Wim Thiery

@wimthiery.bsky.social

670 followers 320 following 91 posts

Climate scientist modelling extreme events in a changing climate, Associate Professor @vubrussel.bsky.social. Previously research fellow @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social and @ethz.ch. Website: https://sites.google.com/site/wimthiery/ .. more

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Environmental science 62%

Geography 18%

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Wim Thiery @wimthiery.bsky.social · May 12

Will you live an unprecedented life?

In our new paper in @nature.com and accompanying @savethechildren.org report, we detect who will face unprecedented lifetime exposure to climate extremes (🧵) 1/n
Report: resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/bor...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Born into the Climate Crisis 2. An unprecedented life: Protecting children’s rights in a changing climate | Save the Children’s Resource Centre

The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it is a pressing reality that children are facing today. Despite having contributed the least to the climate crisis, the inherent intergenerational injustic...

resourcecentre.savethechildren.net

Wim Thiery @wimthiery.bsky.social · 20h

10 jaar na de klimaatconferentie van Parijs gaat het deze week in Belém over hoe we dat klimaatakkoord van Parijs in stand kunnen houden: "We moeten daarvoor zes keer meer doen dan wat nu op tafel ligt."

www.vrt.be/vrtmax/luist...

VRT MAX

www.vrt.be

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Richard McElreath, Wim Thiery , and 7 more Richard S.J. Tol, Richard McElreath, Wim Thiery, Francesco Saraceno, Will Lowe, C. Kirabo Jackson, Jonathan Birch, David Bartram, Ann Bartow, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 21h

Solar’s price drop is astonishing: panels are now 98% cheaper than when I first analyzed them in 2004.

Today, building a fence with solar can be cheaper than using wood.

Reposted by Wim Thiery

Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf @rahmstorf.bsky.social · 4d

Guterres is right.
Even a temporary overshoot could unleash far greater destruction and costs for every nation. It could push ecosystems past catastrophic and irreversible tipping points.
Fossil fuel companies are deceiving the public and obstructing progress. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Missing 1.5C climate target is a moral failure, Guterres tells Cop30 summit

UN secretary general urges opening session in Brazil to bring about a ‘fundamental paradigm shift’

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Du Toit, Wim Thiery

Prof Friederike Otto @frediotto.bsky.social · 4d

If we do not seriously move away from burning fossil fuels, hurricanes like Melissa will only become worse. Already today Melissa tested the limits of what preparedness and adaptation can do. These limits are very real for everyone in the Caribbean. www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-chan...

The wettest 5-day period in each location between 19-29 October 2025, which is related to the passage of Melissa. The track of Hurricane Melissa at 12 hour intervals is shown as a series of pink points. Data from MSWX

Wim Thiery @wimthiery.bsky.social · 4d

@hydr-vub.bsky.social @vubrussel.bsky.social @usyseth.bsky.social @dustybowl.bsky.social @stevendehertogh.bsky.social @jonasjaegermeyr.bsky.social @yadupokhrel.bsky.social @soniaseneviratne.bsky.social

Wim Thiery @wimthiery.bsky.social · 4d

VUB press release about Yi Yao's three publications on irrigation-climate interactions: www.vub.be/en/news/when...

When Irrigation Backfires

Global farming practices are driving heat stress and water strain, VUB researchers warn

www.vub.be

Wim Thiery @wimthiery.bsky.social · 4d

This is the second study analyzing the outputs of the @wcrp-cmip.org endorsed #IRRMIP project. It's also the third paper led by the amazing Yi Yao (VUB PhD graduate), coming out this year. bsky.app/profile/wimt...

Wim Thiery @wimthiery.bsky.social · 10d

Future changes in irrigation will reduce dry-heat stress (without reversing GHG trend) and will substantially amplify moist-heat stress (strengthening GHG trend).

New study @natcomms.nature.com led by Yi Yao @hydr-vub.bsky.social and @usyseth.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Compounding future escalation of emissions- and irrigation-induced increases in humid-heat stress - Nature Communications

This study shows that future exposures to moist-heat increase more rapidly than those to dry-heat, and irrigation can further amplify moist-heat-related health risks. Improving irrigation efficiency a...

www.nature.com

Wim Thiery @wimthiery.bsky.social · 4d

For example, irrigation expansion more then doubled the trend in water loss to the atmosphere (P-E) in South Asia after 1960. As a consequence, the local terrestrial water storage (TWS) depletes over time following irrigation expansion.

Reposted by Benjamin I. Cook

Wim Thiery @wimthiery.bsky.social · 4d

In our new study @natwater.nature.com led by Yi Yao @ethz.ch, we show that irrigation expansion in many regions substantially decreases the net water influx from the atmosphere to land, further aggravating the existing drying trends caused by climate change www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Irrigation-induced land water depletion aggravated by climate change - Nature Water

The rapid expansion of agricultural irrigation raises concerns about exacerbating water scarcity, but land–atmosphere interactions are often overlooked. This study isolates irrigation impacts from oth...

www.nature.com

Reposted by Wim Thiery

Joeri Rogelj @joerirogelj.bsky.social · 5d

Two years ago, the @esabcc.bsky.social published its advice on the EU's 2040 emissions reduction target. We indicated a 90-95% reduction relative 1990 levels.

Today, EU climate ministers agreed on a 90% target, with an 66.25-72.5% reduction as part for its new NDC for 2035.

European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change @esabcc.bsky.social · 5d

Today, EU climate ministers agreed on a 90% net reduction in GHG emissions by 2040. The Council also updated the NDC with an indicative 66.25–72.5% reduction by 2035 The @esabcc.bsky.social contributed to this process by providing independent scientific advice on the 2040 climate target.

Reposted by Michael E. Mann, Peter Thorne, Michel den Elzen , and 2 more Michael E. Mann, Peter Thorne, Michel den Elzen, Wim Thiery, Daniel Huppmann

Joeri Rogelj @joerirogelj.bsky.social · 6d

Today is the official launch of this year's @unep.org #EmissionsGap report.

It's title says it all

OFF TARGET

that's true for progress, NDCs and implementation

UN Environment Programme @unep.org · 6d

New national climate plans have barely moved the needle on limiting global warming. Yet there is hope.

According to UNEP's latest #EmissionsGap Report, accelerated adoption of renewable energy and falling costs mean we have the tools to cut emissions now: www.unep.org/news-and-sto...

Illustration of a dart missing the bullseye on a colorful target, symbolizing global temperature goals at risk due to inaction.

Reposted by Michel den Elzen, Wim Thiery, Richard Waite

Joeri Rogelj @joerirogelj.bsky.social · 6d

What is the current state of climate action? What do latest country pledges add up to?
And how much global warming are we in for? 🌍🌡️ 🔥
For the 16th year in a row, we publish the @unep.org #emissionsgap report.
As usual, I looked the assessment of the global gap and its global warming implications.

Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment @granthamicl.bsky.social · 6d

NEW: The latest climate pledges under the Paris Agreement have driven only a slight fall in predicted global temperature rise over the course of this century.

The UN Emissions Gap Report finds that implementing current policies would lead to up to 2.8°C of warming, down from 3.1°C. 🧵

Wim Thiery @wimthiery.bsky.social · 7d

"Parijs was speciaal omdat het de eerste keer was dat er een exact temperatuurdoel werd ingesteld. Het stellen van een doel was enorm belangrijk voor landen, ngo's, bedrijven enzovoort. Het geeft een richting aan." vrtnws.be/p.xZpjAKbyl

"Een armageddon is vermeden": wat leverde het klimaatakkoord van Parijs al op? | VRT NWS: nieuws

Dankzij het klimaatakkoord van Parijs stevent onze planeet niet meer af op 4 graden opwarming, maar op 2,6 graden extra. Concreet kunnen we daarmee gemiddeld 57 extreem warme dagen per jaar vermijden....

vrtnws.be

Reposted by Wim Thiery

Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf @rahmstorf.bsky.social · 8d

Extended hurricane category scale, following Wehner&Kossin, Proceedings of the National Academy 2024: www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...
If that scale didn't stop at Category 5 for historic reasons, we would have had several Category 6 tropical cyclones since year 2000.