Cold snaps are becoming less and less likely as the world warms. But that doesn’t mean they don’t happen. An expert helps you put the colder-than-normal start to winter in context.
A street fan provides relief on a hot summer day in New York City.
Stephen Chernin/Getty Images
Extreme heat waves are putting lives in danger, with some of the hottest urban neighborhoods 10 degrees hotter or more than their wealthier neighbors. Often, these are communities of color.
Exposure to hot and dry conditions can damage the DNA of nestling birds in their first few days of life – meaning they age earlier and produce less offspring.
Greenhouse gases emitted today linger in the atmosphere for years to centuries.
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Julien Emile-Geay, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Thanks to humans, the concentration of planet-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is now 50% higher than before the industrial era. These gases are raising Earth’s temperature.
The front of Thwaites Glacier is a jagged, towering cliff.
David Vaughan/British Antarctic Survey
Thwaites Glacier’s ice shelf appears to be splintering, and scientists fear it could give way in the next few years. A polar scientist takes us on a tour under the ice to explain the forces at work.
The collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation would profoundly alter the anatomy of the world’s oceans and climate. New research explores the consequences.
The concept of the carbon footprint can do more than just make us feel guilty about the climate cost of our everyday lives.
More countries are discouraging fossil fuel use, but the industry is still pumping.
Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images
A study found $1.4 trillion in oil and gas industry assets would be at risk if governments follow through on their pledges to deal with climate change.
Energy labels are useful, but they could be made more effective.
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The EU energy label, showing customers the energy consumption of what they’re buying, can be upgraded to help make more homes and buildings energy efficient.
The war in Ukraine threatens to turn back the clock on Russia’s climate progress, with some calling on the country to leave the Paris Agreement and roll back environmental regulations.
Destroyed buildings along an eroded coastline in Bargny, Senegal.
Photo by John Wessels / AFP via Getty Images
Australia’s policies prevent the necessary action to not only address cities’ contribution to climate change, but also to protect cities from its impacts.
Farmers in some regions are being encouraged to preserve and establish grasslands that can survive drought and protect the soil.
AP Photo/Mark Rogers
La Niña is only part of the problem. The long-term driver of increasing drought – even in areas getting more rainfall overall – is the rapidly warming climate.
We asked six experts to nominate books that might help us avert environmental catastrophe. Here’s what they said.
Lake Powell’s water level has been falling amid a two-decade drought. The white ‘bathtub ring’ on the canyon walls marks the decline.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Our research shows NZ’s potential to burn forestry waste and capture the emissions in geothermal wells. But we’ll need new partnerships between power generators, manufacturers and the forestry sector.
Chief Investigator for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes; Deputy Director for the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, Australian National University