|
World
2024 is Hottest Year on Record
The year 2024 was the hottest ever recorded, breaking the previous record set in 2023 and pushing the world over a critical climate threshold, according to new data from Europe’s climate monitor, Copernicus. 2024 surpassed the long-term warming limit of 2.7 ºF (1.5 ºC) since the late 1800s that was called for by the 2015 Paris climate pact. The European team calculated 2.89ºF (1.6ºC) of warming. Last year’s heat has been attributed to humanity’s emissions of planet-warming gases, such as carbon dioxide, which are still at record highs. Natural weather patterns such as El Niño – where surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean become unusually warm – played a smaller role. This finding means the last 10 years are now the 10 warmest years on record.
This map depicts surface air temperature anomalies in 2024. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
|
Graphic Source: Copernicus
__________________________________________
|
|
|
|
United States
California Insurance Woes
With the cost of damages caused by wildfires in the Los Angeles area reaching an estimated $50 billion and growing, the disaster is exacerbating a continuing crisis in insurance costs and availability for residents of California. The insurance industry had already been raising insurance premiums or simply not renewing policies for homeowners before the current wave of wildfires in L.A. broke out. Some insurance companies have stopped issuing any policies in California altogether. Climate change has raised temperatures and increased dryness, increasing the incidence of wildfires in a state also at risk of earthquake activity. In response to the loss of available private insurance, the state government of California established the FAIR plan, which provides insurance to California residents but with a maximum payout of $3 million for a property and its contents.
This map depicts the concentration of home insurance policies in and around Los Angeles which the insurance company State Farm declined to renew in 2024. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
|
Graphic Source: Semafor
__________________________________________
|
|
|
|
United States
North America’s Oldest Dinosaur
The oldest equatorial dinosaur in the world, and North America’s oldest dinosaur, has been described in a new study. The study’s research team has been analyzing the fossil remains since they were first discovered in 2013 in present-day Wyoming, an area that was near the equator on Laurasia, the more northern of two large landmasses that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent from around 335 to 175 million years ago, the other being Gondwana. The creature, named Ahvaytum bahndooiveche, is now the oldest known Laurasian dinosaur, and with fossils estimated to be around 230 million years old, it’s comparable in age to the earliest known Gondwanan dinosaurs. It’s also the first dinosaur species to be named in the language of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, whose ancestral lands include the site where the fossils were found. Ahvaytum bahndooiveche broadly translates to “long ago dinosaur” in the Shoshone language.
This map depicts Triassic outcrops which have been examined by paleontologists for fossils across the world and in Wyoming, where fossils from the oldest-known dinosaur in North American were discovered. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q: What country is home to the world’s largest flooded grasslands?
A: Brazil
The Pantanal is a natural region encompassing the world’s largest tropical wetland area, and the world’s largest flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and portions of Bolivia and Paraguay. It sprawls over an area estimated at between 54,000 and 75,000 sq mi (140,000 and 195,000 km2). The Pantanal is one of the most biologically rich environments on the planet with more than 4,700 plant and animal species. In fact, the Pantanal contains South America’s highest concentration of some iconic wildlife species, including the jaguar and caiman.
Source
|
|
|
|
|
Q: What country is home to the world’s highest coastal mountain range, known for its cloud forests?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in Monday’s DailyGeo.
|
|
|
|
|
AGS is accepting DailyGeo GeoQuestion suggestions.
Write to ags@americangeo.org with any ideas!
Please include GeoQuestions in the subject line, along with your answer and source.
|
|
|
|
DailyGeo is an outreach effort of the American Geographical Society (AGS) to highlight the importance of geography and geospatial understanding in our day-to-day lives and the pressing issues of the day. AGS intiatives advance geographical education for everyone from high school students to seasoned professionals in the geospatial world, and that work is made possible from the financial support of people like you. If you enjoy DailyGeo and want to help AGS advance geographical learning for future generations, please consider making a donation.
|
|
|
|
DailyGeo is a daily digital communication created by the American Geographical Society (AGS) for the geography community. If you are receiving this email, it is because you are an affiliate of AGS or a participant in one of our programs. Feel free to share and encourage others to become part of the community too!
Copyright © 2025 American Geographical Society, All rights reserved.
We understand this might not be for everyone. Although we would hate to see you go, you can unsubscribe here.
How are we doing? We want to hear your feedback on the DailyGeo – what are we doing right and what should we be doing differently. Talk to us by emailing ags@americangeo.org.
|
|
|
|
|
