As it looks increasingly unlikely we’re going to meet our climate mitigation targets, scientists have been investigating more and more extreme solutions, such as geoengineering. Examples include spraying huge amounts of sunlight-reflecting particles into the atmosphere, or dumping trillions of tons of fake snow onto glaciers to stabilise them. These ideas are untested, incredibly risky,

Pacific islanders are running out of time. If global emissions are not drastically reduced, thousands of low-lying atolls may become uninhabitable within decades. And the biggest threat doesn’t actually come from losing land to rising seas. Small island states in the Pacific are responsible for only 0.03 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, and

The climate crisis is here, and the animals are suffering. Earth’s shifting climate reality is changing how animals around the globe breed and feed – and the effects are nothing short of devastating. Here are just a few of the animals whose existence on this planet has become even more precarious – or even been

I’m going to start with this: climate change is definitely real. We’re extremely sure it’s caused by humans and we are already seeing the effects all over the world. But despite sound scientific evidence and huge numbers of scientists in agreement, there are still a surprising amount of people who think we’re making it all

To predict the future, it can help to look at the past. That’s especially true when it comes to climate change: Studying what the planet looked like millions of years ago can give insight into what we can expect as warming continues. In a study published today in the journal Science Advances, scientists simulated the

Hopes of a breakthrough in international climate change ambitions are being downplayed for a landmark meeting in New York. The United Nations climate action summit looks set to disappoint the thousands of campaigners who will take to the city’s streets just days earlier. The summit is arguably the most important moment for climate change since

Last week, 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg and hundreds of other young activists protested in front of the White House, demanding action on climate change. This Friday, September 20, they’ll be joined by thousands of other young (and older) protestors across the world to take part in a global the Climate Strike. But what exactly is

Katharine Hayhoe often encounters people in the US and Canada who still regard climate change as an issue best left for the distant future. “That it affects future generations, not me, it affects others but not me, it affects people who live over there, but not me,” she said. “And why is that dangerous? Because

We humans have a natural tendency to focus on negative stories. We tend to assume things are worse than they really are, and going downhill fast. We forget how bad things were in the past and how far we’ve come. In reality, the world is often better — and getting better — than we think,

On its surface, the plan was simple: gene-hack mosquitoes so their offspring immediately die, mix them with disease-spreading bugs in the wild, and watch the population drop off. Unfortunately, that didn’t quite pan out. The genetically-altered mosquitoes did mix with the wild population, and for a brief period the number of mosquitoes in Jacobino, Brazil

The Northern Hemisphere just had its hottest summer on record since 1880, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data released Monday. NOAA found the average global surface temperature taken by thousands of thermometers, buoys and other sensors on land and sea tied with that of 2016 for the top spot, with a temperature anomaly

A small group of super-powerful corporations has become a dominant force that essentially controls human industry and shapes the modern world we live in, scientists say. In a new study, an international team of researchers suggests that this elite cadre of dominant transnational corporations (TNCs, sometimes also called multinationals) may wield an outsized influence over

Reader question: I heard that carbon dioxide makes up 0.04 percent of the world’s atmosphere. Not 0.4 percent or 4 percent, but 0.04 percent! How can it be so important in global warming if it’s such a small percentage? I am often asked how carbon dioxide can have an important effect on global climate when its

The science of climate change is more than 150 years old and it is probably the most tested area of modern science. However the energy industry, political lobbyists and others have spent the last 30 years sowing doubt about the science where none really exists. The latest estimate is that the world’s five largest publicly-owned

On March 11, 2011, Japan was struck by the most powerful earthquake in the nation’s history – a magnitude 9 temblor that triggered a tsunami with waves up to 133 feet (40 meters) high. The disaster set off three nuclear meltdowns and three hydrogen explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Eight years later,

It’s not as if the world needed another symbol for the climate crisis, but now Sweden has one all to itself. After years of rising temperatures and back-to-back summer heatwaves, the southern peak of Kebnekaise, Sweden’s former tallest mountain, has melted into subservience. For decades, the glacier atop this iconic summit has been in retreat, and

The number of fires this year in the Amazon is the highest since 2010, reaching more than 90,000 active fires. Farmers and ranchers routinely use fires to clear the forest. But this year’s number reflects a worrisome uptick in the rate of deforestation, which had started to drop around 2005 before rebounding earlier this decade.

A menacing heatwave is brewing in the Pacific Ocean, and it’s got scientists worrying about the return of ‘the Blob’. Roughly five years ago, a huge patch of unusually warm ocean water appeared off the coast of North America, stretching from Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula all the way up to Alaska. It was nicknamed the

The science connecting climate change to hurricanes like Dorian is strong. Warmer oceans fuel more extreme storms; rising sea levels bolster storm surges and lead to worse floods. Just this summer, after analyzing more than 70 years of Atlantic hurricane data, NASA scientist Tim Hall reported that storms have become much more likely to “stall”

Hidden along the north-east coast of the Spanish island of Mallorca, you’ll find the spectacular Coves d’Artà: a wondrous underground cave network filled with stalagmites and stalactites galore. These natural rock formations dominate stunning cavernous spaces given foreboding names like ‘Chamber of Purgatory’ and ‘Chamber of Hell’ – but the Artà Cave holds an ancient

New fires continue to crop up in the Amazon forest despite the Brazilian government’s most recent efforts to stop the deforestation of the region. The Brazilian National Space Research Institute (INPE) published satellite data showing that in the 48 hours after the Brazilian government’s ban on burning, issued Thursday, there have been 3,859 new fire

With peak winds of 185 mph (300 km/h), Hurricane Dorian is the strongest storm on record to strike the Bahamas, and it threatens to bring hurricane-force winds, coastal flooding and other impacts to the east coast of Florida and Southeastern US. Dorian ranks as tied for the second-strongest storm (as judged by its maximum sustained

Examples of how human societies are changing the planet abound – from building roads and houses, clearing forests for agriculture and digging train tunnels, to shrinking the ozone layer, driving species extinct, changing the climate and acidifying the oceans. Human impacts are everywhere. Our societies have changed Earth so much that it’s impossible to reverse

With the Cold War over and our future on fire, few of us devote much thought to nuclear winter in today’s world. Rutgers University climatologist Alan Robuck is an exception. He still thinks about it. Quite a lot, in fact. Robuck worked with a small team of fellow environmental and atmospheric scientists to double check

Fires in the Amazon rainforest have captured attention worldwide in recent days. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who took office in 2019, pledged in his campaign to reduce environmental protection and increase agricultural development in the Amazon, and he appears to have followed through on that promise. The resurgence of forest clearing in the Amazon, which

If all the hydro-power dams in the United States were removed and replaced with solar panels, it would take up a fraction of the land and produce substantially more electricity, according to a new analysis. The idea is ambitious, and for now, it’s really just a thought experiment. Today, hydropower is a significant source of

A gigantic floating raft of volcanic rock that emerged from an underwater volcano eruption in the Pacific Ocean is slowly drifting towards the Australian coast, heartening hopes it could benefit the imperilled Great Barrier Reef. The massive pumice raft – over 20,000 football fields in size and composed of volcanic rock that’s light enough to

A NASA satellite captured harrowing images of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere due to the wildfires that continue to rage in the Amazon rainforest. NASA collected new data from their Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument, measuring levels of carbon monoxide at an altitude of 18,000 feet (5,500 meters) from August 8 to 22, according to

Up to 800,000 hectares of the unique Chiquitano forest were burned to the ground in Bolivia between August 18 and August 23. That’s more forest than is usually destroyed across the country in two years. Experts say that it will take at least two centuries to repair the ecological damage done by the fires, while

In 2014, we travelled to the northern boreal forests of Canada to set experimental fires that would help us understand the effect of wildfires on the global carbon cycle. Sadly, we never got the chance to set those fires, because the firefighters enlisted to help us were busy dealing with an area the size of

The “lungs of the planet” are burning. As thousands of fiery infernos rage across the Amazon rainforest, tropical vegetation, trees, and the fauna they house are being razed. Since August 15, more than 9,500 new forest fires have started across Brazil, primarily in the Amazon basin. This year so far, scientists have recorded more than

A vibrant pinkish-coloured seaweed that grows in temperate tropical waters could end up being a huge aid in reducing greenhouse gases, if scientists in Australia have their way. Researchers are currently looking into ways to sustainably mass-produce the crimson-hued algae – called Asparagopsis taxiformis – after a study five years ago demonstrated it almost completely

America under President Trump might not own Greenland (yet), but decisions made by his administration will help determine the ice-covered island’s long-term fate and ours. US emissions of greenhouse gases, as well as emissions from other countries, have tipped the balance to make Greenland a major contributor to global sea-level rise. It’s no secret that

When it comes to harnessing renewable wind energy, the European Union is not even close to reaching its full potential, according to a new study. If a wind turbine was placed on every suitable spot of land, research shows it could provide more than 100 times the wind energy currently produced on shore. Calculated at

The simulations have been run, and it’s official: even today, a nuclear war between the US and Russia would plunge the planet into a nuclear winter, with clouds of soot and smoke covering the planet. Globally, temperatures would plunge by around 9 Kelvin (9 degrees Celsius or 16 degrees Fahrenheit) on average, due to the

A dramatically changing climate is going to have a lot of negative side effects we didn’t predict, and scientists have just found a new one: really cranky spiders. A heating climate may or may not increase the frequency of tropical storms, but it probably will make them more intense. Scientists are also predicting an increase

Scientists in the US have flown directly through an exceedingly rare atmospheric phenomenon known as a ‘fire cloud’ – and they captured the unique, “otherworldly” moment on camera. Researchers with NASA and the NOAA were investigating smoke produced by the Williams Flats wildfire in Washington when they seized the opportunity to fly inside the rare

Death came swiftly for Aldo Machado’s honey bees. Less than 48 hours after the first Apis mellifera showed signs of sickness, tens of thousands lay dead, their bodies piled in mounds. “As soon as the healthy bees began clearing the dying bees out of the hives, they became contaminated,” said Machado, vice president of Brazil’s Rio

In 1901, a geological map of Iceland’s Central Highlands depicted the Okjökull glacier as a large swathe of ice spanning 38 square kilometres. By 1945 it had shrunk to just 5 square kilometres. Not long after 2005, it was all but gone. In 2014, Okjökull lost its glacier status; now, it’s just a shield volcano

Plastic pollution has reached the Antarctic wilderness. It’s at Earth’s highest peak, and its deepest chasm. And yet, the extent of this insidious plague can still take us by surprise. According to new research, plastic has now turned up camouflaged as ordinary pebbles. These small chunks of plastic – called pyroplastics – are created when

In its new special report on climate change and land, the IPCC calls for more effective and sustainable land management, and more sustainable food consumption. But who is the onus on to go vegetarian, or look after land better? You, me, the “global elite”? The world’s poorest people, or perhaps the many millions of newly-wealthy

Data from thousands of surface monitoring stations worldwide, including ocean buoys in the Pacific and land-based thermometers dotting the continents, show that July 2019 was the warmest month on Earth since at least 1850. Berkeley Earth, an independent climate monitoring and research organization, released data Thursday showing last month beat August 2016 for the title

Greenland is known for its glaciers, but in the past month, the island has shed ice and taken on fire. Scientists didn’t expect to see Greenland melt at this rate for another 50 years: By the last week of July, the melting had reached levels that climate models projected for 2070 in the most pessimistic

While a team of researchers from the US Geological Survey (USGS) was analysing rainwater samples for nitrogen pollution, they found something they weren’t expecting – plastic. In a new report, aptly titled “It is raining plastic”, the team explain that plastics were identified in over 90 percent of the rainwater samples they took at eight different

You may have heard the tired argument that if carbon dioxide levels are going up, it’s going to be great for boosting the growth of trees. It’s true – to an extent. But there’s a really important detail we must not miss. Plants, including trees, are growing faster thanks to what is known as the

From a sizzling scorcher in the South to severe storms in the east and Mid-Atlantic, a ring of fire weather pattern will bring summer hazards to more than 40 million Americans for the first part of this week. Heat alerts stretch more than 1,000 miles from San Angelo, Texas, to Jacksonville, Florida, a region where

The world cannot avoid the worst impacts of climate change without making serious changes to the ways humans grow food, raise livestock and manage forests, according to a landmark study Thursday from an international group of scientists. The sprawling report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) examines how land use around the

Turkish Airlines Flight 1 had just 45 minutes left in its eight-hour-plus journey from Istanbul to New York on March 10, when the Boeing 777 suddenly shook violently and plunged, injuring passengers and members of the flight crew. The plane made an emergency landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport, where 28 passengers and two