Latest science news in Earth & Climate
How unusual is this UK heat and is climate change to blame?
Scientists are clear that global warming is making heatwaves like this hotter and more likely.
Recent droughts are 'slow-moving global catastrophe' - UN report
It says drought has compounded poverty, hunger, and energy insecurity worldwide.
$88m pollution-tracking satellite missing in space
MethaneSat was meant to keep track of potent greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas production.
UK's muddy saltmarshes vital to tackle climate change, report finds
The UK's saltmarshes lock away climate-warming greenhouse gases in layers of mud, a new report from WWF says.
William warns ocean life 'diminishing before our eyes'
The Prince of Wales gave a speech in Monaco hoping to drive investments to protect the world's oceans.
UK proposes wider ban on destructive ocean bottom trawling
The government wants to prohibit bottom trawling from more protected areas of UK waters.
Oceans cannot become 'wild west', warns UN chief
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres spoke at the start of the UN Oceans Conference in Nice, France.
Warning over 'dirty secret' of toxic chemicals on farmers' fields
Campaigners say that farmers' fields are being contaminated by chemicals and microplastics in sewage sludge.
England needs more hosepipe bans and smart water meters - watchdog
The Environment Agency warns England needs a 'continued and sustained effort' to cut water demand.
Three years left to limit warming to 1.5C, leading scientists warn
The Earth could be doomed to breach a key climate target in as little as three years, scientists warn.
Plastic bag bans and fees curb US shoreline litter, study suggests
Shoreline litter data research shows policies caused a relative decrease in the percentage of plastic bags.
Recent droughts are 'slow-moving global catastrophe' - UN report
It says drought has compounded poverty, hunger, and energy insecurity worldwide.
Indonesian volcano spews massive ash cloud as it erupts again
Following a series of eruptions three weeks ago, Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki has begun spewing hot ash and lava again.
Melting glaciers could trigger volcanic eruptions around the globe, study finds
Glacial melt could increase volcanic activity in North America, New Zealand and Russia, spewing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Perfect trio of prehistoric atolls shine like tropical gems off Australian coast — Earth from space
This 2011 astronaut photo shows the atolls of Rowley Shoals lined up in a near-perfect line off the coast of Australia. The island trio was once part of an ancient...
Why were the Texas flash floods so catastrophic?
More than 100 people have died in devastating flash floods in Kerr County, Texas. But what caused this extreme weather, and will events like this get more common?
Scientists discover that mysterious giant structures beneath the North Sea seemingly defy what we know about geology
Giant mounds of sand discovered beneath the North Sea off Norway may scramble what we know about a key geological process.
'Biochar' can naturally clean the pollution that rain washes off Georgia's roads
A charcoal-like material made from leaves and branches that collect on forest floors could be a cheap, sustainable way to keep pollution from washing off roadways and into Georgia's lakes...
The Bangladesh delta is under a dangerous level of strain, analysis reveals
Bangladesh is known as the land of rivers and flooding, despite almost all of its water originating outside the territory. The fact that 80% of rivers that flow through Bangladesh...
Vanishing shores: Coastal geologist issues urgent call to save the Gulf Coast
For John B. Anderson, the Gulf Coast is personal. The W. Maurice Ewing Professor Emeritus of Oceanography at Rice University spent his early years on Alabama's Fort Morgan Peninsula, where...
Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated, finds research
The environmental impact of nine pesticides, commonly used in grape cultivation, may have been significantly underestimated, suggesting current pesticide risk assessment criteria need updating.
Lithuania bids to save Baltic seals as ice sheets recede
The gray seals slide out of their cages into the Baltic Sea near the Lithuanian coast, swimming off to new lives imperiled by climate change, pollution and shrinking fish stocks.
Breaking down the force of water in the Texas floods
Over just two hours, the Guadalupe River at Comfort, Texas, rose from hip-height to three stories tall, sending water weighing as much as the Empire State building downstream roughly every...
Bull sharks linger in warming Sydney waters
Bull sharks are lingering off Sydney's beaches for longer periods each year as oceans warm, researchers said Friday, predicting they may one day stay all year.
Newly discovered ancient river landscapes may control ice flow in East Antarctica
The remains of landscapes thought to have formed when ancient rivers flowed across East Antarctica have been discovered—and could help predictions of future loss from the ice sheet.
Rivers choose their path based on erosion, a discovery that could transform flood planning and restoration
Rivers are Earth's arteries. Water, sediment and nutrients self-organize into diverse, dynamic channels as they journey from the mountains to the sea. Some rivers carve out a single pathway, while...
Mysterious reed-covered mounds reveal vast underground water network in Great Salt Lake
As Great Salt Lake's levels continue to sag, yet another strange phenomenon has surfaced, offering Utah scientists more opportunities to plumb the vast saline lake's secrets.
How flinging crickets in the air helped save purple martins in Western Pa.
One bird spectacle readily observable in Allegheny County right now comes in the form of 100 purple martins swirling above the fields and their condos at Harrison Hills Park.