“We’re certainly in a drought-risk posture statewide at the moment,” said Stanford climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh. “Having the odds tip toward a warm, dry winter suggest the potential for deepening drought conditions.”

Research co-authored by Inês Azevedo finds reducing food system-related emissions is critical to preventing global temperatures from rising 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Rising emissions from food production will make it extremely difficult to limit global warming to the targets set in the Paris climate agreement, even if emissions from fossil-fuel burning were halted immediately, according to a study co-authored by Inês Azevedo.

Research led by David Lobell finds that corn has become more sensitive to drought conditions. New technologies are so helpful in raising yields in good conditions that the cost of bad conditions are rising.

"Lockdowns requiring us to shelter at home, and global unemployment are not sustainable ways to cut emissions," Rob Jackson writes. Among other changes, cleaning up the global energy sector while still supplying more energy for a billion people living in poverty will be needed to attain climate goals.

"Early efforts to address climate change focused on decarbonizing the electricity and transport sectors," said Stanford's Sally Benson, co-leader of a plan for carbon capture in California. "Fewer people thought about what deeper decarbonization might imply for the broader economy and jobs."

Jordan isn’t just running a budget deficit; it is also running a water deficit. The Jordan Water Project, led by Stanford hydrologist Steve Gorelick, estimated that rainfall in the country could decrease by 30 percent by the end of the century.

Rebecca Miller, a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, found that bureaucratic hurdles contribute to a lack of burning, as do public perceptions about fire.

Catastrophic blazes this year present an unprecedented threat to health and property. Stanford's Marshall Burke, Sam Heft-Neal and Michael Wara estimate that poor air quality from this year’s wildfires will kill thousands of people in California alone.

“The addition of more 'fire ready' days have stemmed from just a one degree rise in global temperatures, and have resulted in some of the worst wildfires in history,” says Stanford climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh.

A study by Julio Herrera-Estrada and Noah Diffenbaugh reveals that landfalling droughts, which develop over the ocean and end up on land, are significantly larger and more intense than droughts that develop over land, and are linked to large weather patterns over the ocean. 

Research led by Marshall Burke of Stanford Earth found a link between hotter than average temperatures and increased suicide rates.

Stanford's Gabrielle Wong-Parodi and Jon Krosnick discuss how scholarly research about risk perception can help decisionmakers understand how individuals respond to catastrophic events and implement more effective policies.

“If land loses water, it tends to warm up much more quickly. If all the water is gone, there are no mechanisms to cool down,” said Salvatore Pascale, a research scientist in Earth system science.

Stanford political scientist Jon Krosnick discusses the rising number of Americans who feel passionately about climate change.

“It’s important to keep in mind that this is a regional problem, we need regional solutions,” said Jenny Suckale. “You can’t do it piece by piece.”