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Umair Irfan

Umair Irfan

Vox

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The case for scrubbing the seas to save the climate

The context you need, when you need it When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission...

08.03.2026 30

Vox

Umair Irfan

The false promise of energy independence

The context you need, when you need it When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission...

06.03.2026 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Scientists have been underestimating sea levels — for decades

The context you need, when you need it When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission...

04.03.2026 6

Vox

Umair Irfan

Trump just blew up a load-bearing pillar of climate regulation in the US. What happens now?

The Trump administration is about to tear down a load-bearing ruling that considers climate change as a threat to Americans’ health.  Today, the...

12.02.2026 8

Vox

Umair Irfan

Trump’s new Wildland Fire Service is failing to ignite

Wildfires have consumed thousands of buildings, killed dozens of people, and smothered millions in choking smoke in recent years. Blazes like the Los...

05.02.2026 6

Vox

Umair Irfan

Who on Earth still doesn’t have electricity?

The world is hungrier than ever for energy.  Demand for heating, cooling, lighting, computing power, and just getting around is rising. In...

04.02.2026 9

Vox

Umair Irfan

Who on Earth still doesn’t have electricity?

The world is hungrier than ever for energy.  Demand for heating, cooling, lighting, computing power, and just getting around is rising. In...

04.02.2026 40

Vox

Umair Irfan

America’s wildfire risk data quietly puts millions of homes in danger

A lot of us might assume that most homes that are destroyed by wildfires were in obvious, high fire-risk areas, like on the edge of forests that...

30.01.2026 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

The Tricky Science of Forecasting Extreme Winter Weather

This story was originally published by Vox and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Already, a bitter burst of cold is...

27.01.2026 4

Mother Jones

Umair Irfan

Why forecasters struggled to see this extreme winter storm coming

Already, a bitter burst of cold is gripping much of the country, and in the next few days, it will reach at least 45 states and extend across...

23.01.2026 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

In the Eyes of Trump’s EPA, Human Health Is Now Literally Worthless

This story was originally published by Vox and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The Environmental Protection Agency...

15.01.2026 70

Mother Jones

Umair Irfan

Trump’s EPA is setting the value of human health to $0

The Environmental Protection Agency is taking a major step toward changing its math to favor polluters over people: It’s going to stop tallying up...

14.01.2026 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Why almost none of the homes burned in LA have been rebuilt since last year’s fires

The Associated Press this week reported a stunning fact: Of the 13,000 homes destroyed a year ago in the extraordinary wildfires in and around Los...

09.01.2026 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Inside Trump’s “no data, just vibes” approach to science

One of the biggest changes so far during President Donald Trump’s second term has been the steady degradation of basic data collection.  In some...

31.12.2025 8

Vox

Umair Irfan

We’re passing a dangerous global warming threshold — but we’re not doomed

For the last decade, global climate politics have revolved around a single number: 1.5 degrees Celsius.  The idea was that keeping the planet below...

18.12.2025 30

Vox

Umair Irfan

Zillow’s short-sighted move to overlook climate risk

Earlier this month, the real-estate listing site Zillow ended a subtle social experiment. In 2024, they began to embed climate risk data directly in...

10.12.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

The long, fun list of things we could do with unlimited clean energy

What could you do with energy that’s cheap, clean, and near unlimited? You could live in a home built to your precise needs that stays cozy and cool...

26.11.2025 7

Vox

Umair Irfan

Trump’s Vendetta Against EVs Is Driving Up Costs for Every Vehicle Owner

This story was originally published by Vox and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. As President Donald Trump sees it,...

10.11.2025 6

Mother Jones

Umair Irfan

Clean energy could become a huge political winner

You’ve probably noticed that Democrats are talking a lot less about climate change. But connecting clean energy to household bills proved to be a...

07.11.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Trump’s anti-climate agenda is making it more expensive to own a car

As President Donald Trump sees it, environmental regulations that attempt to improve efficiency and address climate change only make products more...

04.11.2025 7

Vox

Umair Irfan

3 things about Hurricane Melissa that make it so unusual and dangerous

Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest hurricanes in history, made landfall in Jamaica yesterday with winds at 185 miles per hour, putting it firmly...

29.10.2025 6

Vox

Umair Irfan

A data center that doesn’t even exist can raise your electricity bill

Your electricity bill is rising. Naturally, you’re mad about it and looking around at who to blame. But it’s not a who, it’s a what — and the...

21.10.2025 20

Vox

Umair Irfan

The surging price tag of wildfires, in one chart

The modern age of burning has been ignited by human hands.  Though wildfires are natural and necessary in many ecosystems, their expanding path of...

02.10.2025 7

Vox

Umair Irfan

Your expensive power bill is part of an alarming trend

Like most Americans this month, your most recent power bill may have given you a shock. Residential electricity rates have risen fast across the US...

01.10.2025 9

Vox

Umair Irfan

America’s flood insurance system is doomed to fail

Even though a major hurricane has yet to make landfall this season, 2025 has been a year of devastating floods. Thousands of flash floods across the...

22.09.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

These Texas Scientists Are Doing Their Best to Thwart Scary Mosquito-Borne Diseases

This story was originally published by Vox and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Under a microscope, a mosquito can look...

21.09.2025 10

Mother Jones

Umair Irfan

Inside Texas’s grand laboratory of dangerous mosquitoes

Austin, Texas — Under a microscope, a mosquito can look stunning. Their blue-green iridescent scales, purple bands, and attractive spotted wings...

17.09.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

The US is on the verge of a mosquito-borne disease crisis

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — How do you capture the deadliest animal on Earth, one that has been responsible for the death of more people than any other...

08.09.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Your guide to identifying the 7 most dangerous mosquitoes in the US

There are more than 200 species of mosquitoes in the United States, but only a handful are known to be dangerous to humans because of the diseases...

08.09.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Trump can’t stop America from building cheap EVs

President Donald Trump has made no secret of his disdain for electric vehicles and is slamming the brakes on government incentives to get them into...

22.08.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Is Trump’s America Ready for Hurricanes?

This story was originally published by Vox.com and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The peak of the hurricane season...

18.08.2025 8

Mother Jones

Umair Irfan

Erin may be the first real test of America’s hurricane readiness under Trump

The peak of the hurricane season is upon us and forecasters are still anticipating higher than normal levels of activity, despite a relatively calm...

14.08.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Why Your Energy Bill Keeps Going Up

This story was originally published by Vox.com and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Americans are paying more for...

28.07.2025 8

Mother Jones

Umair Irfan

Why your energy bill is suddenly so much more expensive

Americans are paying more for electricity, and those prices are set to rise even further. In almost all parts of the country, the amount people pay...

24.07.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Los Angeles Is Rebuilding Very Slowly From Its Devastating Wildfires. Here’s why.

This story was originally published by Vox.com, and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In the wake of the...

20.07.2025 10

Mother Jones

Umair Irfan

Why it’s taking LA so long to rebuild

In the wake of the record-breaking wildfires in Los Angeles in January — some of the most expensive and destructive blazes in history — one of the...

15.07.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Why were the central Texas floods so deadly?

At least 90 people have died in central Texas in extraordinary floods, the deadliest in the Lone Star State since Hurricane Harvey killed 89 people. A...

07.07.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Trump’s plan to replace clean energy with fossil fuels has some major problems

The first solar cell ever made was built in the United States. Tesla, based in the US, was once the largest EV manufacturer in the world. The lithium...

02.07.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Meet the Oropouche virus. It may be visiting your city soon.

Oropouche virus disease was a relatively rare illness for decades, lurking on the margins of tropical rainforests in the Caribbean and South...

01.07.2025 9

Vox

Umair Irfan

It’s not just the cities. Extreme heat is a growing threat to rural America.

Summer has officially begun with a blast of scorching temperatures across much of the United States. The National Weather Service is warning of...

24.06.2025 20

Vox

Umair Irfan

Future Climate Means No More Breakfast

This story was originally published by Vox.com and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Globally, humanity is producing...

21.06.2025 10

Mother Jones

Umair Irfan

We’re producing more food than ever before — but not for long

Globally, humanity is producing more food than ever, but that harvest is concentrated in just a handful of breadbaskets. More than one-third of the...

18.06.2025 8

Vox

Umair Irfan

Why we’re barely keeping track of this growing climate problem

Odorless and colorless, methane is a gas that is easy to miss — but it’s one of the most important contributors to global warming. It can trap up...

16.06.2025 20

Vox

Umair Irfan

Elon Musk couldn’t change Trump’s mind on electric vehicles

Elon Musk and President Donald Trump — two of the most powerful, outspoken billionaires in America — are still tangled up in a messy breakup over...

07.06.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

One thing we can count on to keep ruining our summers

Smoke from wildfires in Canada is once again shrouding parts of the United States — cities like Chicago and Milwaukee — with unhealthy air,...

06.06.2025 7

Vox

Umair Irfan

The wild hunt for clean energy minerals

The world is hungry for more stuff: televisions, phones, motors, container ships, solar panels, satellites. That means the stuff required to make...

02.06.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

The World’s Largest Emitter Just Delivered Some Good Climate News—for Now

This story was originally published by Vox.com and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. China is the world’s largest...

29.05.2025 9

Mother Jones

Umair Irfan

The world’s largest emitter just delivered some good climate news

China is the world’s largest single greenhouse gas emitter, spewing more than double the amount of heat-trapping chemicals as the next biggest...

27.05.2025 20

Vox

Umair Irfan

Your Weather Forecasts Are About to Get a Lot Less Accurate

This story was originally published by Vox.com and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Did you check the weather...

13.05.2025 9

Mother Jones

Umair Irfan

Your weather forecast is about to get a lot worse

Did you check the weather forecast today?  Whether it was on your phone, the five-day outlook in your newspaper, or your friendly TV meteorologist,...

12.05.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan