Earth

  1. A photo of a diver swimming in a murky green body of water.
    Climate

    Nature’s changing colors makes climate change visible

    The world’s color palette is shifting in response to climate change. Seeing these changes in nature firsthand is a powerful communication tool.

    By Sujata Gupta
  2. A photo of green moss.
    Plants

    The fastest-evolving moss in the world may not adapt to climate change

    The genus Takakia has the largest number of fast-evolving genes of any moss, a study finds. But it’s losing ground in the warming Himalayas.

    By Bethany Brookshire
  3. A sea turtle swims past clumps of elkhorn coral that have been bleached to a bright white color by environmental stress.
    Climate

    Extreme ocean heat off Florida has ebbed. But for marine life, the danger remains

    After the recent heat wave, corals have received too much heat too early in the summer, and other sea life could see lingering effects too.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  4. A selection of tektites
    Earth

    50 years ago, mysterious glass hinted at Earth’s violent past

    Like Hansel and Gretel followed a trail of breadcrumbs, scientists have followed tektites to the sites of major meteorite impacts.

    By Demian Perry
  5. A man sitting in a dark gymnasium with a wet towel draped over his head and upper body.
    Climate

    Extreme heat taxes the body in many ways. Here’s how

    Climate change is bringing longer, humid heat waves and hotter nights. Here's how our bodies try to beat the heat and what happens when they can't.

    By Luis Melecio-Zambrano
  6. Two men, one holding a child, stand with a wildfire burning in the background
    Health & Medicine

    Climate change puts children’s health at risk now and in the future

    Heat waves, wildfires and other climate-related effects on the environment are particularly hard on children’s physical and mental health.

    By Aimee Cunningham
  7. A photo of a busy street with people walking around and cars on the road. Heat haze can be seen on the road.
    Climate

    July 2023 nailed an unfortunate world record: hottest month ever recorded

    Roughly 6.5 billion people, or 4 out of 5 humans, felt the touch of climate change via hotter temperatures during July.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  8. photo of bedrock in Canada
    Earth

    50 years ago, scientists thought they had found Earth’s oldest rocks

    Even older rocks and minerals continue fueling debates over Earth’s crust, plate tectonics and even when life arose.

    By Lillian Steenblik Hwang
  9. A photo of a brown and white cow standing in a grass field with other cows visible in the background.
    Climate

    Cow poop emits climate-warming methane. Adding red algae may help

    Adding a type of methane-inhibiting red algae directly to cow feces cut down methane emission from the poop by about 44 percent, researchers report.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  10. A photo of Lejía Lake with the volcanoes Aguas Calientes and Acamarachi in the background.
    Environment

    The most intense sunlight on Earth can be found in the Atacama Desert

    On the Chilean Altiplano plateau, every square meter of the ground receives, on average, more solar power than Mount Everest and occasionally almost as much as Venus.

    By Katherine Kornei
  11. A photo of a man facing away from the camera and pouring water out of a 2-liter jug onto his head.
    Climate

    Here’s how much climate change increases the odds of brutally hot summers

    Climate change made 2023’s record-breaking heat waves in the United States, Mexico, China and southern Europe much more likely, new simulations show.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  12. illustration of earth showing the Amasia supercontinent
    Earth

    ‘The Next Supercontinent’ predicts a future collision of North America and Asia

    In his new book, Ross Mitchell traces the dance of the continents through time to predict what Amasia, the next supercontinent, might look like.

    By Alka Tripathy-Lang