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 […]
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 […]
The estimated number of monarch butterflies migrating to Mexico for winter has reached its second-lowest level ever for the 2023 to 2024 overwintering season. The estimate, based on the size of the butterflies’ hibernating forest area, has dropped by about 59% from the previous year, according to officials. Experts are pointing to extensive heat and […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 (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 […]
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,” […]
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. […]