Andrew Dessler
@andrewdessler.com
Prof of Atmospheric Sciences & climate scientist @ Texas A&M; AGU and AAAS Fellow; Native Texan; find out what I think at https://www.theclimatebrink.com/
A must read op-ed by @johnvaillant.bsky.social detailing how modern fires are burning faster and hotter, changing the future of firefighting. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/12/o...
Opinion | What Happens When You Can No Longer Fight a Wildfire? (Gift Article)
This year’s fast moving, virtually irrepressible events are not the seasonal burns of decades past.
nytimes.com
Fascinating and disturbing story about how precarious our open source software infrastructure is.
Ruth Mottram@ruthmottram.eurosky.social · 2d agoThis deep dive on XKCD's famous comic on all modern infrastructure manages to be important, fascinating and more than a little bit scary all at the same time. Worth a scroll. And massive kudos to Germany for their sovereign tech fund, all countries should have one sheets.works/data-viz/hol...
reanalysis tweeps: does anyone have any idea why ECMWF has stopped distributing CERA20C? I thought it was the update to ERA20C, which is very old and has some obvious problems. If CERA20C is still available, where would I find it?
CAAD talks to HEATED about our latest report exposing how climate disinformation actually works in turning good news into conspiracies: heated.world/p/how-good-c...
How good climate news became fossil fuel propaganda
A new report traces the financial connections behind conservative media’s latest attack on climate science.
heated.world
In 1985-86, I worked in Rick Smalley's lab at Rice doing undergrad research. He went on to win the 1996 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Did these people won the Nobel Prize *because* of me? I'll let you draw your own conclusion, but, come on, we all know that correlation proves causality.
Andrew Dessler@andrewdessler.com · last wk.When I was a grad student, I TA'ed intro chemistry. I had a lot of really smart students in my class. One of them just won a Nobel Prize. He also went to my high school. Small world.
We’ve lost a great, cantankerous climate champion. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/c...
An Influential Voice in the Climate Debate Has Died at 66 (Gift Article)
Joe Romm was a prolific writer who never hesitated to take on climate change deniers and the fossil-fuel industry — or even ostensible allies.
nytimes.com
great oped on Article on Extreme Event Attribution by @jeffgoodell.bsky.social Definitely worth a read. Gift link 🎁: www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/o...
Opinion | The Science That Has Oil Companies Running Scared (Gift Article)
However the U.S. Supreme Court rules, the work of holding oil companies accountable for climate change has a bright future.
nytimes.com
When I was a grad student, I TA'ed intro chemistry. I had a lot of really smart students in my class. One of them just won a Nobel Prize. He also went to my high school. Small world.
Nice post by @zekehausfather.com on The Climate Brink. He analyzes the claim that renewables are all energy additions but are not actually eating into fossil fuels. The world without solar and wind? www.theclimatebrink.com/p/what-if-th...
What if the world hadn't built wind and solar?
Clean energy does not simply “add to” global energy use; it displaces fossil sources that would otherwise get built.
theclimatebrink.com
I hope no one actually believes Boulder will win this case. gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/10/04/c...
TN-9 candidate Rep. @justinjpearson.bsky.social : “Gas is too high. Groceries are too high. Wages are too low… and blaming immigrants is part of the problem. The reality is people are struggling because the billionaire class is greedy.”
Always. Read. Dessler.
Andrew Dessler@andrewdessler.com · 2w agoIn Texas, the State is removing climate change courses from the core curriculum. They have decided that climate change is just too dangerous to teach the students. This is indoctrination. I wrote an oped about it in the SA Express-News. Gift link: www.expressnews.com/opinion/comm...
I know lots of people hate AI, but it never ceases to amaze me. I wonder how long it would have taken me to figure this out. Claude figured it out in a few minutes.
A great essay from @andrewdessler.com — we can't ignore our way out of climate change. open.substack.com/pub/theclima...
Texas can’t hide from climate change by stopping students from learning about it
Climate change will shape the future of Texas. Students should be allowed to learn about it.
open.substack.com
In other words: This meme is a surprisingly accurate scaled depiction of the magnitude of the 2026 El Niño event vs the 1997 event *if using the absolute index.* But if using the relative index, Danny DeVito is currently the same height as Arnold Schwarzenegger. And either pairing is striking... 👀
Daniel Swain@weatherwest.bsky.social · 2w agoWading into the "relative versus absolute" El Niño intensity debate: I genuinely think both are important--and I think we lose important information if we focus solely on one vs another. And both, as of late Sep, have now reached or exceeded record levels! [Thread]
Temperatures in the Central Pacific El Niño region are the hottest ever measured (top panel), and far above any other El Niño at this time of year. But, if you adjust for the warming of the global ocean, the current trajectory is not so different from other very strong events.
I don’t care what the polls say. There’s one group that can F this up, it’s the Democrats. gift link 🎁: www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
Can the Polls Possibly Be Right?
Democrats are now favored to take back the Senate, a prospect that seemed far-fetched a year ago.
theatlantic.com
Merchants of Doubt are going after extreme event attribution www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
Inside the anti-climate campaign against researchers
A POLITICO investigation reveals more than 100 open records requests demanding documents from climate scientists nationwide.
politico.com
In Texas, the State is removing climate change courses from the core curriculum. They have decided that climate change is just too dangerous to teach the students. This is indoctrination. I wrote an oped about it in the SA Express-News. Gift link: www.expressnews.com/opinion/comm...
Texas can’t hide from climate change by stopping students from learning about it
Texas has removed climate change courses from core curriculum at public universities. Ignoring climate change will not serve the state.
expressnews.com
Like Susan Collins, Alito has counted votes and understands that his side still wins if he takes the does the bare minimum to look a bit less corrupt.
never expected to see Kelvin wave in a newspaper headline www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Concern mounts over slow-moving, planetary-scale ‘Kelvin’ wave heading for California
The ocean phenomenon could raise sea levels by up to a foot as El Niño keeps warm water trapped along the coast
theguardian.com
Mike Rogers is a corporate sellout who moves back to Michigan every few years to run for office to take another swing at the revolving door of corporate politics.
anyone else in a meteorology dept. get Qs about meteors/meteorites?
The literature about changes in nor’easters due to climate change is clear about two things: 1) more intense precipitation due to a warmer atmosphere, and 2) more extensive coastal flooding due to higher sea levels
Brad Johnson@climatebrad.hillheat.com · 2w agoAfter a quiet week, fossil-fueled floods are battering the northeastern seaboard, powered by superheated seas.
The total number of tropical cyclones on Earth is pretty constant — around 80 per year — so if there are few in the Atlantic, we would expect to see a lot in other basins.
Michael Lowry@michaelrlowry.bsky.social · 2w agoPolo's been a Category 5 hurricane for a total of 48 hours so far, longer than any other Category 5 hurricane on record for the Northeastern Pacific. 2026 also just tied 1997 and 1994 for the most Category 5 hours in a single season and should be the new recordholder by tonight.
The total number of tropical cyclones on Earth is pretty constant — around 80 per year — so if there are few in the Atlantic, we would expect to see a lot in other basins.
Michael Lowry@michaelrlowry.bsky.social · 2w agoPolo's been a Category 5 hurricane for a total of 48 hours so far, longer than any other Category 5 hurricane on record for the Northeastern Pacific. 2026 also just tied 1997 and 1994 for the most Category 5 hours in a single season and should be the new recordholder by tonight.
faculty tweeps: How many students do you need to have before you feel OK not knowing all of their names. I feel OK not knowing students' names in a class of 100, but I would feel terrible for a class of 20.
Letting Hader throw so many pitches was a risk that didn't pay off. Hader obviously not available today and I wonder if he'll be available tomorrow. Unless the Astros or Rangers go 4-0, the winner of the AL West in 2026 will set a record for worst record to win a division.
Chandler Rome@chandlerrome.bsky.social · 3w agoThe Astros lost 6-5. They are 78-80. Joe Espada pushed the chips in with his $95 million closer on the mound. It did not work. Josh Hader threw 44 pitches — his most in a regular-season game since Aug. 9, 2019. Josh Naylor hit the final one for a walk-off single
