Climate Cast

How should Minnesota approach climate change action in the years to come?

Minnesotans can have a voice in that process by commenting on the state's latest proposed Climate Action Framework, a comprehensive plan laying out steps Minnesota should take to address climate change and reach a carbon-free future.

The last framework was released in 2022 and established a statewide target to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. That framework was adopted into state law in 2023.

Kate Knuth, climate director for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, shared more about the framework and how people...

Almost 15 million acres in the Midwest grow corn on the same land year after year. That’s about 20 percent of all Midwest cropland.

Growing corn in this way produces more greenhouse gas emissions than crop rotation because it releases more nitrous oxide — a greenhouse gas 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.

That’s according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group.

But cost-effective, climate-smart practices can reduce these emissions in a big way.

Anne Schechinger is lead author of the analysis, and she shared more about...

Seasonal migration is underway, and Minnesota's landscape is playing an important role in guiding birds down south.

But milder winters across the state can impact the migration process, as well as disrupt food availability and breeding opportunities.

“This [is] what we call migratory connectivity,” said Lynn Schofield, a biology instructor and staff biologist at St. Olaf College, “which is to connect all the dots between where the birds are spending their summers, where are they spending their winters and all of the places that they need to go between their summer and winter habita...

Federal tax credits for solar projects are expiring at the end of this year, and some smaller towns in rural Minnesota have tapped into the benefits.

For Climate Cast this week, MPR News meteorologist Paul Huttner talks to Minnesota Star Tribune reporter Kristoffer Tigue about the skepticism around solar power that many small and local governments had adopted over the years and the economic benefits that changed their minds.

Minnesota continues to bask in warmer temperatures, blurring our seasons together.

“If you break it up month by month, the biggest change we've seen is Septembers,” said Pete Boulay, assistant state climatologist with the Minnesota State Climate Office. “September is evolving into an extension of summer.”

Average temperatures for the fall season have been warming up about one degree a decade since 1970.

“Averages used to be, statewide, about 55 degrees,” Boulay said. “Now we’re about 61 degrees for September temperatures, and we’ve had a lot more warmer than cooler Septembers since 2010.”

New research indicates warmer oceans may change ocean currents and atmospheric patterns in a big way.

In this episode of Climate Cast, MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner continues his conversation with John Abraham of the University of St. Thomas about shifting currents in the Atlantic Ocean and the importance of measuring ocean temperatures.

Climate scientists have known about connections between oceans and the atmosphere for decades, but new research indicates warmer oceans may change ocean currents and atmospheric patterns in a big way.

MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner talked with John Abraham of the University of St. Thomas about shifting ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean.

The following has been lightly edited for clarity. Click play on the audio player above to listen to this episode, or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

This study finds a higher chance than previously thought th...

Duration: 00:04:30

The jet stream, a fast-moving river of air thousands feet above Earth, steers storms and weather systems around the globe.

Scientists have been studying how climate changes impact the jet stream for decades. Now, one study in the scientific journal Nature, discovered a jet stream behavior change.

“The jet streams are shifting,” said Larry Di Girolamo, professor and climate researcher with the University of Illinois.

Di Girolamo worked with NASA to gather statistics from Earth’s atmosphere through the launch of a satellite carrying a Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer. Over the span o...

Summer is in its waning weeks and weather at the Great Minnesota Get-Together has been fair — for the most part. 

MPR News meteorologists Paul Huttner, Sven Sunggard and Mandy Thalhuber hosted their annual Climate Cast conversation in front of an audience at the Minnesota State Fair. 

Together, they reflected on weather patterns from all four seasons. Audience members shared their questions, too, about Minnesota’s changing climate and shifting climate patterns.

This discussion was recorded at the Minnesota State Fair on Aug. 27. To hear the full conversation, click play on the au...

Fireflies across the U.S. have seen a robust surge in growth this summer in part to a wetter weather pattern.

But those fiery little critters — which some call lightning bugs — might be in a steady decline.

“Insect populations are known to vary from year to year,” said Eric Berger, a freelance journalist for The Guardian. “A one-year increase is not enough to indicate that there has been a reversal in the downward trajectory of fireflies.”

Berger added that scientists do not have baseline data for firefly species and only recently sta...

The smoky summer of 2025 has produced a near record number of air quality alerts for Minnesota.

Most of this summer smoke has drifted in from these massive Canadian wildfires where more than 16 million acres of forest has burned in Canada this year.

MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner talked with Matthew Taraldsen, a meteorologist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), about poor air quality and reason behind the state’s smoke-filled summers.

The following has been lightly edited for clarity. Listen to the full conversation by clicking the player butt...

The Trump Administration has claimed that greenhouse gases don’t endanger people. And last month, the Environmental Protection Agency said it intends to rescind a landmark 2009 legal opinion — effectively ending all its climate regulations.

This all comes on the cusp of a rapidly-warming planet fueling extreme weather events.

A hotter planet poses an existential crisis on multiple fronts, said Alan Weisman, journalist and author of “Hope Dies Last: Visionary People Across the World, Fighting to Find Us a Future.”

“We’re all feeling the heat right now, but we’re not the only c...

Despite efforts from some governments to slowly pull away from climate regulations and actions, one writer discovered a climate revolution through a combination of technology, science and community.

“I was looking for our realistic hopes, when we're standing at an existential brink,” said Alan Weisman, author of “Hope Dies Last: Visionary People Across the World, Fighting to Find Us a Future.”

“Hope is an active verb, and in place after place I found things that just completely surprised me,” he said.

For example, Weisman discovered a modular, wireless energy-sharing system in one of th...

Minnesota’s clear, cool lakes are heating up over the summer, and those warmer waters can produce a toxic agal bloom.

“Blue-green algae is bacteria,” said Kim Laing, a surface monitoring manager with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. “It often looks like pea soup [or] green paint; sometimes it might have a smell to it. It thrives in warm, shallow, nutrient-rich lakes.”

Water that’s warmer than 75 degrees along with calm, sunny weather is a perfect recipe for blue-green algae, he said.

“We have had three to four degrees higher average July a...

President Donald Trump’s massive budget bill eliminates tax credits and incentives for small and large scale solar and wind projects in Minnesota. It’s also projected to increase electricity bills across the state.

The clean energy industry in Minnesota is now trying to figure out a new path forward in the wake of the massive federal budget bill where credits will dry up at the end of the year.

“There’s no phase-down period,” said All Energy Solar co-founder and CEO Michael Allen. “At the end of 2025, the residential tax credit is being elimin...

Will Minnesota become a climate refuge for business?

A survey conducted by MIT Technology Review Insights, in conjunction with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, asked 300 senior level executives in 14 industries how climate change is impacting their company’s bottom line.

The overwhelming answer was that many companies have been harmed, to some degree, by climate change. And nearly half said Minnesota and the Midwest are the best places to relocate their business to minimize climate impacts.

“Texas, California, New York — these are three states that actively experience the consequences of climat...

An increase in water vapor in the atmosphere is driving more extreme weather around the world.

How is that playing out here in Minnesota?

John Abraham, thermal sciences professor and mechanical engineering program director at University of St. Thomas, shared more about the little-known but growing climate concern.

To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

This week brought another significant tornado outbreak to parts of Minnesota.

Downtowns for the Twin Cities, Rochester and Duluth were spared from any storm damage, but are cities safer from tornadoes than rural parts of Minnesota? Does the urban heat island effect spare urban residents from a tornado tearing through their cities?

“The urban heat island probably would not save you if the storm were in a position to enter that urban area,” said climatologist Kenneth Blumenfeld. “We should definitely disabuse ourselves of this myth.”

Blumenfeld, who has researched urban tornados...

Electric vehicle use in Minnesota boomed over the past decade due to the popular fleet of Tesla vehicles driving into the market.

However, the Q1 auto sales report from earlier this year, showed a drop in sales for Tesla’s EVs. The indication that there might be a slowing popularity for the brand had some experts blame the company’s CEO Elon Musk and his relationship with American politics. Even Gov. Tim Walz took at jab at Musk and the company’s business woes.

“The governor has certainly continued, to some degree, his feud wit...

For the past eleven years, the planet has been consecutively warmer each year. It’s a trend that has climate scientists and policy makers worried.

In 2024, global temperatures reached 1.5 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial record, according to the World Meteorological Organization and the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

It’s the level of warming that those who work for climate solutions have been trying to avoid.

“Now the question is: What are we going to do next? What is the next goal going to be?” said Shannon Osaka, a climate reporter for The...

Craft beer grew in popularity over the past decade across Minnesota, but the brewing process has also created a ton of wastewater.

Now, there’s an experiment to make the process carbon neutral. University of Minnesota professor Paige Novak and Fulton Brewing are working on a new, sustainable way to treat wastewater from the brewing process.

She spoke to MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner for Climate Cast.

The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Tell us about the craft brewing process and how it...

Duration: 00:04:39

Minnesota has experienced four significant blowing dust episodes over the past few years, and the uptick in frequency has raised air-quality concerns across the state.

Now, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will start issuing air quality alerts for blowing dust this summer. Matt Taraldsen, MPCA meteorologist, says the fine particle pollution from dust — technically known as PM10 — is similar to wildfire smoke.

“People are very familiar with PM2.5 or fine particle pollution and wildfire smoke,” Taraldsen said. “PM10 can get into the airways and cause inflammation and cardiopulmonary issues even in healthy people — in the right...

Minnesota has been a part of the solar energy boom that has swept across the nation over the past decade.

Research has shown solar energy is now the cheapest form of electricity in the history of electric power generation, but politics on the state and federal level could trigger challenges for the renewable resource.

MPR News Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner talked to Brian Martucci, an energy reporter with the Minnesota Reformer, about the issues solar power could face in Minnesota.

Recycled plastics reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 to 80 percent compared to creating new plastics. But the process isn’t always waste-free.

Eureka Recycling, a 20-year-old mission-driven zero-waste recycler, has upgraded its facility to ensure recycled materials are effectively repurposed.

“It’s incredible how much less energy it takes,” said Miriam Holsinger, co-president and chief operating officer of Eureka Recycling.

“We really work hard to keep the material we sort as local as possible — a lot of it stays right here in Minnesota, where it gets turned into new products, and 95 percent of w...

Tech companies are looking to the land of 10,000 lakes as a suitable environment to expand their data footprint.

About 10 tech giants, such as Microsoft and Meta, are vying to build data centers in Minnesota to support their growing AI networks.

“The Midwest is kind of a big emerging market right now,” said Nick Halter, a Twin Cities reporter for Axios. “That's because we have abundant water, which oftentimes is used to cool these [centers] down, and also because we have much cooler temperatures.”

That’s because data centers in cooler climates r...

The mighty Mississippi, which flows from its headwaters in northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, has topped an endangered rivers list.

A report from nonprofit conservation organization American Rivers states that a combination of extreme flood, drought cycles, toxic runoff, and poor river management threatens the Mississippi. The 2,300-mile-long river is a water source for more than 50 cities in the U.S., including several in Minnesota.

Cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (better known as FEMA) are also a concern.

“There's just a lot of questions about what's go...

Writer Tamara Dean knew she wanted to live lightly on the planet. Her search to live a productive life while lowering her carbon footprint led her to the Driftless Area of Wisconsin — also known as Bluff Country and the Paleozoic Plateau — with dreams of become a homesteader. Dean shares her experience in her new memoir “Shelter and Storm: At Home in the Driftless.”

She spoke to MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner for Climate Cast.

The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

What prompted you to write this boo...

Duration: 00:04:17

There’s a warming trend in cities across American, and that’s extending allergy season for millions of Americans.

A new study by Climate Central found five cities in Minnesota have increased their pollen season — in some cases by nearly a month. The Twin Cities allergy season has expanded by 27 days, Duluth is seeing an average of 24 extra days of allergy season, while Mankato is experiencing 11 and Rochester is averaging 10 extra days, said Kristoffer Tigue, a reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune.

“It’s not just the extended pollen season that the studies have have...

Minnesota experienced a seasonably cold but relatively snowless winter.

Now, the spring months are making up for lost time by dumping sloppy snowstorms. State climatologist Pete Boulay said what Minnesota is seeing is over time is a different start and end times for the seasons.

“Winter is shifting around a bit,” said Boulay. “We’re not seeing as big of snow storms in November like we used to, but April is becoming a shining moment of winter.”

Boulay said winters have also lost their cold edge. Minnesota isn’t dipping into subzero...

By creating the Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE) in 1949, the U.S. military became one of the earliest climate research groups on the planet.

The group’s mission was to study the science and engineering of the warming Arctic and the national security implications that could follow. University of Vermont professor and geoscientist Paul Bierman wrote about this in his book, “When the Ice Is Gone: What a Greenland Ice Core Reveals About Earth’s Tumultuous History and Perilous Future.”

He spoke to MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner for Climate Cast.

T...

Wind and solar are among the cheapest energy sources available today, but even when clean-energy projects are ready to go, a cumbersome permit process is slowing down their implementation.

Allison Prang wrote a New York Times article about a Minnesota experiment to cut the red tape that is impeding the state’s ability to achieve its clean-energy goals. She spoke to MPR chief meteorologist Paul Huttner about her reporting.  

The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Minnesota has a goal of carbon-free on the electric grid by...

Duration: 00:04:15

Nick Halter, a Twin Cities reporter at Axios, noticed a peculiar pattern on his morning walks — hundreds of ducks braving subzero temperatures.

Many ducks still fly south for the winter months. But climate data shows Minnesota winters have warmed more than five degrees on average since 1970, creating a more tolerable environment for ducks and other birds.

These ducks are deciding there’s no reason to make the potentially dangerous journey south when Minnesota’s warming climate provides a habitable environment, he said.

“You don’t get as cold, you don’t have as de...

It’s a post-pandemic world, and Minnesota’s greenhouse emissions are following the nationwide trend of going up.

Based on recent state data from 2020 to 2022, emissions rose 6.4 percent with transportation and agriculture being the biggest contributors.

Now, the state is off-track to meet its climate goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

“I think it will be difficult to meet,” said Walker Orenstein, a reporter with The Minnesota Star Tribune. “As the state has pointed out, if we don’t start seeing big drops in sectors that aren’t the electric sector, then i...

A technology that can slow or stop climate change already exists — and has a history of bipartisan support in Washington. But it has a few hoops to jump through before it can make a bigger impact.

The method is called carbon capture, which removes carbon from the atmosphere and stores it deep underground.

“You can think of this whole process as essentially putting carbon back where it came from,” said Ben Grove, senior manager for carbon storage with the nonprofit Clean Air Task Force.

“Geologic storage has been occurring since the 1970...

The Antarctic is warming.

This means, the ice sheet in the Antarctic Peninsula is shrinking, and ice is breaking off the continent.

“The largest icebergs on the planet are going around the Antarctic Peninsula … because these are breaking off the ice sheets as there’s warming,” said MPR News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard, who recently traveled to Antarctica to witness the effects of climate change first hand.

“These giant icebergs are very impressive. And then you realize that [the ice sheet] is going to melt,” he said. “It is melting slowly but surely, an...

Winter is the fastest-warming season in the Midwest — more than five degrees on average since 1970, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

All that warming is having an impact on ice formation.

“Climate change is injecting more energy into our weather systems, and that’s resulting in in just more extreme extremes,” journalist Kristoffer Tigue told MPR’s Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner. Tigue wrote about the shift in ice trends for Inside Climate News.

Warmer temperatures could result in a later start for ice formation and a shorter li...

The Trump administration has pivoted to fossil fuels. But one form of renewable energy has still gained support in Washington: Geothermal energy, which uses the warmth of the earth to heat and cool buildings.

Minnesota has already tapped into geothermal power in Rochester where the city’s headquarters will soon be provided a future with carbon-free heating and cooling. By digging deep into the ground, geothermal power provides energy 24/7.

Geothermal has found support in Washington, “because the technology can be installed by people who’ve worked in the natural gas industry,” energy journalist Frank Jo...

President Donald Trump has officially begun his second term.

One of his first moves was to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement — again.

What will that mean for greenhouse gas emissions and climate solutions?

Jonathan Foley is executive director of Project Drawdown.

He said, “This is not game over. It’s game on. It means the rest of us have to step up and do a lot more.”

Foley shared more insights about the road ahead with MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner.

For some living in the warmer parts of the U.S., extreme weather tied to climate change is enough for them to consider cooler, safer climates.

No, Minnesota is not immune from the effects of climate change. But one Minnesota realtor says the state’s northern location is appealing appealing to her clientele from southern U.S.

“When you’re talking to people that are coming from all over the place, they do mention [Minnesota is] a more livable lifestyle that makes them feel safer,” said Mary Schumann, a realtor with Keller Williams Realty.<...

The planet has warmed past the 1.5 degrees Celsius pre-industrial normal temperature. 

Final confirmation on 2024 being the hottest year on record is expected from NOAA and the European Union, but the effects of climate change on a warming planet is being felt from wild fires in California to the snowless winters in Minnesota.

“We’re certainly seeing a lot of dangerous climate change now,” said Jeff Masters with the Yale Climate Connection. “Winters have been the most dramatically affected season of all the seasons. They’re so much warmer now, less ice, less snow.”

But...

Homeowner and auto insurance rates are rising fast in Minnesota.

One policy comparison site, Insurify, shows Minnesota’s auto insurance rates had the highest year-over-year increase in the nation.

Climbing insurance rates have plagued Minnesotans in recent years, and one of the leading factors to the rise in premiums is extreme weather events.  

“More water vapor that’s in our air, that then turns into things that land on our house — whether it's hail or rain — make bigger claims,” said Grace Arnold, who leads the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

“The b...

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to at least partially repeal the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and some analysts say it could end up helping China more than the United States.

“If you take away the incentives for people to buy the stuff that American manufacturers are making, that weakens the case for investing in American manufacturing,” said Canary Media’s Jeff St. John, who wrote about how killing the EV tax credit could impact an electrified future for the U.S.

St. John said the tax credit is a major incentive for car buyers...

Hotter summers and scorching temperatures might be a go-to thought when you think of climate change, but most of Minnesota’s warming is a winter phenomenon.

Pete Boulay of the Minnesota State Climatology Office said our warming winters can be credited to a lack of snowfall.

“We’re missing the snow pack,” said Boulay. “We’ve seen over the years, deep snow cover has gone down across many places in the state.”

That means winters in Minnesota are warming faster than summers are.

Boulay talked with MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner a...

New data centers are popping up across the country — and companies are eyeing Minnesota as a potential building site due to its cooler climate.

But advocates within the state worry the extra demand from these large buildings could push the state to extend its use of fossil fuels at a time when Minnesota is trying to go carbon-free. 

MPR News correspondent Kirsti Marohn has been following the story of a Colorado-based company’s proposed $5 billion data center in Farmington, Minnesota, as part of MPR’s Getting to Green series.

She spoke w...

President-elect Donald Trump is making cabinet choices that will likely impact U.S. climate policy. Observers of the picks point out ties to the fossil fuel industry.

Kiley Price with Inside Climate News spoke to MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner about the picks and what it could mean for the future of climate policy.

To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

From data centers to growth — electricity demand in Minnesota is rising.

That’s led Xcel Energy to request a 13 percent rate increase over the next two years and increase capital spending by $11 billion.

Walker Orenstein, reporter at the Minnesota Star Tribune, said the utility has plans to make major infrastructure investments.

While it’s unclear just how snowy this winter will be, NOAA data shows that Minnesota winters have warmed more than five degrees on average since 1970. Warmer winters may cause more freeze-thaw cycles and increased road salt use. State maintenance engineer Jed Falgren spoke to MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner about what MnDOT is doing to maximize road safety in a changing climate.

Last winter was the warmest on record in Minnesota — a perfect non-storm of conditions that included a strong El Niño combined with warming climate trends. But this year will be different thanks to a weak La Niña developing in the Pacific, said Kenny Blumenfeld, who tracks Minnesota's climate trends with the Minnesota State Climatologist office in St. Paul.

“People are going to love or hate this,” Blumenfeld said. “Our all-time record and seasonal snowfall was during a La Niña winter. And number three, which we just experienced in the 2022-’23 winter, that was 90.3 inches. That...

Minnesota is experiencing its fourth straight year of flash drought — and farmers are feeling the effects in their fields.

“Farmers and ranchers face unique challenges in a changing climate and experience climate related stress,” said Noah Fish, an agricultural reporter for Agweek.

“It’s not only their operations that are undergoing this change, but it’s emotional stress; these are farmers that are the ones out there working every day in these conditions.”

But grants offer relief, Fish said. The state of Minnesota is using federal grants to help farmers adapt to expan...

Finding balance in life can be a challenge for everyone.

It can be especially hard to balance a life in climate work, politics and raising a family. That’s been Anna Farro Henderson’s experience, one she details in her new book “Core Samples: A Climate Scientist’s Experiments in Politics and Motherhood.”

Farro Henderson joins MPR News Meteorologist Paul Huttner to talk about the climate crisis and encouraging young women to enter the STEM field.   

To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Clima...

Minnesota’s climate continues to shift. The trend toward warmer winters and more erratic precipitation patterns continues.

“What we see globally and what we see right in our own backyards are the fingerprints of a warming world,” Heidi Roop, the Director of Minnesota’s Climate Adaptation Partnership, said.

She added that we should expect these extremes to continue.

“If we look out towards the end of the century, some of our future climate models show that our spring-time precipitation could be as much as 40 percent wetter and our summers around 20 percent dr...

Climate advocates are showing strong support for Gov. Tim Walz’s vice presidential campaign. They point to his record.

“Walz was responsible, or at least, signed into law several climate action bills that are progressive no matter which state you live in,” said Kristoffer Tigue, who wrote about Walz’s climate record for Inside Climate News. “That includes a law from 2023 which requires Minnesota utilities to produce 100 percent of their electricity from carbon free sources by 2040. He also signed several other bills that do a lot to advance the effort to slow down climate change.” 

Tigue...

A new report from the Global Carbon Project finds several sources of methane gas are on the rise.

Sahrah Kaplan, climate and science reporter for the Washington Post says the powerful greenhouse gas is “the fastest way to heat the planet and we’re doing that at an ever accelerating rate.”

Kaplan wrote about the Global Carbon Project report and joined Climate Cast to explain how agriculture as well as human influence are contributing to the rise in this potent greenhouse gas. 

To hear the full conversation, click play on the aud...

David Lipsky, author of “The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial,” talks about the history of climate change and those who deny the science behind human-caused climate change. 

To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

The State Fair gates are open – but there’s a noticeable absence in the Miracle of Birth Center: birthing cows and newborn calves. 

It’s all due to the spread of avian flu, also known as bird flu or H5N1. So how serious is the spread of avian flu, and what does climate change have to do with the spread of viruses between species? 

Izzy Ross is a climate solutions reporter for Interlochen Public Radio and wrote about the threat of bird flu spreading to dairy cows for Grist. Ross stopped by Climate C...

Recent abundant levels of rainfall across the state have pulled Minnesota out of drought for the first time since June 2022.

Will this rainfall pattern continue? And how are Minnesota’s precipitation swings a symptom of climate change? 

Kenneth Blumenfeld with the Minnesota State Climatology Office talks about recent rainfall across the state and explains how both dry and wet patterns — sometimes lasting several months — are connected to climate change. 

Scientists are concerned that Earth’s temperature rise is accelerating, and certain factors known as “tipping points” could speed up the process.

What will that mean for the planet and what can be done to keep the planet warming at a fast pace? Andrew Freedman wrote about the new study for Axios and explains the research behind the warming climate report.

To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

Climate change is putting stress on the traditional spruce and pines in Minnesota’s northern forests — and there’s real concern about their future.

So, researchers are planting trees from the southern parts of our state in hopes of saving our northern forests.

It’s called assisted migration and University of Minnesota professor Julie Etterson is studying if it can be an effective strategy for reforesting and fighting climate change.

An increasing number of wildfires in Canada and the western U.S. is pumping smoke toward Minnesota.

But how much smoke will reach Minnesota? And how do meteorologists forecast wildfire smoke events and trends across the state?

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s supervisory meteorologist Matt Taraldsen talks about the wildfire smoke that sullies Minnesota’s blue skies and triggers air quality alerts.

To hear the full conversation, click play on the audio player above or subscribe to the Climate Cast podcast.

Flash floods and extreme temperatures — both heat and cold — are having a negative impact on infrastructure across the Midwest. 

These extreme weather swings take a toll on roads, bridges and railroads, leading to headaches for travel and daily commutes.

Kiley Price wrote about the threat for Inside Climate News and joined MPR News meteorologist Paul Huttner to explain what’s being done to address the aging infrastructure in the Midwest.