Climate
- Earth
The worst wildfires can send smoke high enough to affect the ozone layer
Pyrocumulonimbus clouds can send soot and other damaging particles 23 kilometers into the air
By Megan Sever - Climate
Mercury levels in fish are rising despite reduced emissions
Climate change and overfishing can increase how much mercury accumulates in fish, counteracting efforts to reduce human-caused emissions.
- Science & Society
With nowhere to hide from rising seas, Boston prepares for a wetter future
Boston has armed itself with a science-driven master plan to protect itself from increasingly inevitable storm surges and rising seas.
- Science & Society
How the 5 riskiest U.S. cities for coastal flooding are preparing for rising tides
The five U.S. cities most at risk of coastal flooding from rising sea levels are in various stages of preparedness.
- Earth
A new map is the best view yet of how fast Antarctica is shedding ice
Stitching together data from several satellite missions allowed scientists to create the most comprehensive map of Antarctic ice flow ever.
- Climate
The Arctic is burning and Greenland is melting, thanks to record heat
A heat wave is melting Greenland’s ice and fueling blazes across the Arctic that are pumping record amounts of carbon dioxide into the air.
- Climate
How today’s global warming is unlike the last 2,000 years of climate shifts
Temperatures at the end of the 20th century were hotter almost everywhere on the planet than in the previous two millennia.
- Ecosystems
Planting trees could buy more time to fight climate change than thought
Earth has nearly a billion hectares suitable for new forests to start trapping carbon, a study finds.
By Susan Milius - Earth
Night-shining ‘noctilucent’ clouds have crept south this summer
Clouds high in the atmosphere that catch the sun’s rays even after sundown may be seen farther from the poles due to an increase in moisture in the air.
- Climate
‘Sunny day’ high tide floods are on the rise along U.S. coasts
Sea level rise led to record-breaking tidal flooding in cities along the U.S. East Coast, a NOAA report found.
- Oceans
A mysterious coral disease is ravaging Caribbean reefs
Scientists are racing to learn what’s behind a disease that’s “annihilating” whole coral species in hopes of stopping it.
- Climate
Europe’s latest heat wave has been linked to climate change
Global warming made the June heat wave at least five times more likely to happen.