New Atlas

Environment Audio available

State of the Climate report paints 2018 as a devastating, record-breaking year

Michael Irving November 29, 2018

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released a Statement on the State of the Climate in 2018. Temperature records were shattered, sea ice shrank and extreme weather events devastated every continent in one of the hottest years on record.

According to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization, 2018 was one of the hottest ...

Environment

Extreme heat events on the rise in US and Canada, as cold incidents decline

Anthony Wood November 27, 2018

A new study has revealed that extreme heat events are happening more often across the US and Canada, while extreme cold events are on the decline. The research could one day be used to provide an early warning for such weather events.

Animals, humans and the environment are all damaged by extreme heat events

Environment Audio available

White House quietly releases a comprehensive climate assessment report – and it's not good news

Michael Irving November 25, 2018

The Fourth National Climate Assessment report has been published. Based on decades of environmental research by scientists from 13 federal agencies, the report outlines the findings of ongoing climate studies, their impact and what we should be doing about it.

The Fourth National Climate Assessment report has been published, and the results are worrying

Space Audio available

Climate simulations forecast the weather on all seven TRAPPIST exoplanets

Michael Irving November 22, 2018

Among the almost-4,000 exoplanets found so far, none really capture the imagination like TRAPPIST-1. Now a team of astronomers led by the University of Washington has simulated the climates that could be found on each TRAPPIST world.

An artistic render of a temperate TRAPPIST-1 f, which could also be frozen or stifling under ...

Environment

The seafloor is dissolving, thanks to human activity

Michael Irving November 6, 2018

As the seas get warmer and more acidic, all kinds of havoc is wrought, and now a new study has identified yet another symptom. Researchers at Princeton and McGill Universities have found that the seafloor is beginning to dissolve as a result of human activity.

A new study has found that human activity is dissolving the seafloor

Environment Audio available

New study finds oceans are warming up much faster than previously thought

Michael Irving November 5, 2018

The oceans are heating up at an alarming rate, and it turns out that the problem may be worse than we initially thought. A new study has used a more accurate technique to measure the rate of ocean warming, and found that it could be 60 percent higher than the current worst-case scenario suggests.

A new study has found that the rate of ocean warming as a result of climate ...

Environment Audio available

How a volcano short-circuited Earth's ionosphere to trigger "Year Without A Summer"

Michael Irving August 22, 2018

The unusually cold year of 1816 has been linked to one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in recorded history, and now we may know how. A new paper explains how electrified ash from the eruption could have “short-circuited” the Earth’s ionosphere and triggered the “Year Without A Summer.”

New research shows how ash from volcanic eruptions could trigger drastic climate shifts, as was the ...

Environment

Newly discovered subglacial Antarctic mountains and valleys could impact sea level rise

David Szondy May 27, 2018

The South Pole may seem like a flat desert of ice, but a recent international radar survey has discovered that there's a complex topography under the surface that could have a major effect on global sea level rise due to climate change.

Chart of the PolarGAP survey flights that found the subglacial mountains and valleys

Biology

How Australian trees beat extreme heat by sweating

Rich Haridy January 31, 2018

Researchers from Western Sydney University have uncovered the novel strategies Australian eucalypt trees use to survive extreme heatwaves. One remarkable process involves the tree evaporating large volumes of water through its leaves in a process is similar to sweating.

The Whole Tree Chambers at Western Sydney University

Environment

2017 ranked among warmest years on record by NASA and NOAA

Michael Irving January 18, 2018

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have both released reports stating that 2017 was one of the hottest years since records began in 1880. That continues a long-term trend of rapid warming that doesn’t bode well for the future.

The Earth's average global temperature from 2013-2017, compared to a baseline average from 1951-1980 (yellow, orange ...