384 / Climate Whiplash / Daniel Swain

I speak with Dr. Daniel Swain, climate scientist and science communicator. We begin with the recent news of the Trump administration's deep cuts to current and future research on the climate crisis, and what impact this will have on our ability to track weather and climate trends in the years to come. I asked him to elaborate on his role as a weather and climate science communicator, especially in disaster scenarios, like during the devastating wildfires that swept through Southern California in January, which is "expected to become the costliest global wildfire disaster on record.” And on track with that subject, I asked Swain to explain the dynamic of hydroclimate volatility, also called hydroclimate whiplash, and how this dynamic can help us understand how the wildfires in California become so destructive so quickly, and the role anthropogenic global heating has in making disasters like this more volatile and far more likely. // Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/daniel-swain // Sustain + support: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness // Donate: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast