Climate

For the first time, atmospheric chemistry and 3D climate modeling have been combined in a way that could help identify planets beyond our solar system which could host life.

According to a new report by NOAA, September 2019 ties with September 2015 as the warmest September on the 140-year record, and shows that 2019 as a whole is heading for a spot in the top three hottest years ever.

A new climate report from the World Meteorological Organization highlights how far off track we are from meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

While lightning strikes are generally considered to be a summer phenomenon, the rare and powerful superbolt form doesn't follow suit.

Researchers from the US and South Korea have run climate simulations that include the “iceberg effect” and found that melting icebergs could play a significant role in slowing warming in the Southern Hemisphere.

July 2019 has been found to be the hottest month ever recorded, which won’t surprise anybody who sweated through the heat wave this summer. This continues a long-running upwards trend, with the first six months of the year tied for second hottest and sea ice at an all-time low at both poles.

How effective would planting new trees be to combat climate change? A new study from ETH Zurich has found that Earth has room to reforest an area the size of the US, and calculates what benefits that might bring. But of course, the story is more complicated than just planting a trillion new trees.

The hole in the ozone layer may be on the mend, but its environmental impacts are ongoing. A new review study has examined the effects that the extra UV radiation is having on the environment, such as shifting climate zones, changing ocean temperatures and making some species more vulnerable.

Declassified spy satellite photos have revealed that compared to the last quarter of the 20th century, Himalayan glaciers have been melting twice as fast this century. In a rare piece of good news, a separate study has shown that a Greenland glacier has gained ice for the third year in a row.

New research led by the University of Cambridge has found that forests may not be as useful a carbon sink as we thought. The team found that a warming climate makes trees grow faster and die younger, releasing their captured carbon back into the air sooner.

The summer of 2018 was marked by extreme weather events like droughts and floods. A new study has pinned the blame on stalled giant waves in the jet stream, and unfortunately they’re expected to only get worse with the changing climate.

A comprehensive study has combined field observations and satellite data to track glacial ice loss. The team found that between 1961 and 2016, glaciers globally lost a total of over 9 trillion tonnes of ice, contributing significantly to sea level rise.