The Real Prof. Katharine Hayhoe Profile picture
Climate Scientist, Prof @TexasTech, Chief Scientist @nature_org, Climate Ambassador @WEAnews, Mom @joinsciencemoms. Tweets 100% my own 🇨🇦🍁
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Dec 13, 2023 16 tweets 4 min read
#COP28 wrapped up in the early hours today. Where do we stand? With a stronger mandate to tackle the root causes of climate change than we had before--but with much less than what we need to avoid "dangerous interference with the climate system" and meet our Paris goals. 🧵 Text reading: It's time to decide, which side of history will you choose to be on? According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the terms of the agreement provide about 30% what's needed to reach the 1.5C target. iea.org/news/iea-asses…
Dec 3, 2023 12 tweets 5 min read
There's lots of announcements and news coming out of #COP28. I'm here to rank them for you from a climate scientist's perspective, using 🌴 for the wins and 🤦‍♀️ for the facepalms.

Did I miss something? Let me know and I'll add it to this list! #ClimateAction #COP28FromHome 🧵 On Day 1, 198 nations ratified the framework for making COP27's loss + damage fund operational, and the first pledges were made. The EU led with $245M, while the US pledged $17.5M or about 0.002% of its defense budget.

I rate this one 🌴, and here's why:
lemonde.fr/en/environment…
Nov 14, 2023 7 tweets 3 min read
Today, the 5th US National Climate Assessment was released. I've been an author now for 4 assessments - so what's new with this one, and why does it matter? (thread) nca2023.globalchange.gov First, previous NCAs are still very relevant. If you want to know more about everything from climate scenarios to tipping points, check out the 2017 Climate Science Special Report and for great answers to the most common FAQs, see science2017.globalchange.gov
nca2018.globalchange.gov
Oct 5, 2023 10 tweets 3 min read
Today, @pontifex released Laudato Deum, an update on the 2015 encyclical. It's not so much a breath of fresh air as it is a bucket of ice water, straight to the face of those who are standing in the way of and delaying climate progress. Here are a few highlights: On the science: "Despite all attempts to deny, conceal, gloss over or relativize the issue, the signs of climate change are here + increasingly evident. No one can ignore the fact that in recent years we've witnessed extreme weather phenomena." I agree. nytimes.com/2021/08/17/opi…
Aug 28, 2023 9 tweets 4 min read
45 climate scientists were asked what we thought of this years' climate disasters. Here are the highlights of what we said (thread) theguardian.com/environment/20…
Image We all pretty much agree that "despite it certainly feeling as if events had taken a frightening turn, global heating to date is entirely in line with 3 decades of scientific predictions. But being proved right is cold comfort, as our warnings had so far been largely in vain."
Aug 21, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
Climate change is real. The warming we’ve observed is entirely human-caused.* Its impacts are serious, including making heat waves, wildfires, hurricanes, droughts and floods more severe and more dangerous.** But there are solutions and we can fix it.*** 💪🌱 * This thread explains how we know that all of the observed warming (and then some) is human caused. Without it, the planet would be very gradually, slowly cooling.
Aug 18, 2023 15 tweets 4 min read
As a female climate scientist, blocking is the only thing that makes my engagement here on Twitter/X possible.

Daily, I receive comments that range from disparaging to downright vile. Since Oct, my tweets can attract thousands of trolls (real people) and bots (not real). 🧵 Why does blocking help? Here are three reasons.

1/ It is discouraging to be called a whore and told to kill yourself. The same people often repeat the same messages, so by blocking them I don't have to see them again.

2/ So why not just mute? Because then they still ...
Aug 18, 2023 5 tweets 1 min read
The 2023-2024 academic year is the first where students have unlimited access to ChatGPT.
What's your best idea for an ONLINE (not in-class) assignment that either (1) teaches them to use it effectively, or (2) asks them for something they can't easily produce with an LLM? I'll go first! Since 2020, I've added journaling to all my classes. I ask students to reflect personally on what they learned in each module, with examples from their lived experience. It's easy to see if they use an LLM to write it (not just improve it) b/c it won't be personal.
Aug 10, 2023 11 tweets 4 min read
Amid the devastating Maui fires, I see many arguing, "it's weather, arson--anything but climate change."

Let's set the record straight. Climate change doesn't usually start the fires; but it intensifies them, increasing the area they burn + making them much more dangerous. 🧵 Flyover photo by the US Civil Air Patrol showing damage to the West Maui town of Lahaina and harbor on Wednesday. Imagine someone tosses a match into a pile of relatively green, wet wood. What happens? Not much.

Then, imagine they toss that same match into a pile of bone-dry kindling. It sets off a conflagration.

What determines the condition of the wood? Increasingly, it's climate change. Photo of Dodge Fire by BLM California
Aug 8, 2023 12 tweets 4 min read
Across the globe - north and south, ocean and land - climate change is super-sizing our heatwaves and heat extremes. While this puts us all at risk, some are much more vulnerable than others. Here's why. 🧵 First, people living in cities experience up to 4C (7F) hotter temperatures than surrounding rural areas due to the urban heat island effect. epa.gov/heatislands/le…
Jul 30, 2023 6 tweets 2 min read
For the last few years, “climate activists are setting the wildfires” (to fake climate risks?!) was the dominant denial talking point; but now it’s gone even further…claims that the fires were set to clear areas for wind farms, critical mineral extraction, and more. (contd) As @JustinWorland discusses here, there’s a psychological effect: the more obvious and dangerous, the impacts become, the stronger and more forceful the pushback to deny the urgency of action. (contd) time.com/6298586/extrem…
Jul 27, 2023 9 tweets 4 min read
With climate records being shattered weekly, this cartoon is even more apt.
July global avg temp is the latest to fall; a new analysis by @khaustein finds it's the hottest ever recorded, possibly the hottest in 120,000 years.
Here's what this means & why there’s still hope.🧵 A cartoon of IPCC scientists tapping a mic and asking if it is on (because no one appears to be listening to them) July's average global temperature is projected to be 1.3-1.7°C above the average before human-induced warming began. That's 0.2°C hotter than the previous record set in 2019. For reference see below for July temps through 2022. Source: https://t.co/J6zKe0c9whncei.noaa.gov/access/monitor…
Global average temperatures for July from 1880 to 2022 show a steady increase over decadal time scales.
May 11, 2023 12 tweets 5 min read
This iconic graph tracks how rapidly our planet is warming. Yet every time it's shared on Twitter, someone always asks, "Why does it begin in 1850?"

The answer is simple: it's when we first had enough thermometers to compute a truly representative global temperature average. Global average temperature ... The oldest continuous thermometer-based temperature record is Central England Temperature. It began in 1678 ... when Charles II was King of England! It shows how unusual today's warming is compared to the last four centuries of temperature variability. metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/ Central England mean temper...
May 4, 2023 14 tweets 7 min read
On climate change, we often assume people are either believers or deniers.

I don't like either label, because climate change is not a religion.

Instead, I prefer the 6 categories identified by @YaleClimateComm for the US. climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects… The Yale Program on Climate... At one end, 53% are already alarmed or concerned. What's critical, though, is that most still aren't ACTIVATED. That's right: only 8% of people in the US are activated! So there's plenty to do in those categories to move people from worried->active. climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/s…
Apr 5, 2023 4 tweets 1 min read
I face abuse on social media more days than not. Most of it comes from accounts who identify as male, and the slurs used are often gendered.

For me, Twitter has the highest number of trolls. LinkedIn is next. Website email, Facebook and Instagram tie for third. Facebook used to be a lot higher…similar to Twitter…but in Aug 2018 they moved “climate change” and “clean energy” to the list of “sensitive topics” and shadow-banned my account. Since then, growth virtually ceased and the number of people-incl trolls-seeing my posts plummeted.
Mar 29, 2023 11 tweets 6 min read
Looking for more from me than tweets? I regularly share unique content on a dozen other online platforms...and you won't see most of it on Twitter. Browse this thread for direct links and dive in! 1/ Every week, my free newsletter shares good news, not so good news, and something you can do about climate change. It also has links to join my online talks and read things I've written recently. Subscribe here: mailchi.mp/fae4224ba66d/s…
Mar 29, 2023 8 tweets 2 min read
Much has changed here since Elon took over. Based on my own before-and-after expts, climate denial responses are up 15-30x. Changes in followers are even more dramatic: Stef's analysis shows that climate accounts have seen little change while denial accounts have boomed. I've tested a few hypotheses and I think there are a few different factors contributing to this.

First, there was an exodus in Oct. I lost several thousand followers myself and about 10% of the people on my list of "scientists who do climate". Not huge but still real.
Mar 20, 2023 11 tweets 5 min read
Here are the big takeaways from the @IPCC_CH Synthesis Report released today.

First, climate change has already caused widespread and substantial losses to almost every aspect of human life on this planet, and the impacts on future generations depend on the choices we make NOW. IPCC SYR AR6 figure 1 Second, every bit of warming matters. The warmer the planet gets, the more widespread and pronounced the changes in both average climate and climate and weather extremes become. IPCC SYR AR6 Figure 2
Mar 19, 2023 6 tweets 2 min read
The latest @IPCC_CH 6th Asst Synthesis Report comes out tomorrow; but after three decades of these assessments, it's already clear that --
Climate is changing
Humans are responsible
The impacts are serious
We aren't doing enough to prevent them
And our future is in our hands. How would Shakespeare say this?

Hark! The climate, she doth change,
And for this, we do bear the blame.
The impacts grave, they do ensue,
Yet we fail to do what we must do.
Our future rests within our hands,
Pray, let us act, and make amends.
Mar 12, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
Climate change is causing atmospheric rivers to become stronger and more hazardous. This is contributing to the devastating flooding in California this year. Source: science2017.globalchange.gov/chapter/9/ It is also making heatwaves stronger and more frequent; droughts longer and more intense; wildfires burn greater area, heavy precipitation increase, and hurricanes intensify faster and dump more rain. The more the world warms, the worse they will be.
Jan 9, 2023 6 tweets 3 min read
I'm updating the video viewing lists for my undergrad class with these new releases! A short thread.

First, @climatehuman responds to great Twitter questions on the science and impacts of climate change
Then, @clequere confesses how many of us feel when we see a new climate extreme record being broken, especially when we predicted it would happen