Climate

Climate change made record-setting Canada wildfires likelier, scientists say

More than twice as many acres have burned this year than in the previous highest year on record.

Hurricane Idalia could have caused even more damage to Florida. Here’s why it didn’t.

The wall around Hurricane Idalia’s eye began collapsing right before the storm hit Florida, sparing the state more intense impacts.

Some emperor penguin sites experienced ‘total breeding failure’ because of sea ice loss

Using satellite images, scientists at the British Antarctic Survey found that sea ice last year broke up long before penguin chicks would have developed their waterproof feathers, making it unlikely they could survive.

U.S. hurricane deaths concentrated in vulnerable counties, research finds

A study found that almost 94% of hurricane-related deaths were among people who lived in counties that ranked medium to high on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social vulnerability index.

Summer has been no sweat for California’s increasingly green energy grid, but the hottest days may still lie ahead

As the state braced for triple-digit temperatures, its energy grid has had a surplus of power with the help of renewable energy, battery storage capacity, and relatively lower demand.

Youth activists win ‘game-changer’ case for U.S. climate change protections

The young activists argued Montana was violating their constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment by permitting fossil fuels without considering the climate.

More than 100 record highs could fall over the next seven days as heat expands

There remains no end in sight to the suffocating summer heat across the South, and next week parts of the Pacific Northwest could see triple-digit temperatures.

Hawaii’s emergency warning sirens weren’t activated to alert residents, agency says

While neither Maui nor HI-EMA activated warning sirens on Maui during the wildfire incident, the agency said, three other alert systems were implemented.

Scientists look beyond climate change and El Niño for other factors that heat up Earth

The European climate agency Copernicus reported that July was one-third of a degree Celsius (six-tenths of a degree Fahrenheit) hotter than the old record.

Long-term drought and near-term heat wave take toll on Arizona’s desert ecology

Researchers are concerned the heat wave is pushing some of the plants best adapted to the region’s hot, dry summers past their limits.

Sweltering heat descends on Midwest, pushing temperatures to dangerous levels

Heat and humidity are combining in many states to create conditions that start to brush up against the limits of human survivability.

Hilary leaves Southern California farmworkers in dire straits without work

Farmworkers who rely on daily jobs to pay for food and rent have been without work three days because of Tropical Storm Hilary.

Ecuadorians reject oil drilling in the Amazon, ending operations in protected area

The outcome represents a significant blow to Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso, who advocated for oil drilling, asserting that its revenues are crucial to the country’s economy.

Earth just had its hottest July ‘by a long shot,’ NASA and NOAA say

The new milestone is just the latest in a series of worrying climate extremes in recent months, including record warmth across the world’s oceans.

After Hawaii fires scorch historic church and school, Lahaina mourns loss of culture

Lost to the flames in Lahaina were a 200-year-old church and a Hawaiian language school, both community mainstays for Native Hawaiians.

Amazon nations won’t be stopping deforestation by 2030

While the eight Amazon rainforest countries agreed to some unified environmental policies, Brazil’s president’s stance on ending deforestation wasn’t ratified, worrying scientists.

Eight Amazon rainforest countries begin first summit in 14 years

Brazil’s environment and climate change minister said they aim to address how countries will prevent the Amazon’s tipping point to start releasing carbon dioxide out of control.

Climate change made record-setting Canada wildfires likelier, scientists say

More than twice as many acres have burned this year than in the previous highest year on record.

Hurricane Idalia could have caused even more damage to Florida. Here’s why it didn’t.

The wall around Hurricane Idalia’s eye began collapsing right before the storm hit Florida, sparing the state more intense impacts.

Some emperor penguin sites experienced ‘total breeding failure’ because of sea ice loss

Using satellite images, scientists at the British Antarctic Survey found that sea ice last year broke up long before penguin chicks would have developed their waterproof feathers, making it unlikely they could survive.

U.S. hurricane deaths concentrated in vulnerable counties, research finds

A study found that almost 94% of hurricane-related deaths were among people who lived in counties that ranked medium to high on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social vulnerability index.

Summer has been no sweat for California’s increasingly green energy grid, but the hottest days may still lie ahead

As the state braced for triple-digit temperatures, its energy grid has had a surplus of power with the help of renewable energy, battery storage capacity, and relatively lower demand.

Youth activists win ‘game-changer’ case for U.S. climate change protections

The young activists argued Montana was violating their constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment by permitting fossil fuels without considering the climate.

More than 100 record highs could fall over the next seven days as heat expands

There remains no end in sight to the suffocating summer heat across the South, and next week parts of the Pacific Northwest could see triple-digit temperatures.

Hawaii’s emergency warning sirens weren’t activated to alert residents, agency says

While neither Maui nor HI-EMA activated warning sirens on Maui during the wildfire incident, the agency said, three other alert systems were implemented.

Scientists look beyond climate change and El Niño for other factors that heat up Earth

The European climate agency Copernicus reported that July was one-third of a degree Celsius (six-tenths of a degree Fahrenheit) hotter than the old record.

Long-term drought and near-term heat wave take toll on Arizona’s desert ecology

Researchers are concerned the heat wave is pushing some of the plants best adapted to the region’s hot, dry summers past their limits.

Sweltering heat descends on Midwest, pushing temperatures to dangerous levels

Heat and humidity are combining in many states to create conditions that start to brush up against the limits of human survivability.

Hilary leaves Southern California farmworkers in dire straits without work

Farmworkers who rely on daily jobs to pay for food and rent have been without work three days because of Tropical Storm Hilary.

Ecuadorians reject oil drilling in the Amazon, ending operations in protected area

The outcome represents a significant blow to Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso, who advocated for oil drilling, asserting that its revenues are crucial to the country’s economy.

Earth just had its hottest July ‘by a long shot,’ NASA and NOAA say

After Hawaii fires scorch historic church and school, Lahaina mourns loss of culture

Lost to the flames in Lahaina were a 200-year-old church and a Hawaiian language school, both community mainstays for Native Hawaiians.

Amazon nations won’t be stopping deforestation by 2030

While the eight Amazon rainforest countries agreed to some unified environmental policies, Brazil’s president’s stance on ending deforestation wasn’t ratified, worrying scientists.

Eight Amazon rainforest countries begin first summit in 14 years

Brazil’s environment and climate change minister said they aim to address how countries will prevent the Amazon’s tipping point to start releasing carbon dioxide out of control.

Western states won’t lose as much Colorado River water in 2024, but long-term challenges remain

Conservation measures and a wetter winter have improved the river’s health, leading to cuts’ being dialed back.