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  • Currently in Austin — October 17, 2023: Cool morning starts the day

Currently in Austin — October 17, 2023: Cool morning starts the day

Plus, climate destabilizing the insurance market + fat bears

The weather, currently.

Cool morning starts the day

Have your favorite sweatshirt handy for Tuesday morning, which starts in the upper 40s, gradually warming up to a high near 77 in the afternoon. Calm winds from the south-southeast prevail on this sunny, cool day.

Tuesday night remains clear, with a low around 50. Enjoy the lower-than-average temps while they last, because a warming trend returns and takes us back up to the low 90s by Friday. Air conditioners come back on, t-shirts and shorts reappear, and sweatshirts go back in the drawer.

-Anne Hebert

What you need to know, currently.

Grist released the latest story in their series — “Uninsured” — which delves into how the climate crisis destabilizes the global insurance market.

The latest installment focuses on how extreme weather and climate change are impacting farmer’s crops and their wallets.

According to reporter Lois Parshley, severe weather cost farmers in the U.S. around $22 billion last year, however only half of that was covered by insurance.

…Climate hazards have increased annual crop insurance losses by about $1 billion every year since 1991.

Lois Parshley

This destabilization impacts farmers, their families, and global food security.

The entire series is worth a read.

In brighter news, last week was Fat Bear Week, the annual competition to find the brown bear at Brooks River in Katmai National Park, Alaska who “best exemplifies fatness.”

If you weren't making a bracket and following closely, what were you doing?

Here’s a photo of this year’s winner, Grazer, who was crowned last Tuesday, just in case you missed it:

What you can do, currently.

Currently Sponsorships are short messages we co-write with you to plug your org, event, or climate-friendly business with Currently subscribers. It’s a chance to boost your visibility with Currently — one of the world’s largest daily climate newsletters — and support independent climate journalism, all at the same time. Starting at just $105.

One of my favorite organizations, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, serves as a hub of mutual aid efforts focused on climate action in emergencies — like hurricane season. Find mutual aid network near you and join, or donate to support existing networks: