Climate

Environmental Groups, Oil Industry File Separate Legal Challenges to Biden’s Offshore Drilling Plan

Environmental Groups, Oil Industry File Separate Legal Challenges to Biden’s Offshore Drilling Plan

Legal petitions have been filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by environmental groups and oil and gas interests challenging the Biden administration’s plan to offer additional Gulf of Mexico drilling leases. The congressionally mandated five-year plan includes three sales — the least number being offered since 1980, reported […]

Join our newsletter

The best of EcoWatch, right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    World Breaches 1.5°C for an Entire Year for First Time on Record

    World Breaches 1.5°C for an Entire Year for First Time on Record

    For the first time on record, the average global temperature has exceeded 1.5 degree Celsius over a 12-month period, according to new data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). Last month was also the hottest January worldwide since C3S records began in 1950, with an average air surface temperature that was 0.70 degrees Celsius […]

    Controversial Study Says 1.5°C Warming Target Already Breached, ‘Underscores Urgent Need’ to Phase Out Fossil Fuels

    Controversial Study Says 1.5°C Warming Target Already Breached, ‘Underscores Urgent Need’ to Phase Out Fossil Fuels

    A new study using marine sponges collected off the coast of Puerto Rico has found that the planet has already warmed more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Researchers analyzed ocean temperature records from sea sponges going back 300 years, a press release from The University of Western Australia (UWA) said. They concluded that global heating had […]

    Second Atmospheric River Storm Brings Heavy Rain, Flooding and Mudslides to Southern California

    Second Atmospheric River Storm Brings Heavy Rain, Flooding and Mudslides to Southern California

    The powerful atmospheric river storm that arrived in California on Sunday continued to bring heavy rain, flooding and mudslides to the southern parts of the state Monday. Parts of California and Arizona were under high wind, flood and winter storm warnings yesterday, with residents encouraged to limit driving, authorities said, as Reuters reported. The storm […]

    Scientists Propose New Category 6 for Stronger Hurricanes Linked to Climate Change

    Scientists Propose New Category 6 for Stronger Hurricanes Linked to Climate Change

    In a new study, scientists proposed adding a Category 6 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to describe stronger hurricanes linked to global warming. The study titled “The growing inadequacy of an open-ended Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale in a warming world” and published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences noted that global warming […]

    Marine Heat Waves Can Impact Microorganisms Enough to Cause ‘Profound Changes’ to Ocean Food Chain

    Marine Heat Waves Can Impact Microorganisms Enough to Cause ‘Profound Changes’ to Ocean Food Chain

    Marine heat waves (MHWs) are prolonged periods of ocean warming that can significantly affect coral reefs, fish, kelp forests and other marine life. A new study led by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has found that MHWs are changing the communities of microorganisms that make up the foundation of the oceanic food […]

    Extreme Wildfires Kill at Least 122 in Chile, Hundreds Missing

    Extreme Wildfires Kill at Least 122 in Chile, Hundreds Missing

    Firefighters in Chile are battling intense forest fires while the country mourns the 122 people who have been killed in the blazes, reported The Associated Press. The wildfires have destroyed entire neighborhoods and hundreds of residents are still missing, authorities said, as Reuters reported. “The wind was terrible, the heat scorching. There was no respite,” […]

    Parisians Vote for Higher Parking Fees for SUVs

    Parisians Vote for Higher Parking Fees for SUVs

    Voters in Paris approved an increase in parking fees for SUVs In a referendum on February 4. Vehicles weighing over 1.6 metric tons will have hourly parking fees tripled as the city seeks to become a more bikeable and pedestrian-friendly. The passed proposal also comes ahead of the 2024 Olympics to be held in Paris. […]