New York City is sinking under the weight of its massive buildings, leaving it more vulnerable to rising seas, a new study finds. Most coastal cities are slowly sinking as the earth beneath them settles and groundwater is drained away. In some metropolises, the weight of large, concrete-and-steel skyscrapers may be hastening this slump, but experts rarely, if ever, account […]

Floods devastate parts of Congo
Africa Flood damage in South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo credit: MONUSCO. By Anders Lorenzen After devastating floods hit the region earlier this month, the full extent of damages and casualties is still to be determined in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo; so far at least 400 people have been killed. This biodiversity-sensitive and […]

The Upper Atmosphere Is Cooling, Prompting New Climate Concerns
There is a paradox at the heart of our changing climate. While the blanket of air close to the Earth’s surface is warming, most of the atmosphere above is becoming dramatically colder. The same gases that are warming the bottom few miles of air are cooling the much greater expanses above that stretch to the edge of space. This paradox […]
April Heat Wave in South Asia Made 30 Times More Likely by Climate Change
Deadly heat and humidity across India, Bangladesh, Laos, and Thailand in late April was made significantly more likely by climate change, scientists say. In parts of Bangladesh, temperatures soared to 105 degrees F (40.6 degrees C), while several Indian cities saw highs of 111 degrees F (44 degrees C). Laos and Thailand recorded temperatures up to 109 degrees F (42.9 […]
Biggest Fossil Fuel Firms Responsible for a Third of Western Forests Burned, Study Finds
Emissions from the world’s 88 largest fossil fuel firms and cement makers are responsible for 37 percent of the forest burned in the western U.S. and Canada since 1986, according to a new study. “Over the last several decades, human-caused climate change has turned routine Western wildfires into exceptionally destructive events,” Kristina Dahl, a climate scientist at the Union of […]

As the Antarctic warms an invasive species is on the march
By Anders Lorenzen Research by the University of Birmingham in collaboration with the British Antarctic Survey has found that a tiny flightless midge, which has colonised Antarctica’s Signy Island, is driving fundamental changes to the island’s soil ecosystem. Graphic identifying the spread of Eretmoptera murphyi on Antarctica’s Signy Island. Graph credit: University of Birmingham. The study reveals that the non-native […]

Opinion: In the worst April heatwave in history, South Asia must demand these urgent climate actions
A woman pours water over her head to cool off during soaring temperatures in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 11 April 2023. Temperature records have been broken across Asia in recent weeks. Photo credit: Habibur Rahman /Alamy Live News. By Aditi Mukherji The heatwave sweeping across Asia has forced schools in India to shut down. With our children already paying a terrible […]
Amazon Deforestation Down 40 Percent So Far This Year
So far this year, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is down 40 percent from the same period in 2022, according to government data. The drop comes as a win for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has promised to curb forest less. In April alone, deforestation was down 68 percent from last year. The region saw 127 square miles […]

The UK and the Netherlands plan a giant interconnector project
Lion Link infographic. Photo credit: National Grid. By Anders Lorenzen As the world continues to install more renewables like solar and wind, investing in the infrastructure to better manage such resources is becoming more important. Because of the intermittent nature of solar and wind, energy storage, as well as grid interconnectors, are becoming a crucial element. But so far, while […]

As Ocean Oxygen Levels Dip, Fish Face an Uncertain Future
Off the coast of southeastern China, one particular fish species is booming: the oddly named Bombay duck, a long, slim fish with a distinctive, gaping jaw and a texture like jelly. When research ships trawl the seafloor off that coast, they now catch upwards of 440 pounds of the gelatinous fish per hour — a more than tenfold increase over […]