Lauren Sommer
Lauren Sommer covers climate change for NPR's Science Desk, from the scientists on the front lines of documenting the warming climate to the way those changes are reshaping communities and ecosystems around the world.
Prior to joining NPR, Sommer spent more than a decade covering climate and environment for KQED Public Radio in San Francisco. During her time there, she delved into the impacts of California's historic drought during dry years and reported on destructive floods during wet years, and covered how communities responded to record-breaking wildfires.
Sommer has also examined California's ambitious effort to cut carbon emissions across its economy and investigated the legacy of its oil industry. On the lighter side, she ran from charging elephant seals and searched for frogs in Sierra Nevada lakes.
She was also host of KQED's macrophotography nature series Deep Look, which searched for universal truths in tiny organisms like black-widow spiders and parasites. Sommer has received a national Edward R. Murrow for use of sound, as well as awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Society of Environmental Journalists.
Based at NPR's San Francisco bureau, Sommer grew up in the West, minus a stint on the East Coast to attend Cornell University.
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California has been deluged by storms this winter, but fixing the state's severe drought will take more than rain. The state had deeper problems in how it uses water. -
As the climate gets hotter, animals and plants are moving because it is harder to survive where they live. One of the most consequential shifts is happening to some of the smallest living things.
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As the climate changes, anxiety among younger people is rising. NPR launches a comic book with advice from and for kids on how to cope. (Story originally aired on Morning Edition on Nov. 27, 2022.)
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Californians are once again on high alert amid a string of severe rainstorms. At least 19 people have died across the state and the damages are likely to hit hundreds of millions of dollars.
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Thanks to a new federal law, cities will get better forecasts about how climate change intensifies rainstorms. Still, it won't be in time for billions of dollars of federal infrastructure spending. -
Heavy rain is still hitting California. A few reservoirs figured out how to capture more for droughtDecades-old rules mean most reservoirs aren't allowed to fill up in the winter. A new approach using weather forecasts is helping some save more water to help with California's drought. -
Hotter temperatures are threatening coral reefs worldwide. Now, scientists are pinpointing how some "super corals" are better able to withstand the heat. -
Climate change negotiations have concluded at the U.N. summit in Egypt. World leaders took a historic step to help developing countries pay for damages from climate impacts. But did they do enough?
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Delegates reached a last-minute deal to pay vulnerable countries for damages caused by climate change. But the final agreement does not put humanity on track to avoid catastrophic warming. -
Climate anxiety is on the rise in younger generations, as they face inheriting a hotter planet. Here's their advice on how to cope with those feelings.
