A diver examines coral bleaching in the southern Great Barrier Reef in March 2024. (AIMS/Eoghan Aston – image credit) The world’s oceans are experiencing another global mass coral bleaching event due to unprecedented heat, scientists from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed. “This is the fourth time coral bleaching has occurred simultaneously in … Read more
The sun sets over Huntington Beach at the end of a warm December day in 2023. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) Deadly heat in the southwest. Hot tub temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean. Sweltering conditions in Europe, Asia and South America. That 2023 was Earth’s hottest year on record was in some ways no surprise. For … Read more
A winter storm hit Philadelphia on Tuesday.Matt Rourke/AP Photo Winter Storm Lorraine brought heavy snow, strong winds and cold temperatures to New York on Tuesday. The storm hit just a few days after a weekend of warm, spring-like temperatures. Experts say such “whiplash weather” events are becoming more common due to climate change. Millions prepared … Read more
If global temperatures continue to increase, causing storms more intenseSome researchers say the Saffir-Simpson scale, which measures a hurricane’s wind speeds, does not adequately address the dangers associated with extreme storms. In a new study, scientists examined a hypothetical expansion of the scale to include a category 6, and found that such a designation could … Read more
The enormous cargo ships that traverse the world’s oceans sometimes leave behind “trails”: long, wispy clouds that travel across the sky and last for at most a few days before disappearing. These ghost clouds look beautiful, but they are a visible sign of deadly air pollution. They are formed when tiny sulfur dioxide particles belched … Read more
The enormous cargo ships that traverse the world’s oceans sometimes leave behind “trails”: long, wispy clouds that travel across the sky and last for at most a few days before disappearing. These ghost clouds look beautiful, but they are a visible sign of deadly air pollution. They are formed when tiny sulfur dioxide particles belched … Read more
One of the most robust measures of Earth’s changing climate is that winter is warming faster than other seasons. The cascade of changes this brings, including ice storms and rain in areas that were once reliably below freezing, are symptoms of what I call “warming winter syndrome.” Winter warming represents the global accumulation of heat. … Read more
Nestled in the Pyrenees, La Molina is Spain’s oldest ski resort. It boasts the largest superpipe in the Pyrenees and its slopes have hosted high-profile events from the Alpine Skiing World Cup to the Snowboarding World Championships. But La Molina now faces an existential threat: a lack of snow. As global temperatures rise, the resort, … Read more
The latest calculations from several scientific agencies showing that Earth shattered global heat records last year may seem frightening. But scientists fear what’s behind these numbers could be even worse. The Associated Press news agency spoke to more than three dozen scientists about what the destroyed records mean. Most say they fear an acceleration of … Read more