. AMS fellows are "elected by the AMS Council based on outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences or their applications during a substantial period of years." See full evaluation criteria here.

The American Meteorological Society advances the atmospheric and related sciences, technologies, applications, and services for the benefit of society. Founded in 1919, AMS has a membership of around 12,000 professionals, students, and weather enthusiasts. AMS publishes 12 atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic science journals—in print and online; sponsors more than 12 conferences annually; and offers numerous programs and services. See full press release of the 2027 AMS honorees here.

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Sara Meerow: Heat is the world's deadliest climate hazard. Are cities ready?

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 19:51:04 +0000

Sara Meerow: Heat is the world's deadliest climate hazard. Are cities ready? Gabriela Rocha Sales Thu, 08/06/2026 - 13:51

Yvaine Ye

Article copied from CU �鶹ӰԺ Today for archival purposes.

8/5/2026 - Yvaine Ye

Out of 31 days in July, Denver temperatures hit 90°F or higher during 28 of them. So far this summer, the city has seen six days with temperatures above 100°F and one of the hottest Julys in recorded history.

Extreme heat is no longer just a problem for places like Phoenix. As climate change drives up temperatures around the world, communities are experiencing more frequent and more intense heat waves.

In Europe, places that historically experience just a handful of hot days every year, a relentless heat wave has gripped the continent, fueling droughts and destructive wildfires. It is estimated that the extreme heat in Europe this summer has caused as many as 10,000 deaths.

“Heat is the deadliest climate-related hazard, causing more fatalities in the United States than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined,” said Sara Meerow, a new associate professor in the Department of Geography. “While we’ve only seen close to a 1.5°C (2.7°F) increase in global average temperatures, it translates to a very big shift in the number of extreme heat days that we’re seeing everywhere.”

According to the most recent United Nations climate science report, an extreme heat event that previously occurred once every 50 years is now happening once every decade.

A computer model has shown that the city of �鶹ӰԺ, Colorado, historically experienced about five days each year above 95°F, but the city could see nearly 30 such days by 2030.

“Now heat is really sort of a chronic threat, and so communities everywhere really do need to be planning for heat resilience,” said Meerow, who is also joining CU �鶹ӰԺ as a fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and the Institute of Behavioral Science.

With more hot days on the horizon, CU �鶹ӰԺ Today sat down with Meerow to discuss why heat remains an "invisible hazard," why many communities are still unprepared and what can be done to protect the people most at risk.

Are US cities prepared for the level of heat we're experiencing today?

It's really getting hotter everywhere due to a combination of global climate change and local development patterns, as well as weather patterns.

Our planning and proactive management of heat is still underdeveloped. Part of the reason is that heat is an invisible hazard. It doesn't have the dramatic images of flooding or wildfires that make front pages.

But I do think that's starting to change. We're in a ‘heatshed’ moment, a turning point where increasing heat waves are making people more aware of the risks and leading to calls for more action.

Who faces the greatest risks from extreme heat?

Heat risks are highly inequitable.

Some neighborhoods are simply hotter than others. Research has shown that areas that were historically redlined, or subject to discriminatory lending practices largely because residents were poor or people of color, often have less vegetation and are hotter today. At the same time, some populations are much more susceptible to heat-related illness and death, such as older adults, people with pre-existing medical conditions, children and unhoused people.

We also tend to think of heat as an urban problem, but rural communities face significant risks as well. Research has shown that rural residents often arrive at hospitals sicker from heat-related illnesses, in part because they have less access to healthcare. Rural areas also have many outdoor and agricultural workers who face prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures. That’s why some colleagues and I recently wrote a report for the American Planning Association providing specific guidance on how to plan for rural heat resilience.

How do we build a heat-resilient city?

We generally think about three categories of strategies: heat mitigation, heat management and heat governance.

Heat mitigation strategies are things that actually cool communities by reducing temperatures. That includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also reducing the excess heat produced by buildings, pavement and automobiles through measures like planting more trees and installing reflective roofs.

Heat management protects people from the heat we can't eliminate. These include public health campaigns, early warning systems and creating cooling centers to ensure people have access to indoor cooling.

Finally, heat governance is about building institutions that can better coordinate these efforts. Historically, heat has been a problem that no single agency was responsible for. Some cities are now appointing chief heat officers to help fill that gap.

It can be hard for cities to know where to start, so we’ve developed a Building Heat Resilient Communities Toolkit that offers step-by-step guidance for heat action.

What can individuals do to better protect themselves?

One of the most important things is simply being aware of heat risks and understanding your own health. Certain pre-existing conditions or medications, for example, can increase the risk of heat-related illness.

When excessive heat warnings are issued, consider changing your routine to avoid strenuous activities, like going for a run, during the hottest parts of the day.

People can also make their homes more heat-resilient by using energy-efficient appliances, adding vegetation or shade around the home and using blinds effectively.

Individuals can also advocate for more proactive heat planning in their communities.

There's no single silver bullet. We need to think about which combination of strategies will be most effective for each community based on the heat risks it faces.

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Colleen Reid in The Conversation: Yes, breathing wildfire smoke can harm your health – here’s what you can do to protect yourself

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 19:17:27 +0000

Colleen Reid in The Conversation: Yes, breathing wildfire smoke can harm your health – here’s what you can do to protect yourself Gabriela Rocha Sales Tue, 07/28/2026 - 13:17

Colleen E. Reid

This article has been copied from The Conversation for archival purposes.

Wildfire smoke from fires burning in Canada and northern Minnesota has been pouring across the Great Lakes and northeastern U.S. states, turning skies an eerie shade of orange. In the West, smoke has also been spreading into communities in Colorado and neighboring states as more wildfires burn in hot, dry conditions in July 2026.

University of Colorado environmental health researcher Colleen Reid explains what’s in that smoke and why breathing it is a health concern everyone should be aware of.

What is in wildfire smoke?

Wildfire smoke is a complex mixture that includes nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and particulate matter. When homes or buildings also burn, they can release an even more toxic stew of chemicals from burning electronics, furniture, plastics, paints and much more.

What you see when you see a smoke plume or when the air is hazy with wildfire smoke are the tiny particles that are too small to fall to the ground right away with gravity.

These particles, which scientists call particulate matter, are very small – we measure them in microns. When you breathe them in, they can harm your health. The smaller the particles, the deeper they can get into your lungs and body.

You may have heard the term PM2.5. It means particles that are 2.5 microns or smaller in diameter, many times smaller than the width of a human hair. High concentrations of these particles in the air during wildfire smoke episodes are what trigger air quality alerts.

Has wildfire smoke been increasing recently, and why?

Yes, wildfires have become more frequent and more intense just in the past couple of decades, and when wildfires become more frequent and intense, so does the smoke.

Scientists have found that wildfires are becoming more frequent due to a variety of factors that include increases in fire weather – hot, dry, windy conditions that fuel the spread of fires due to climate change – as well as other natural and human factors. The reasons for the increases in wildfires vary in different parts of the world.

Other studies have found that wildfire smoke makes up an increasing portion of the PM2.5 in the air in the U.S., and in many areas it is offsetting the decreases in air pollution that the U.S. has gained through regulations of industrial and vehicle emissions under the Clean Air Act.

How could wildfire smoke affect my health?

Some effects of breathing wildfire smoke include shortness of breath, coughing, itchy or watery eyes, headaches, rashes and itchiness. But smoke can cause more serious harm. Numerous epidemiological studies have shown that hospitalizations and emergency department visits for asthma and other respiratory diseases increase during wildfire smoke events.

After you breathe in the particles, they cause inflammation and oxidative stress, and they can move into the blood and spread throughout the body, affecting other organ systems.

Breathing wildfire smoke has been associated with higher risk of preterm births and other issues during pregnancy, and potentially cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks and strokes, although the evidence for these effects are more mixed.

The longer-term health effects of wildfire smoke are less clear, but it is a growing area of research.

Where can I learn more about wildfire smoke risks where I live?

The first thing to do to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is to know how bad the smoke is and how long it is going to last.

One great place to get information for where you live on current wildfire smoke is fire.airnow.gov. You can zoom in on the map to where you live and find color-coded circles reflecting data from both U.S. EPA air-quality monitors and PurpleAir sensors that people have put in their homes.

The colors show the level of PM2.5 at that location and suggest the associated health risk.

To find out how wildfire smoke is expected to change over time in North America, you can look at maps from FireSmoke Canada and the U.S. Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program.

What can I do to protect myself and my family from wildfire smoke?

First of all, depending on the level of the air quality index where you are, there are different recommendations. When wildfire smoke reaches unhealthy levels, stay indoors as much as possible, with doors and windows shut to keep the wildfire smoke out.

If you have an air cleaner, use it, but check the filter, as filters can fill up quickly. Similarly, check the filter on your home HVAC system and replace it if needed.

If you have to go outside, consider wearing a well-fitting N95, KN95 or KF94 mask. These masks can protect you from inhaling particles in the air around you. Looser masks, such as surgical masks, mostly protect others from what you breathe out instead. They do not have a tight seal around your mouth, and when you breathe in, the air with all of the particles can find its way around the sides of the mask.

Having a tight fit of the mask to your face is important so that when you breathe, the air is going through the mask and capturing the smoke particles rather than letting them into your body where they cause harm.

If your home is leaky and you can see haze inside, consider going to a public space, such as a library or mall, with a good HVAC system. Some municipalities have designated clean air spaces where anyone can go.

Wildfire smoke from fires burning in Canada and northern Minnesota has been pouring across the Great Lakes and northeastern U.S. states, turning skies an eerie shade of orange...

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Jennifer Balch and Environmental Data Science Innovation & Impact Lab (ESIIL) are launching the Fast Fire Network

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 17:34:44 +0000

Jennifer Balch and Environmental Data Science Innovation & Impact Lab (ESIIL) are launching the Fast Fire Network Gabriela Rocha Sales Thu, 07/09/2026 - 11:34

Dr. Jennifer Balch, Director of the Environmental Data Science Innovation & Impact Lab (ESIIL), CIRES Fellow, and Professor of Geography at the �鶹ӰԺ, is leading an NSF-funded FIRE-NET project to create the Fast Fire Network to develop urgently needed solutions for fast-moving fire events across the US West. An emphasis will be placed on using innovative AI tools to leverage the big data revolution to explore the topics of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability as they relate to fast fires.

The goal of this network is to bring together fire scientists, social scientists, data scientists, practitioners, and industry partners to develop urgently needed solutions for fast fire events.

If you are interested in contributing to the Fast Fire Network, please complete this form. For more information visit the Balch Fire Lab and ESIIL websites.

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John O'Loughlin in The Conversation: We asked Ukrainians what they think of Trump – more view him as an enemy than a friend

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 13:47:02 +0000

John O'Loughlin in The Conversation: We asked Ukrainians what they think of Trump – more view him as an enemy than a friend Gabriela Rocha Sales Thu, 07/09/2026 - 07:47

U.S. President Donald Trump lauded the “very good relationship” he has developed with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the NATO summit in Turkey on July 8, 2026...

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Esmee Mulder Receives the the Society of Woman Geographers' Evelyn L. Pruitt Fellowship for 2026-2027

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 14:08:45 +0000

Esmee Mulder Receives the the Society of Woman Geographers' Evelyn L. Pruitt Fellowship for 2026-2027 Gabriela Rocha Sales Tue, 06/30/2026 - 08:08

Congratulations to our Geography Ph.D. Student, Esmee Mulder, for receiving the Society of Woman Geographers' Evelyn L. Pruitt Fellowship for 2026-2027!

Esmee's project is titled, "Seeing like a Satellite, Knowing Like a Pastoralist: Epistemic Justice and Collaboration in East African Rangelands".

The Society of Woman Geographers (SWG) Evelyn L. Pruitt National Fellowship for Dissertation Research is made possible by a generous bequest from Ms. Evelyn L. Pruitt. Ms. Pruitt was a research geographer with the United States Navy. Her work greatly advanced the study of coastal environments, the use of remote sensing in geography, and field research in international settings from the 1940s into the 1970s.

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John O'Loughlin Embarks on his 2nd 'Mad Journey' - from the Gulf to Canada

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 15:16:17 +0000

John O'Loughlin Embarks on his 2nd 'Mad Journey' - from the Gulf to Canada Gabriela Rocha Sales Tue, 06/23/2026 - 09:16

Geography Professor John O'Loughlin embarked on his second 'Mad Journey' on June 20th, 2026. This time he is biking from New Orleans to the Canada border. You can follow in his journey and commentary on his blog, Johno's 'mad journey' 2.

Johno's first 'Mad Journey' was in Summer 2013 to celebrate his 65th birthday. "Johno celebrated his youth by hopping on his bike and riding 3,356.7 miles across the United States in just 42 days. Because of his professorial duties, he was on a tight schedule and had to ride as many as 120 miles in a day, while heading from Oregon to New Jersey." Johno's blogs from his original journey can be found here.

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