The United States was the world’s largest source of carbon emissions for more than a century. In a new analysis, researchers document the changing trends in U.S. carbon emissions from the late 19th century to the early 21st century, focusing on emissions from fossil fuels and industry. They discuss the main factors that contributed to the rollercoaster of changes in historical carbon emissions. The authors close by offering lessons from the U.S. experience for developing countries.

Heat waves that already affect the population of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB) could significantly intensify in the future, with temperature increases of up to 6ºC and a general reduction in relative humidity in cities by the end of the century. This is shown in a study carried out by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), which warns of an increase in average maximum temperatures of 4ºC and average minimum temperatures of 3.5ºC if greenhouse gas emissions are not drastically reduced. Temperatures could reach values above 45ºC in urban inland areas of the AMB and above 42ºC in interior areas of the city of Barcelona.