Would Standing On The First Butterfly Really Change The History Of Evolution?
Science fiction writers can’t seem to agree on the rules of time travel. Sometimes, as in Doctor Who, characters can travel in time and affect small events without appearing to alter the grand course of history.
On Dangerous Ground: Land Degradation Is Turning Soils Into Deserts
Land degradation can take many forms, but always entails a serious disruption of a healthy balance between five key ecosystem functions.
The Anthropocene Began In 1965, According To Signs Left In The World's Loneliest Tree
On Campbell Island in the Southern Ocean, some 400 miles south of New Zealand, is a single Sitka spruce. More than 170 miles from any other tree, it is often credited as the “world’s loneliest tree”.
Spring Is Now Arriving Earlier The Farther North You Go
For every 10 degrees north from the equator you move, spring arrives about four days earlier than it did a decade ago, a new study suggests.
How To Use Critical Thinking To Spot False Climate Claims
Much of the public discussion about climate science consists of a stream of assertions. The climate is changing or it isn’t; carbon dioxide causes global warming or it doesn’t; humans are partly responsible or they are not; scientists have a rigorous process of peer review or they don’t, and so on.
Why Are So Many People Still Living In Flood-prone Cities?
Over the last 30 years, floods have killed more than 500,000 people globally, and displaced about 650m more. In a paper published by the Centre for Economic Performance, we examined why so many people are hit by devastating floods.
Why Is Climate Change's 2 Degrees Celsius Of Warming Limit So Important?
If you read or listen to almost any article about climate change, it’s likely the story refers in some way to the “2 degrees Celsius limit.” The story often mentions greatly increased risks if the climate exceeds 2°C and even “catastrophic” impacts to our world if we warm more than the target.
Disasters Are Destroying Places We Hold Dear. What We Do Next Will Make All The Difference
When fires, floods and other major disruptions alter natural areas, our first instinct is to restore what’s lost. But moving forward may mean leaving some treasured things behind.
Extreme Weather Cost A Record Breaking $1.5 Trillion And Counting in 2017
The Trump administration, and its allies in Congress, are fighting a losing war. They continue to press forward for the development of oil, gas, and coal when the rest of the world understands the implication of that folly. Global warming is the most pressing issue for our time.
Is Warming In The Arctic Behind This Year's Crazy Winter Weather?
Damage from extreme weather events during 2017 racked up the biggest-ever bills for the U.S. Most of these events involved conditions that align intuitively with global warming: heat records, drought, wildfires, coastal flooding, hurricane damage and heavy rainfall.
Where Natural Climate Patterns Are Creating Hot Spots Of Rapid Sea Level Rise
Many scientists have found evidence that climate change is amplifying the impacts of hurricanes. For example, several studies just published in December 2017 conclude that human-induced climate change made rainfall during Hurricane Harvey more intense. But climate change is not the only factor making hurricanes more damaging.
Is China’s Growing Footprint Threatening To Trample The Natural World?
Many observers of China’s escalating global program of foreign investment and infrastructure development are crossing their fingers and hoping for the best.
Will Puerto Ricans Return Home After Hurricane María?
Even before this year’s devastating hurricane season, the team of demographers I work with at Penn State and the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics had predicted that the population of Puerto Rico would decline over the next few decades.
How Climate Change Affects The Building Blocks For Health
In August 2016, a third of the residents of the North Island township Havelock North fell acutely ill with gastroenteritis after their water was contaminated with campylobacter.
Ice Cores Indicate Even Higher Methane Emissions Than Previously Believed
Humans are probably contributing more methane to the atmosphere through fossil fuel use and extraction than scientists previously believed, report researchers.
The Burger Apocalypse: Low Carbon Eating And Avoiding Food Waste
More than 95% of people still eat meat and don’t like being told that it is wrong and bad for the planet to do so. But it is now well established that meat production is responsible for a substantial proportion of human greenhouse gas emissions, not to mention issues around animal welfare.
World Hunger Is Increasing Due To Wars And Climate Change
Around the globe, about 815 million people – 11 percent of the world’s population – went hungry in 2016, according to the latest data from the United Nations. This was the first increase in more than 15 years.
How Antarctic Ice Melt Can Be A Tipping Point For The Whole Planet's Climate
Melting of Antarctica’s ice can trigger rapid warming on the other side of the planet, according to our new research which details how just such an abrupt climate event happened 30,000 years ago, in which the North Atlantic region warmed dramatically.
Could Climate Change Benefit Some Northeastern Farms?
Some aspects of climate change could benefit certain forms of agriculture in the Northeastern United States, new research suggests—though the researchers caution that there are many variables in the future scenario they envision.
How Sunlight And Microbes In Permafrost Add Carbon To Atmosphere
Microbes in permafrost that eat sun-weakened carbon and convert it into carbon dioxide may be providing a major pathway for the greenhouse gas to enter the atmosphere, new research suggests.
What Climate Change Means For Northern, Colder Cities
A new study outlines some of the effects that climate change will have on northern cities with cold climates, including in Europe and the North America.
Irma And Harvey: Very Different Storms, But Both Affected By Climate Change
There has been no let up since Hurricane Harvey dumped record-breaking rains on the Houston area of Texas. Hurricane Irma lashed parts of the Caribbean and Cuba and devastated the Florida Keys and the state’s west coast.
How I Came To Know That I Am A Closet Climate Denier
What we believe and how we act don’t always stack up. Recently, in considering what it means to live in a post-truth world, I had cause to examine my understanding of how the world works and my actions on sustainability.
What Made The Rain In Hurricane Harvey So Extreme?
The rainfall from Harvey has now exceeded the amount from the previous record-bearer, Tropical Storm Amelia in 1978.
Why Is Climate Change's 2 Degrees Celsius Of Warming Limit So Important?
If you read or listen to almost any article about climate change, it’s likely the story refers in some way to the “2 degrees Celsius limit.”
Greenland: How Rapid Climate Change On World’s Largest Island Will Affect Us All
The largest wildfire ever recorded in Greenland was recently spotted close to the west coast town of Sisimiut, not far from Disko Island where I research retreating glaciers.
Why A Community’s Vulnerability To Drought Is More Important Than The Drought Itself.
Our worry is that putting too much emphasis on the climate overlooks the role of political and socio-economic factors in determining a community’s vulnerability to environmental stress.
How Wildfires Could Radically Change Our Forests And Your Life
Multiple lines of evidence are now telling us a convincing story that boreal fires are changing — they are getting bigger, larger. And if this continues, there is a good chance that...
I've Studied Larsen C And Its Giant Iceberg For Years and It's Not A Simple Story Of Climate Change
One of the largest icebergs ever recorded has just broken away from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
Why 1 In 5 People Could Be A Refugee By 2100
In the year 2100, 2 billion people—about one-fifth of the world’s population—could become refugees due to rising ocean levels.
How Climate Change Is Making Cities Sick
Urban Canadians are feeling the impact of climate change. Flooding in Quebec this spring damaged nearly 1,900 homes in 126 municipalities, causing widespread psychological distress.
Deadly Heat Stress Could Threaten Hundreds Of Millions Even If Climate Targets Reached
Deadly heat stress is projected to affect hundreds of millions more people each year under relatively little additional climate warming.
Do We Need To Think About Redefining Citizenship?
The hottest year on record was 2016. It was also the year scientists advised that Earth’s citizens were now living in the Anthropocene Epoch.
Just One Change Can Make The Entire Food Web Unstable
Seeing how a new crop or missing animal affects the food web of the Ancestral Puebloan southwestern United States could shed light on the future of our food.
What's Inside The Coal Industry's Rhetorical Playbook
If citizens have heard anything about the upheaval in the U.S. coal industry, it is probably the insistence that President Obama and the EPA have waged a “war on coal.”
How Rising Sea Levels Are Now Complicating Our Relationship With The Coast
When we think of coasts, we are likely to think about the great sandy beaches that have been the destination for many day trips and long weekends.
The Colorado River Flow Could Drop 50% By 2100
Warming in the 21st century has reduced Colorado River flows by at least 0.5 million acre-feet—about the amount of water used by 2 million people for one year, a new study warns.
As Global Food Demand Rises, Climate Change Is Hitting Our Staple Crops
While increases in population and wealth will lift global demand for food by up to 70% by 2050, agriculture is already feeling the effects of climate change.
How Much Was Climate Change's Influence On Australia's Crazy Summer Of 2017
Australia’s summer is officially over, and it’s certainly been a weird one. The centre and east of the continent have had severe heat with many temperature records falling, particularly in New South Wales and Queensland.
How Climate Change Doubled The Likelihood Of The New South Wales Heatwave
The heatwave that engulfed southeastern Australia at the end of last week has seen heat records continue to tumble like Jenga blocks.
Are Fossil Fuel Companies Telling Investors Enough About The Risks Of Climate Change?
Prior to President Donald Trump taking office, there was a push to require oil and gas companies to inform their investors about the risks of climate change.
How We Discovered The World's Largest Tropical Peatland
In the geographical heart of Africa lies a huge wetland. After years of exploring these remote swamps, our research shows that the region contains the most extensive tropical peatland on Earth.
It’s Not Yet Clear Why Extreme Tornado Outbreaks Are On The Rise
The increase in large-scale tornado outbreaks in the US doesn’t appear to be clearly linked to climate change, a new study suggests.
The Pros And Mostly Cons Of CO2 Emissions
What, quantitatively, is the social cost of carbon dioxide—the economic damage caused by a 1-ton increase in emissions or the benefits of a 1-ton decrease?
How Ancient Climate Change Drove The Rise Of Reptiles
After lying largely forgotten in a museum for decades, a set of fossilised footprints have revealed a new glimpse of the world when reptiles began taking over from amphibians as the dominant land animals.
Why Science Loses Out To Uninformed Climate Change Opinion
Ocean acidification is an inevitable consequence of increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. That’s a matter of fact. The journalist James Delingpole disagrees.
Technological Advances Wouldn’t Save US Crops From Another Dust Bowl
Technological advances wouldn’t protect US agriculture from a drought on the scale of the legendary Dust Bowl crisis of the 1930s, research shows.
Global Warming Is Already Changing Genes
Global climate change has already impacted every aspect of life on Earth, from genes to entire ecosystems, according to a new study in Science.
What 2016 Revealed About The Deadly Dangers Of Air Pollution
Beijing, London, Mexico City, New Delhi and Paris are among the cities that have drawn attention for their dangerously high air pollution levels in 2016 – but they’re not alone.
Global Warming Already Causing Local Extinctions
Almost half of plant and animal species have experienced local extinctions due to climate change, research reveals, with the tropics suffering the most pronounced loss.
Why Sea Ice Decline Is The Impending Climate Disaster At The Ends Of The Earth?
There is no doubt that 2016 has been a record-breaking year for Earth’s climate.
How The Arctic Tipping Points Are Putting The Planet At Risk
A warming climate is exposing the Arctic to the possibility of radical changes that could affect the rest of the planet, scientists say.
Global Warming Will Almost Certainly Reduce Wheat Yields
As demand for grain increases to feed a rising population, scientists warn that global warming could seriously reduce wheat productivity.
Trump's Climate Policy Has The Lives Of Billions In His Hands
President-elect Donald Trump has been unclear so far on how many of his campaign pledges he actually intends to see through. Hopeful Democrats and moderates have clung to this uncertainty as reason to hope that a Trump presidency wouldn’t be as bad as they feared.
What To Do About The Climate Change Hotspots
The consequences of climate change are already being felt all over the globe. But some regions are particularly affected. These so-called “hotspots” are areas where strong physical and ecological effects of climate change come together with large numbers of vulnerable and poor people and communities.
What Will The World Actually Look Like At 1.5°C Of Warming?
The high ambition of the Paris Agreement, to limit global warming to “well below 2°C”, was driven by concern over long-term sea level rise. A warmer climate inevitably means melting ice – you don’t need a computer model to predict this, it is simple common sense.
How Climate Change Is Affecting All Life On Earth
More than a dozen authors from different universities and nongovernmental organizations around the world have concluded, based on an analysis of hundreds of studies, that almost every aspect of life on Earth has been affected by climate change.
6 Ways To Pay For Climate Catastrophes
Climate-related catastrophes are expensive, whether they come on suddenly, like the thousand-year flood in Louisiana in August 2016, or move slowly and inexorably, like desertification in Turkey.
Plant Biodiversity Is At Risk As The Climate Changes
A report based on fossilised evidence reveals that plant biodiversity in Europe and North America is changing profoundly as the world heats up.
Managing Climate Risk In Trump's America
The new president will take office at a singular time in the history of our planet. The year 2016 is the first in well over a million in which the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere did not fall below 400 parts per million.
Do Hurricanes 3 Million Years Ago Hint At Storms To Come?
Hurricane and tropical storm development from three million years ago might give today’s forecasters a good blueprint for 21st-century storms.
2 Reasons The U.S. And U.K. Are Having Extremely Cold Winters
Scientists now agree: warmer weather in the Arctic and a wavy jet stream are influencing winter weather in the UK and US.
Bolivia's Fast-melting Glaciers Are Leaving Behind Lakes That Could Cause Catastrophic Floods
Bolivia’s glaciers have shrunk by more than 40% in the past few decades. This puts further pressure on an already stressed water supply, while the meltwater lakes left behind risk collapsing in sudden and catastrophic outburst floods.
How Resilient Communities Handle Natural Disasters
The destructive nature of Hurricane Matthew—which resulted in hundreds of deaths in Haiti, dozens more in the US, and extensive damage still being assessed—was a test of strength in communications systems, infrastructure, and ultimately the resilience of communities.
Why New York Can Expect More 9-Foot Floods
New York City can expect nine-foot floods, as intense as the one produced by 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, at least three times more frequently over the next century—and possibly as much as 17 times more frequently, say researchers.
How Climate Changes Are Doubling US Forest Fires
New study finds that man-made global warming is the root cause of a relentless increase in forest fires in the US.
The Military Says Climate Change Is Eroding Our National Security
In this presidential election year we have heard much about some issues, such as immigration and trade, and less about others.
West Coast Toxic Algal Bloom Is Tied To The Pacific’s Warm Blob
The unprecedented West Coast toxic algal bloom of 2015 appears to be linked to the unusually warm ocean conditions—nicknamed “the blob”—in the winter and spring of that year.
When Climate Catastrophes Strike, Who Foots The Bill?
Hurricane Matthew has slammed into the Florida coast after hammering Haiti. Close to 2 million people were asked to evacuate to escape its winds and rain.
Why The Pace Of Climate Change Is Too Hot For Crops
New study shows that the speed of climate change is now much too great for grassland species of vital food crops to adapt and survive.
How To Spot Climate Change Happening In Your Garden
Spring arrives and the warming weather encourages the plants in our gardens and parks to burst into life, commencing their annual reproductive cycle.
Earth Could Reach Critical Climate Threshold in Decade
The planet could pass the critical 1.5°C global temperature threshold in a decade—and is already two-thirds of the way to hit that warming limit, climate scientists warned on Thursday.
Are The Current Impacts Of Climate Going Unheeded?
New scientific studies address lack of awareness of the adverse economic, social and biodiversity effects that climate change is already having.
Food Supply Fears Spark China's Intercontinental Land Grab
With the impacts of climate change threatening food supply as population grows, China is buying land on other continents to grow more crops.
Will Market Forces Overcome Lower Crop Yields From Climate Change?
As global warming cuts crop yields, trade liberalisation in agricultural commodities will be needed to avoid food shortages and economic hardships.
Melting Glaciers, Shifting Biomes And Dying Trees In Our National Parks
Trees are dying across Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks. Glaciers are melting in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Corals are bleaching in Virgin Islands National Park.
History Warns Us Of Drought’s Destructive Forces
The role of drought in the fall of ancient Mayan civilisation highlights the vital need today for water management in fighting the impacts of climate change.
Anthrax Strikes Back In The Rapidly Thawing Arctic
Record high temperatures in Arctic Russia are believed to be one of the main factors behind the emergence of the deadly anthrax disease in northwestern Siberia.
What Is The Global Impact Of Air Conditioning?
With a heat wave pushing the heat index well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) through much of the U.S., most of us are happy to stay indoors and crank the air conditioning.
Will There Really Be 750 Million Refugees From Flooding?
Ethicist Peter Singer told Q&A that climate change-related sea level rises are “estimated to cause something like 750 million refugees just moving away from that flooding”.
How Birds Endemic To Southern Africa Are Likely To Cope With Climate Change
Southern Africa is noted for its wealth of biological diversity and for its high proportion of endemic species. These are species that are unique to a specific location and are found nowhere else in the world. Many of the region’s endemic species can be found in South Africa’s fynbos and succulent Karoo biomes.
Droughts Are Drying Up Amazon’s Green Lungs
Serious tree loss and stunted growth caused by repeated droughts in the Amazon Basin have damaged the rainforest’s vital ability to store atmospheric carbon.
Vast Wildfires Are Burning In Remote Siberia
Every so often, in regions too remote for the TV cameras, satellite images reveal vast fires covering thousands of square kilometres in smoke. This is what’s happening in Siberia, right now.
These Fires Are Huge, Hidden And Harmful. What Can We Do?
Smoldering peat gives off massive quantities of carbon dioxide and other pollutants, but the search for solutions is on.
Rapidly Warming Arctic Creates Green House Gas Danger Zone
Researchers warn that thawing soils in the Arctic tundra’s permafrost will release increasing quantities of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.
China's Desertification Is Causing Trouble Across Asia
Creeping desertification in China is swallowing thousands of square kilometres of productive soil every year. It’s a challenge of gigantic and unprecedented proportions.
What Is Going On With India's Weather?
On May 19, India’s all-time temperature record was smashed in the northern city of Phalodi in the state of Rajasthan. Temperatures soared to 51℃, beating the previous record set in 1956 by 0.4℃.
Why The Octopus And Squid Populations Are Booming
Squid, octopus and cuttlefish populations are booming across the world. These fast-growing, adaptable creatures are perfectly equipped to exploit the gaps left by extreme climate changes and overfishing, according to a study colleagues and I published in the journal Current Biology.
Wildfires In The Hotter West Are Bigger, More Frequent And Longer
Dramatic images of out-of-control wildfires in western North American forests have appeared on our television and computer screens with increasing regularity in recent decades, while costs of fire suppression have soared.
East Antarctic Glacier Once Thought Stable May Not Be
A huge glacier in the frozen wastes of East Antarctica, a region previously thought stable, could melt much faster than expected, scientists say.
Middle East Searing Heat May Spark Climate Refugees
Temperatures in the Middle East and North Africa could reach unbearably high levels that would make some regions uninhabitable and increase the pressures of climate refugees.
Sea-level Rise Has Claimed Five Whole Islands In The Pacific
Sea-level rise, erosion and coastal flooding are some of the greatest challenges facing humanity from climate change.
El Niño's Heat Has Made These Coral Reefs Into Ghost Towns
A team of marine scientists has returned from nearly a month of scuba diving on coral reefs in the middle of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. What they saw will haunt them for a long time.
Ocean Warming Creates Dead Zones That Devour The Oxygen
Marine life faces increased threats as researchers warn that warmer waters caused by climate change could seriously reduce the levels of oxygen in the world’s seas.
Global Warming Doubles The Danger For Antelopes
Researchers warn that many of Africa’s antelope species are at greater risk of extinction as climate change adds to the survival challenges they already face.
The Coming Summer Swelters Will Be No Joy For The US
Scientists warn that the current pleasures of warmer weather will pall for US citizens as climate change brings extreme temperature rises and unhealthy levels of atmospheric ozone.
Climate Change Brings Hard Times For Tea Producers
Research in China shows that the changing monsoon pattern in East Asia and heavier rainfall is having a detrimental effect on the yield and quality of tea.
Drought Hit California Is Starting To Feel The Pressure
Scientists say that storms carrying desperately-needed water to California are being diverted by a band of high pressure that coincides with rainfall and temperature extremes.
Burning Fossil Fuels Is Responsible For Most Sea-level Rise Since 1970
Global average sea level has risen by about 17 cm between 1900 and 2005. This is a much faster rate than in the previous 3,000 years. The sea level changes for several reasons, including rising temperatures as fossil fuel
The US Faces A Future Of Floods And Climate Refugees
New research warns that more than 13 million American citizens could be at risk of being forced to move away from vulnerable coastal zones because of sea level rise.