Environment

One of the annoying things about global warming – besides the likelihood it will ravage life on Earth – is all the new words we are expected to learn in order to track our descent into climate chaos. Rising temperatures have not only boosted the intensity or frequency of major storms and heatwaves, they have

Polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they don’t naturally break down in the environment. Now a new study reveals the increasing pace of Arctic ice melt is leaking more of these chemicals into the environment. PFAS don’t originate in the Arctic, but they do settle there – they’re used in

Earth is swallowing up more carbon from its atmosphere than scientists previously thought, new research suggests. This discovery may change some of the equations and balances around our projections of climate change, although it doesn’t mean we can breathe a sigh of relief. The updated findings indicate that around a third of carbon rolled into

The world’s coral reefs have reached a precipice, and only we can pull them back from the brink. According to a recent perspective, written on behalf of thousands of coral reef scientists, the coming decade will be our last chance to act. If we can limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, up to 30 percent of

Extreme weather is striking all over the world, illustrating how vulnerable swathes of humanity are to natural disasters. Some events – like wildfires sweeping the western US – are seasonal, while others came as a total surprise. China and Western Europe were both hit by devastating floods in the past week, with a death toll

Summer 2021 will mark a turning point in how heat is seen by the public and communicated by experts. For the first time in its 167-year history, the UK’s Met Office has issued an amber warning for extreme heat for much of Wales and parts of southern, central and western England, where temperatures are expected

The Bootleg Fire that has scorched more than 1,500 square km (600 square miles) in Oregon is so big it can be seen from space. Videos shared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration earlier this week show smoke plumes rising into the air from the Bootleg Fire. The fire has burned over 360,000 acres, officials said. UPDATE: @NOAA‘s #GOES17🛰️ continues

Human society is on track for a collapse in the next two decades if there isn’t a serious shift in global priorities, according to a new reassessment of a 1970s report, Vice reported. In that report – published in the bestselling book The Limits to Growth (1972) – a team of MIT scientists argued that industrial civilization

On a hot summer day in a city, one of the best places to cool off is in a forested park. Underneath the trees, temperatures can drop significantly, both from the shadow of the canopy and from the cool ‘sweat’ released by their leaves. Even just a single tree could create a more comfortable microclimate, according

Even as awareness around plastic pollution grows, very little is being done to solve the problem. At this rate, by 2050, some experts predict the world’s oceans will contain more plastic than fish. A think piece from the United Nations, commissioned by the G20, has now detailed everything the world should do to stop that

Climate change and deforestation have flipped a large swathe of the Amazon basin from absorbing to emitting planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2), a transformation that could turn humanity’s greatest natural ally in the fight against global warming into a foe, researchers reported on Wednesday. ​Hundreds of high-altitude air samples collected over the last decade showed that

Tens of million years ago, sand tiger sharks hunted in the waters off the Antarctic Peninsula, gliding over a thriving marine ecosystem on the seafloor below. All that remains of them today is their sharp pointed teeth, but those teeth tell a story. They’re helping solve the mystery of why the Earth, some 50 million

Climate change has already increased the frequency and severity of hurricanes and other extreme weather events around the world. But there’s a smaller, less splashy threat on the horizon that could wreak havoc on America’s coasts.  High-tide floods, also called “nuisance floods”, occur in coastal areas when tides reach about 2 feet (0.6 meters) above

Abnormal hot and cold temperatures account for more than 5 million excess deaths a year across the world, according to a new study – the largest of its kind to date on the link between global climate and mortality rates. The study looked at “non-optimal ambient temperatures”, referring to exposure to abnormal hot and cold

Antarctica may seem like a static environment: a still, white landscape frozen motionlessly into place. But much more is going on under the ice than we realize – even if you have to travel all the way to space to tell for sure. Over a decade ago, scientists made just such a discovery, when an

These days it seems you can’t walk through a bookstore without bumping into a book or magazine pointing out the negative consequences of climate change. Everything from the hottest years on record to ruining astronomy can be tied to climate change.  Now some new science lays another potential problem at climate change’s feet – Earth is retaining more than

In order to mitigate the global impacts of climate change, we need to dramatically reduce our carbon emissions, or even better – stop emitting completely. Many countries have recognized the need to switch from fossil fuels to renewable or ‘green’ energy in order to do this. Whilst most of us are in homes that are

Tens of thousands of clams, mussels, sea stars, and snails were found boiled to death in a Vancouver, Canada, beach during the country’s record-breaking heat wave. Chris Harley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia, was alerted to the deaths when he smelled a foul stench coming from Vancouver’s Kitsilano Beach on Sunday.

A record-breaking heat wave that hit the western United States and Canada at the end of June would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, according to an analysis by a group of leading climate scientists. The World Weather Attribution group said that global warming, caused by greenhouse gas emissions, made the heat wave

Converting agricultural land to forests is one way of boosting rainfall and counteracting some of the effects of climate change, according to a new study – with water availability one of the most important climate drivers alongside temperature. Based on computer models trained on real-world data, the study authors conclude that “a realistic reforestation scenario,

In October 2019, I set sail with a team of scientists aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Vessel John P. Tully in the northeast Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Vancouver Island. Battling rough seas and lack of sleep, we spent the better part of a week working shoulder-to-shoulder in a small stand-up refrigerator, analyzing seafloor

Deadly climate conditions could soon become the norm in most parts of the world, according to a systematic review. If we do nothing to curb our greenhouse gas emissions, the authors who conducted the review predict between 44 and 75 percent of the human population will be chronically stressed by heat by the end of

The Amazon rainforest is on track to get a whole lot less rain over the coming century. Even if deforestation is completely halted, research has found a global rise in carbon dioxide could still jeopardize the climate above the world’s largest tropical rainforest. According to new simulations, a 50 percent rise in global CO2 emissions

The United Nations on Thursday recognized a new record high temperature for the Antarctic continent, confirming a reading of 18.3 degrees Celsius (64.9 degrees Fahrenheit) made last year. The record heat was reached at Argentina’s Esperanza research station on the Antarctic Peninsula on 6 February 2020, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization said. “Verification of this

New normal. Record-breaking. Unprecedented. In recent days, as Western Canada and the United States have been broiling under a climate-fueled heat crisis, all sorts of superlatives have been used to describe never-before-seen temperatures: the British Columbia community of Lytton hit a mind-boggling 49.5 C on June 29, breaking all-time temperature records three days in a

As the world gets warmer, staggering transformations are taking place in some of Earth’s coldest locations – events that might go completely unnoticed by humans, were it not for our eyes in the sky. In a new study, satellite observations reveal one such stunning phenomenon: the sudden disappearance of a gigantic lake in Antarctica, which

The United Nations calculated that extreme weather events resulted in 15,000 deaths and resulted in economic losses of US $170 billion in 2020. Storms, floods, and droughts can be catastrophic for people and the environment, but are these events on the rise? We asked 4 experts in climate science ‘Are extreme weather events becoming more

A draft report from the world’s peak body on climate change, leaked to a global news agency, has sparked concern – but the dire warnings the report details shouldn’t come as a surprise, experts say. The draft report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was obtained by Agence France-Presse (AFP), a global news

While grumbling skies and spectacular displays of air-splitting light can be a thrilling experience to witness, thunderstorms can also do an awful lot of damage. From igniting massive wildfires to causing flash flooding, damaging hail, and even tornadoes ,this wild weather can destroy homes and businesses and take lives. Thunderstorms that roil across the Southern

The Australian government on Tuesday expressed shock at a draft decision to list the Great Barrier Reef as “in danger”. But the recommendation has been looming for some time. The recommendation, by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), acknowledges Australia’s commitment to implementing

In normal times, it’s easy to assume that desert plants will weather tough periods. These hardy organisms evolved to survive bouts of prolonged heat and dryness, after all. They can take it. These are not normal times, though. A new study analyzing over 30 years’ worth of satellite imagery captured over southern California reveals that

It’s imperative that human societies factor a strategic ‘managed retreat’ into the ways they respond and adapt to climate change, researchers say, and figuring out how is a conversation that needs to be happening now. Managed retreat is the coordinated movement of people and buildings away from risks, which, in the context of climate change,

When heat waves hit, people start looking for anything that might lower the temperature. One solution is right beneath our feet: pavement. Think about how hot the soles of your shoes can get when you’re walking on dark pavement or asphalt. A hot street isn’t just hot to touch – it also raises the surrounding

Deep below the ocean’s waves, ancient tracks left by a long-hidden migration are etched into the submerged landscape of the seafloor. These mysterious imprints were not made by deep-sea creatures moving from one place to the next, but rather by a flotilla of ancient icebergs drifting aimlessly for thousands of miles across the ocean. As

One of the key steps to mitigating climate change is to better understand the multitude of factors that affect our planet’s temperature – and a new study reveals the important role that ocean microbes play in the process. Microbes are responsible for most of Earth’s naturally produced methane, a key greenhouse gas that contributes to

Thousands of years of history tell us drought is nothing new. Sometimes we prevail. Often we don’t. A bleak look into the future tells us we’ve seen nothing yet, with a mix of shifting climates, poor water management practices, and growing population densities promising a ‘pandemic‘ of catastrophic droughts awaits. The UN’s Special Report on Drought

Insects are the most numerous group of animals on the planet. There are an estimated 5.5 million species, 80 percent of which remain to be discovered. Yet insects are experiencing steep, widespread declines across the world: a “death by a thousand cuts” because of human activity. Insects perform almost every role imaginable in an ecosystem,

It’s not just seeds that are being stashed away at the poles – scientists are also preserving stacks of ancient ice for future research, and the oldest ice in the Alps region has now been successfully extracted, ready for storage in Antarctica. What makes saving and storing this ice so important is the climate history

If we’re going to tackle our microplastic pollution problem, then we need a better understanding of where these fragments and particles are – and a new study suggests that adapting satellite measurements could be one way of doing just that. At the moment, estimates of microplastics in the ocean rely on trawling specific areas with

Despite slim hopes that global shutdowns during the pandemic might bring respite from the climate crisis, yet more evidence confirms that no such silver lining exists. Newly released measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in fact show that concentrations of the heat-trapping chemical have surged to record levels not seen by scientists in the

The United Nations is urging governments around the world to rewild a billion hectares of degraded land in the next ten years. That’s a slice of the environment roughly the size of China – the sum of what numerous countries have already pledged to restore. But while humans are really good at making commitments to

The biggest natural disasters are by no means just a local issue, as new research shows: smoke from the devastating California wildfires of 2020 eventually reached as far as Europe, and was still dense enough after its travels to block out the Sun. Scientists tracked wildfire smoke originating from the US west coast in September

Earth’s oceans are full of life, with multitudes of creatures making their home beneath the waves. But not everywhere in the deep blue sea is receptive to life’s presence. In recent years, scientists have become increasingly concerned about ‘dead zones’: areas of hypoxic waters in the ocean where oxygen levels are so low, marine animals

For most life forms on Earth, oxygen is a necessity, not an optional extra – and because of our warming planet, oxygen is quickly disappearing from our freshwater lakes, putting aquatic life and ecosystems under threat. Researchers looked at samples and measurements taken from 393 lakes in temperate areas of the globe across a period

A heavily used group of pesticides, designed to kill insects upon contact, is also poisoning bee colonies. Scientists have discovered a way to deliver an antidote using pollen-like microparticles. The medicine is composed of a special enzyme that can break down certain groups of insecticides called organophosphates. These insecticides pose a deadly threat, but if the

While the rest of the world continues to tackle the global pandemic, in eastern Australia, waves of mice are flooding farms and towns. For months now, this plague has been wreaking havoc on crops, damaging electrical wires in buildings, and even biting hospital patients, leaving a stench of rodent urine and feces in its wake.

Greenland’s melting ice sheet is unleashing an astonishing amount of mercury into the nation’s rivers and fjords. Downstream of three glaciers in the southwest, researchers have found coastal ecosystems are swimming in high concentrations of the heavy metal, which can build up in the food web to toxic levels. The quantity of mercury observed in

Almost 60 years after British nuclear tests ended, radioactive particles containing plutonium and uranium still contaminate the landscape around Maralinga in outback South Australia. These “hot particles” are not as stable as we once assumed. Our research shows they are likely releasing tiny chunks of plutonium and uranium which can be easily transported in dust