Environment

Microplastics are turning up everywhere. We’ve found them in rivers, lakes, and oceans; in soil, snow and ice; in fish, whales, and us. In recent years, we’ve even started to measure these tiny particles in the very air we breathe. We still don’t know what, if anything, that’s doing to human health, but researchers in

The Arctic may no longer be the refuge it once was for migrating animals. Scientists now fear that climate change and environmental degradation have turned the yearly journey of numerous species, including birds, butterflies and ungulates, into an ecological trap. Upon reaching their destination, many animals are likely starving, being hunted or dying of disease

If Earth’s temperature rises by a significant enough margin, we could see a major restructuring of the plankton species living in our oceans. Not only would the diversity of species radically change, but warming oceans could see plankton migrating from the tropics towards the poles, away from waters growing too warm for habitability. In fact,

The aviation industry is necessary for the world we live in today, but it places a strain on the environment, thanks to emissions from petroleum-based fossil fuel. According to a new study, we could reduce these emissions by up to 68 percent – by switching to a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) derived from plants. Specifically,

A single bad El Niño can drive almost 6 million children into severe hunger, a new study has found. This is up to three times as many children that have gone hungry due to the global pandemic, and a clear demonstration of how El Niños can directly impact human wellbeing on a massive scale.  “It’s

Even if humanity beats the odds and caps global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, seas will rise for centuries to come and swamp cities currently home to half-a-billion people, researchers warned Tuesday. In a world that heats up another half-degree above that benchmark, an additional 200 million of today’s urban dwellers would

Some problems are so big, you can’t really see them. Climate change is the perfect example. The basics are simple: the climate is heating up due to fossil fuel use. But the nitty gritty is so vast and complicated that our understanding of it is always evolving. Evolving so rapidly, in fact, that it’s basically

For now, life is flourishing on our oxygen-rich planet, but Earth wasn’t always that way – and scientists have predicted that, in the future, the atmosphere will revert back to one that’s rich in methane and low in oxygen. This probably won’t happen for another billion years or so. But when the change comes, it’s

Communities that rely on the Colorado River are facing a water crisis. Lake Mead, the river’s largest reservoir, has fallen to levels not seen since it was created by the construction of the Hoover Dam roughly a century ago. Arizona and Nevada are facing their first-ever mandated water cuts, while water is being released from

Our planet’s air during the preindustrial period was not quite as pristine as you might think, according to new research out of Antarctica. An analysis of six ice core drillings taken from the southernmost continent has revealed a substantial increase in black carbon starting in the 14th century. That’s long before humans in the southern

More than five billion people could have difficulty accessing water in 2050, the United Nations warned Tuesday, urging leaders to seize the initiative at the COP26 summit. Already in 2018, 3.6 billion people had inadequate access to water for at least one month per year, said a new report from the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.

Extreme urban heat exposure has dramatically increased since the early 1980s, with the total exposure tripling over the past 35 years. Today, about 1.7 billion people, nearly one-quarter of the global population, live in urban areas where extreme heat exposure has risen, as we show in a new study released Oct. 4, 2021. Most reports

A huge oil spill is killing wildlife and threatening California’s beaches on Monday, in what officials said amounted to an “environmental catastrophe”. Birds and fish had begun washing up on the shore as a 126,000-gallon slick of crude oil choked waters south of Los Angeles, after spewing from a pipeline connected to an offshore rig.

The polar jet stream circles the northern hemisphere, swirling up to nine miles above our heads like a curvy, ethereal crown on the planet. This band of strong wind separates cold air from the Arctic from warmer air to the south, and it’s responsible for transporting weather from west to east across the US, over

Earth is getting dimmer, researchers have found, and climate change is likely to blame. As the oceans get hotter, they appear to be generating fewer bright clouds, which means less sunlight is reflected back into space – and that warms up the planet even more. Researchers measured the reflectance or albedo of Earth by observing

Younger generations are going to grow up in a very different world to that of their parents – and through no fault of their own. Compared to babies born in 1960, a series of new models suggests children born after 2010 will experience four times as many extreme climate events in their lifetimes on average,

There are many reports based on scientific research that talk about the long-term impacts of climate change – such as rising levels of greenhouse gases, temperatures and sea levels – by the year 2100. The Paris Agreement, for example, requires us to limit warming to under 2.0 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end

As the polar ice sheets melt, the process is not just raising sea levels – it’s also warping the underlying surface of Earth, a new study reveals, and some of the effects can be seen across thousands of miles. What’s happening is that Earth’s crust is rising and spreading as the weight of the ice

The unusually large hole that opened up in the ozone layer over the Arctic last year seems to have been triggered by record-breaking winter temperatures in the North Pacific ocean, according to new analysis. The huge hole, which encompassed nearly the entire ozone layer overhead, closed in early spring, but there’s a chance it could

Over 35 countries, including the world’s largest carbon emitters, are falling short of their commitments to curb climate change, according to a bleak new analysis – with the exception of one lone African nation. The report found few countries are on track to cut carbon emissions and limit runaway climate change to 1.5 °C Celsius

As well as the local and immediate threat to life and property they present, bushfires can also have far-reaching, long-lasting consequences for the rest of the planet, as was the case with the huge Australian bushfires of the summer of 2019/2020. A new study combining satellite data with measurements in the field reveals one of

Can we toilet train cattle? Would we want to? The answer to both of these questions is yes - and doing so could help us address issues of water contamination and climate change. Cattle urine is high in nitrogen, and this contributes to a range of environmental problems. When cows are kept mainly outdoors, as they

Animal farming accounts for twice as many greenhouse gas emissions as plants grown for consumption, according to a study published Monday that mapped agricultural activities worldwide. What humans eat accounts for a major chunk of the emissions behind climate-change – transportation, deforestation, cold-storage. and the digestive systems of cattle all send polluting gases into the

Levels of molecular hydrogen (H2) in the atmosphere have surged in modern times due to human activity, according to new research. When scientists analyzed air samples trapped in drilled cores of Antarctica’s ice, they found atmospheric hydrogen had increased 70 percent over the course of the 20th century. Even as recent air pollution laws have

Leave a cheap plastic bag in the sun long enough and it’ll eventually crumble into a powdery mess, its petrochemical fragments destined to be blown far and wide by the elements. Microplastic fragments – considered a major ecological hazard all on their own – might not even be the worst thing to come out of

The world’s largest plant designed to suck carbon dioxide out of the air and turn it into rock started running on Wednesday, the companies behind the plant said. The plant, named Orca, after the Icelandic word “orka” meaning “energy”, consists of four units, each made up of two metal boxes, similar in appearance to the

The vast majority of the world’s fossil fuels are effectively “unextractable” and must remain in the ground if we want even half a chance at meeting our climate goals, according to a new study. For nations like Indonesia and Australia, the world’s leading exporters in coal, that will require abandoning 95 percent of their natural

Global warming is a big challenge for warm-blooded animals, which must maintain a constant internal body temperature. As anyone who’s experienced heatstroke can tell you, our bodies become severely stressed when we overheat. Animals are dealing with global warming in various ways. Some move to cooler areas, such as closer to the poles or to

This week, hundreds of scientists from around the world are finalizing a report that assesses the state of the global climate. It’s a big deal. The report is used by governments and industries everywhere to understand the threats ahead. So who are these scientists, and what goes into this important assessment? Get ready for some

If Earth had a pulse, it might be The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) – a swirl of ocean currents that carries tropical heat north towards polar waters. Over the past century this global heartbeat has eased, slowing to a speed not seen in more than a millennium. New research based on a range of

Exposure to a cocktail of agrochemicals significantly increases bee mortality, according to research Wednesday that said regulators may be underestimating the dangers of pesticides in combination. Bees and other pollinators are crucial for crops and wild habitats and evidence of steep drops in insect populations worldwide has prompted fears of dire consequences for food security

The Permian-Triassic extinction event that happened some 252 million years ago is the worst extinction event our planet has ever seen. It wiped out around 90 percent of marine species and some 70 percent of vertebrate species on land, and was so severe that it’s often called the Great Dying. There are still lots of

After so many smoke-filled summers and record-setting burns, residents of Western North America are no strangers to wildfires. Still, many questions are circulating about why forest fires are becoming larger and more severe – and what can be done about it. Is climate change fueling these fires? Does the long history of fighting every fire

It sounds a bit like the start of a joke – what brings together 14,000 scientists and 1,990 jurisdictions in 34 countries? Unfortunately, the punchline – the climate crisis – is anything but funny. In a new report, experts have issued yet another warning about the state of our planet, and this latest update is truly

Greenland’s ice sheet has experienced a “massive melting event” during a heatwave that has seen temperatures more than 10 degrees Celsius above seasonal norms, according to Danish researchers. Since Wednesday the ice sheet covering the vast Arctic territory, has melted by around 8 billion metric tons a day, twice its normal average rate during summer,

It’s no secret that bottled water has more of an impact on the environment than filling up a bottle from the tap, but now researchers have crunched the numbers on just how much difference there is – and it’s a lot. Using Barcelona in Spain as a test case – home to some 1.35 million

Abrupt disruptions to Earth’s climate thousands of years ago that caused extreme sea-level rise and mass ice cap melting can serve as an early warning system for today’s planetary tipping points, according to new research.  Climate tipping points – which are irrevocable over centuries or longer – are thresholds past which large and rapid changes

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