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Dear readers,
Welcome to the Climate Weekly newsletter by the Centre for Science and Environment’s Climate Change programme and Down to Earth.
Between January 7-8, powerful dry winds led to deadly wildfires in several Los Angeles neighbourhoods. The fires raged across thousands of acres, forcing 100,000 residents to evacuate and causing severe damage to infrastructure, especially homes. John Keeley, a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, talks about the fires being caused by dry conditions in California and a lack of moisture in the strong winds blowing towards the Southern California coast. Population growth also played a significant role, as the power grid has expanded to accommodate more people living at the edges of wildfires areas. Fires related to power lines are a major ignition source for fires in Southern California. Scientists have pointed out how climate change has made California hotter and drier, increasing the risk of wildfires in the western USA.
In energy news, the International Energy Agency released an in-depth report on the intersecting issues of energy policy, industrial manufacturing and trade. The report “Energy Technology Perspectives 2024” examines the current and future clean energy trends for major and emerging economies at the global and country-level. My recent article about the report highlights how the clean energy technology market reached $700 billion in 2023 and is projected to exceed $2 trillion by 2035—a figure comparable to the size of the global crude oil market in recent years. Global investment in clean energy technologies also increased to $235 billion in 2023, with solar photovoltaic, battery manufacturing and electric vehicles taking the lion’s share of the investment. China has remained the largest manufacturer of clean energy technologies, responsible for 40-98 per cent of global manufacturing capacity across the six technologies analysed by IEA.
During the final week of December 2024, India lost its former two-time Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. CSE’s Director-General Sunita Narain writes about her experiences of working with Dr. Singh during his tenure, pointing out his accessibility, inclusive politics, and concern towards environmental issues—even as he opened the doors of India’s economy to liberalisation and market economics.
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By - Upamanyu Das
Climate Change, CSE
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| EXTREME WEATHER TRACKER |
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Saudi Arabia: Normalcy thrown out of gear as cars, buses flow on Mecca’s streets amid flash floods, 08 January 2025
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Intensity and frequency of extreme flooding events in Sahel set to increase in a warmer climate, 07 January 2025
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CLIMATE NEWS | SCIENCE| IMPACTS| POLITICS |
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