menu_open Columnists
Umair Irfan

Umair Irfan

Vox

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

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 6

Vox

Umair Irfan

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

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 6

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 2

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 8

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 9

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 3

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 30

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 7

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 20

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 5

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 4

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 10

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 10

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 4

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 30

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 9

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 6

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 3

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 50

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 5

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

These 10 Charts Prove Clean Energy Is Winning Despite Donald Trump’s Efforts

Gabrielle Merite for Vox This story was originally published by Vox.com and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. At...

30.04.2025 40

Mother Jones

Umair Irfan

Trump boots climate scientists from climate science report

Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration dismissed hundreds of scientists this week who were working on a major report on climate change, part...

30.04.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Welcome to the world of triple-digit spring weather

We’re only midway through spring, yet searing summer temperatures have already started baking some parts of the world.  Cities like Phoenix and...

24.04.2025 5

Vox

Umair Irfan

Let’s not panic about AI’s energy use just yet

Consider the transistor, the basic unit of computer processors. Transistors can be tiny, down to single-digit nanometers in size. Billions can fit on...

23.04.2025 3

Vox

Umair Irfan

Clean energy breakthroughs could save the world. How do we create more of them?

Twenty years ago, few people would have been able to imagine the energy landscape of today. In 2005, US oil production, after a long decline, had...

23.04.2025 9

Vox

Umair Irfan

Clean energy is big business. These 5 threats loom large.

According to the American Clean Power Association, 93 percent of the new energy capacity added to the US power grid in 2024 — 49 gigawatts — came...

22.04.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

We’ve unlocked a holy grail in clean energy. It’s only the beginning.

The tricky thing about generating electricity is that for the most part, you pretty much have to use it or lose it. This fundamental fact has governed...

21.04.2025 4

Vox

Umair Irfan

10 charts prove that clean energy is winning — even in the Trump era

At every light switch, power socket, and on the road, an unstoppable revolution is already underway.  Technologies that can power our lives and jobs...

21.04.2025 30

Vox

Umair Irfan

The freaky part of allergy season that no one warned you about

Pollen allergy season is getting longer and more intense as the climate changes, creating more misery for allergy sufferers. But it’s not the only...

11.04.2025 8

Vox

Umair Irfan

Yes, your allergies are getting worse

The warming spring air is a welcome relief from the bitterly cold winter across much of the US, but millions of seasonal allergy sufferers are getting...

01.04.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Trump’s EPA insists climate change isn’t a danger

The Environmental Protection Agency announced this week that it’s starting the process of undoing 31 environmental regulations, including a ruling...

14.03.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Who needs weather reports anyway?

More layoffs have hit the federal government, this time at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States’s main weather...

28.02.2025 20

Vox

Umair Irfan

Elon Musk is coming for our weather service

The weather forecasts you see on TV or the severe storm alerts you get from your apps are powered by a federal science agency that’s in line for...

22.02.2025 60

Vox

Umair Irfan

Why the US is freezing as the planet reaches record warmth

Another round of snowy, chilly weather is gripping the United States this week, extending the frigid start to the year across much of North America....

15.02.2025 10

Vox

Umair Irfan

Los Angeles has a chance to protect itself from the next fire. It shouldn’t squander it

At their peak, the devastating wildfires that ignited around Los Angeles in January forced upward of 200,000 people to evacuate and torched more than...

07.02.2025 20

Vox

Umair Irfan

The LA fires have a shocking price tag — and we’ll all have to pick up the tab

We’re making this story accessible to all readers as a public service. At Vox, our mission is to help everyone access essential information that...

03.02.2025 20

Vox

Umair Irfan

What makes a neighborhood resilient to fires?

Firefighters around Los Angeles have been making steady progress against the massive, fast-moving blazes that erupted around the city this month. The...

22.01.2025 5

Vox

Umair Irfan

An even bigger threat is looming behind California’s fires

Fires in and around Los Angeles continue to rage as gusting Santa Ana winds drive the flames through brush and into neighborhoods. Two major blazes,...

14.01.2025 9

Vox

Umair Irfan

The unusually strong force behind the apocalyptic fires in Los Angeles

Sustained powerful winds reaching nearly 100 miles per hour are driving fast-moving wildfires near Los Angeles, spewing smoke, destroying homes,...

09.01.2025 40

Vox

Umair Irfan

Why is this cold snap so extreme? The jury is still out.

Bitter cold has lashed its icy fingers across the United States, bringing a frigid start to the New Year. Dubbed Winter Storm Blair, the tempest...

07.01.2025 2

Vox

Umair Irfan

9 stories that prove not all hope is lost for climate progress

There’s no getting around the fact that it’s been a dire year for the planet.  This year is likely to be the hottest year humans have ever...

28.12.2024 9

Vox

Umair Irfan

Biden Pulled Off a $370 Billion Miracle for the Climate. Where Did the Money Go?

President Joe Biden delivers remarks announcing investments through the Inflation Reduction Act to make port infrastructure improvements and create...

23.12.2024 4

Mother Jones

Umair Irfan

Climate change is pushing some governments to the breaking point

2024 is on track to become the hottest year since humans have been keeping track, beating out 2023.  The extraordinary back-to-back record-breakers...

23.12.2024 20

Vox

Umair Irfan

Biden pulled off a $370 billion miracle for the climate. Where did the money go?

The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act stands as the single largest piece of legislation to address climate change in United States history.  The IRA...

19.12.2024 10

Vox

Umair Irfan