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It’s Official: 2017 Was the Hottest Year Without an El Niño

It’s Official: 2017 Was the Hottest Year Without an El Niño

The United Nations announced Thursday that 2017 was the hottest year on record without an El Niño event kicking up global annual temperatures. Last year’s average surface temperatures—driven by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions—was 1.1 degree Celsius above pre-industrial times, putting the world on course to breach the internationally agreed “1.5°C” temperature barrier […]

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    This Year’s Ozone Hole Is the Smallest It’s Been Since 1988

    This Year’s Ozone Hole Is the Smallest It’s Been Since 1988

    The hole in Earth’s ozone layer is the smallest it’s been since 1988, NASA satellite estimates observed. While the ozone hole is still enormous—measuring about 19.6 million square kilometers (7.6 million square miles, or 2.5 times the size of the U.S.) at its annual peak extent this Sept. 11—that’s much smaller compared to the average […]

    Car Pollution Is Killing Coho Salmon

    Car Pollution Is Killing Coho Salmon

    The grisly video above shows a coho salmon struggling to survive in polluted stormwater runoff on the Duwamish River in Washington. This contaminated water—filled with oil from cars, pesticides, dirt and debris—can kill this particular species of Pacific salmon in hours, according to Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, which posted the clip on Oct. 21. Sadly, it […]

    Trump Taps AccuWeather CEO to Head NOAA

    Trump Taps AccuWeather CEO to Head NOAA

    President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Barry Myers, the CEO of private weather company AccuWeather, to lead the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the country’s foremost scientific agency for oceanic and climate research. The White House praised Myers and his company for its “highest grossing years, and its largest global web and […]

    July Ties for Hottest Month on Record

    July Ties for Hottest Month on Record

    Last month tied July 2016 as the hottest July in recorded history, according to a preliminary analysis by NASA. And as a result, it also statistically tied with August 2016 and July 2016 as the hottest months ever recorded. Mashable’s Andrew Freedman noted that this record is even more noteworthy because it occurred in the […]

    It’s Official: 2016 … Planet’s Hottest Year on Record

    It’s Official: 2016 … Planet’s Hottest Year on Record

    2016 broke several climatic records, a sweeping report issued Thursday from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration INOAA) confirms. More than 450 scientists from more than 60 countries contributed to NOAA’s State of the Climate report, which confirms that 2016 was the hottest year on record. The report also details several other record-breaking events in […]

    Gulf of Mexico’s Dead Zone Could be Largest Ever, Thanks to the Meat Industry

    Gulf of Mexico’s Dead Zone Could be Largest Ever, Thanks to the Meat Industry

    Scientists predict that so much pollution is pouring into the Gulf of Mexico this year that it is creating a larger-than-ever “dead zone” in which low to no oxygen can suffocate or kill fish and other marine life. The Guardian reported that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is expected to announce this week […]

    6 Ways NOAA Budget Cuts Will Impact Weather Reporting

    6 Ways NOAA Budget Cuts Will Impact Weather Reporting

    By Scott Weaver At a time when storms are getting more destructive, floods more devastating and people and property more vulnerable, accurate weather forecasting is more critical than ever. Which is why the Trump administration’s brazen proposal to slash funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) most important forecasting and storm prediction programs […]