Niko Kommenda 🍌🐟

curious when D.C.'s cherry trees will be in full bloom this year? i've built a statistical model and tracker page that updates daily: tinius.github.io/blossoms/

now waiting for NPS and @capitalweather.bsky.social predictions to compare

... which would be slightly later than last year but close to the recent (30yr) avg. below are some possible temperature paths my model generated from accuweather forecasts and the long-term climatology.

i'll be posting updates and more charts in the coming days! cc @capitalweather.bsky.social

it's that time of the year -- weather and stats nerds in DC are about to announce when they think the cherry blossoms at the tidal basin will be in peak bloom this year.

i built my own little model this year and my current prediction is mar 30 ...

This is ten times funnier due to the venue

check out this gorgeous illustrated guide to 50 species that may save us -- plants and animals that play key roles in human health research

by my colleagues @dinograndoni.bsky.social, katty huertas and hailey haymond

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

NEW: Data from inside workers' bodies shows they routinely reach fever-like temperatures over the course of a workday. A federal rule that would guarantee paid breaks on hot days has been in development for 4 years and faces an uncertain future under Trump

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solu...

British NIMBYism is truly a sight to behold.

“We are rejecting this solar farm, because one time I saw an electric vehicle on fire, which reminded me that decades ago a coal mining disaster killed lots of children”.

NEW: These are the most and least polluted national parks in the U.S.

National parks enjoy special air quality protections b/c of their stunning vistas. I looked at sources of pollution clouding the view and how they're changing over time

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

fantastic first climate lab column from daniel on where climate change might make flights bumpier

A trick for fitting world maps on phones:

Stack two azimuthal equal-area projections, clipped at 90° longitude, each one rotated 180° from the other.

The bottom map covers the top's Antarctica, which reduces the total height and looks nice.

As seen in www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/c...

PITCH: An updated version of the curse of Cassandra where she's describing things that are happening now, in front of everyone, but still isn't believed.

A chart showing higher engagement on Bluesky for several news stories compared to Threads and X

Something is happening with engagement on Bluesky. I ran a little analysis looking at a few recent news stories from NYT, WSJ and CNN across X, Threads and Bluesky and it looks like engagement on Bluesky is much higher when you account for the size of the platforms.
sherwood.news/tech/bluesky...

Reality check on technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the air An MIT Energy Initiative study finds many climate-stabilization plans are based on questionable assumptions about the future cost and deployment of “direct air capture” and therefore may not bring abo...

Okay, I have to do a thread on this pretty amazing article because it is just seriously chockers with eye-opening stats about 'direct air capture' - ie, sucking up air and trying to remove carbon dioxide from it

news.mit.edu/2024/reality...

hi sarah, i'd love to be added if possible!

“Miss Carpenter. Please. I know my business,” the young man said. “You just keep your eyes open for any bananafish. This is a perfect day for bananafish.” “I don’t see any,” Sybil said. “That’s understandable. Their habits are very peculiar. Very peculiar.” He kept pushing the float. The water was not quite up to his chest. “They lead a very tragic life,” he said. “You know what they do, Sybil?” She shook her head. “Well, they swim into a hole where there’s a lot of bananas. They’re very ordinary-looking fish when they swim in. But once they get in, they behave like pigs. Why, I’ve known some bananafish to swim into a banana hole and eat as many as seventy-eight bananas.” He edged the float and its passenger a foot closer to the horizon. “Naturally, after that they’re so fat they can’t get out of the hole again. Can’t fit through the door.”

The disaster no major U.S. city is prepared for Experts warn this type of catastrophe -- a power outage combined with a heat wave -- could yield a major death toll.

In July, a storm hit Houston, knocking out power for millions of residents and leaving them in the dark -- and in the heat.

But it could have been much worse. @bananafish.bsky.social, Simon Ducroquet, and I explored the disaster no one is ready for.

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...