Earther

Worst Monsoon Rains in 14 Years Swamp Mumbai, Killing at Least 35

Monsoon season has already overwhelmed parts of India, including Mumbai. As of Tuesday, heavy rains have left some 35 people dead in the state of Maharashtra where the city of 18 million is located, according to the Times of India. Though torrential rains are always expected during the monsoon season, which begins in June and…

Earth Science Yessenia Funes Jul 2

Defying International Community, Japan Resumes Commercial Whaling

Six months after announcing it would be breaking with the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Japan has officially resumed commercial whaling. Hundreds of whales will now be permitted to be hunted commercially each year in defiance of the IWC’s moratorium on the practice. It’s been more than three decades since Japan permitted commercial whaling, although it…

Conservation Catie Keck Jul 1

Alaska Is Hot and on Fire

Europe isn’t the only part of the world that’s been roasting and burning of late. So is Alaska. Record and near-record heat swept the Last Frontier over the weekend, with stations across the state’s interior recording daily highs of close to 90 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday. On Sunday, temperatures rose to 92 degrees in Northway…

Climate Change Maddie Stone Jul 1

A Freak Storm Buried Parts of Guadalajara in Nearly Five Feet of Hail This Weekend

Guadalajara’s streets became rivers briefly over the weekend. A powerful storm dumped rain and hail over the central Mexico city, and when the slurry finally settled, parts of it were buried up to five feet deep in hail. The scenes on Sunday and Monday as the city’s work crews dug out looked like ones that…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Jul 1

France Just Obliterated Its All-Time Heat Record

France has never been hotter. The intense dome of high pressure sitting over Europe has shattered heat records across the continent. At least five countries set June heat records on Thursday and on Friday, France smashed its all-time temperature record at at least a dozen weather stations. Heat has built across Western Europe all week…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Jun 28

Photo: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Maria-José Viñas

Scientists Find Dozens of Lakes Buried Far Below Greenland’s Ice

For decades, scientists working in Antarctica have been documenting subglacial lakes, bodies of water buried miles beneath the ice. They’ve spotted more than 400 of them, and even drilled into a few and found evidence for both living and long-dead lifeforms. But despite their ubiquity at the bottom of the world, no one had really…

Earther Maddie Stone Jun 28

Everyone Flopped on Climate Change During the First Democratic Debates

If there is one thing glaring clear from this week’s Democratic debates, it is this: We need a goddamn climate debate. Wednesday and Thursday were like an SOS flare fired into the night sky, showing that the political journalists asking the questions and the politicians answering are not prepared to discuss the most serious existential…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Jun 28

Wildfire Explodes in Spain as Europe Reels From Record Heat

Fanned by fierce winds and searing temperatures, a wildfire is exploding in size in the Catalonia region of northeastern Spain. According to the Catalan interior minister, it could be the worst blaze the region has seen in 20 years. The fire, which began on Wednesday, spread rapidly and has consumed at least 5,169 hectares (12,773…

Climate Change Maddie Stone Jun 27

Airplane Contrails Have Surprising Effect on the Atmosphere

The white trails that airplanes create influence the temperature of our atmosphere.

Climate Change Maddie Stone Jun 27

Huge New Review of Fracking’s Health Hazards Will Help Communities Fight It

A sweeping report that evolved from work that helped ban fracking in New York State has been released to help the public fight the practice as it pops up elsewhere across the country. Published last week by the Physicians for Social Responsibility (the group that won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 for its work…

Climate Change Erin Biba Jun 27

The Gateway Protecting the Arctic’s Oldest Sea Ice Has Collapsed Months Ahead of Schedule

Every summer as the Arctic warms up, seasonal highways open on the ocean, allowing sea ice to migrate southward and melt. Now, satellite data is revealing that the gateway to one critical highway—the Nares Strait dividing northwest Greenland and Canada’s Ellesmere Island—has broken up months ahead of schedule. And that could spell even more trouble…

Climate Change Maddie Stone Jun 26

Incredible Observation Links Two Different Radioactive Phenomena Inside a Thunderstorm

Scientists in Japan reported seeing two radioactive weather phenomena at the same time, for the first time, according to a new paper. The observation establishes a link between the two, adding to our knowledge of the wild physics that takes place inside thunderstorms. The researchers reported the “unequivocal simultaneous detection” of a minute-long “gamma-ray glow”…

Earth Science Ryan F. Mandelbaum Jun 26

Image: Courtesy of U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works

Another Top EPA Official Is Out Amid Ethics Scandal

The mastermind behind the Trump administration’s pro-coal alternative to Obama’s Clean Power Plan is out, reportedly another victim of an ethics scandal. The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that William Wehrum, the mercury-loving weirdo who ran the agency’s Office of Air and Radiation, is stepping down by the end of this month. Honestly, good riddance.…

Climate Change Yessenia Funes Jun 26

Big Little Lies Asks Whether Some Kids Are Too Young to Learn About Climate Change

Everyone learns about climate change eventually—even children. And especially children in Monterey, California, home to one of the nation’s most incredible conservation-focused aquariums. So it was fitting that the latest episode of Big Little Lies, HBO’s hit drama that takes place in Monterey, revolved around climate change. Though topics like sustainable seafood and emissions came…

Climate Change Yessenia Funes Jun 26

Photo: Integrated Remote and In-Situ Sensing (IRISS), University of Colorado Boulder

Scientists Are Probing Tornadoes With Drones to Save Lives

This spring saw one of the worst tornado outbreaks in recent years. More than 300 twisters touched down from Texas to North Dakota to Pennsylvania, scarring the landscape, causing widespread damage, and at least eight fatalities. The widespread danger also offered an opportunity for a group of scientists looking to help ensure people in tornadoes’…

Earther Brian Kahn Jun 26

Longest Oil Spill in U.S. History May Be 900 Times Larger Than Originally Estimated

While the BP oil disaster has received far more attention, elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, oil has been leaking into the water for far longer. The so-called Taylor oil spill began in 2004 but it went largely unnoticed until an investigation by the Associated Press in 2015. Now, federal agencies are finally learning just…

Earth Science Yessenia Funes Jun 25

Oregon Climate Bill Appears Dead After Some Ridiculous Bullshit You Can’t Make Up

A landmark climate change bill that appeared on the brink of passing the Oregon state legislature last week now seems to be dead. The state’s senate was set to take up a vote on a cap-and-trade bill that would have used a market mechanism (favored by conservatives) to reduce carbon pollution when Republicans deserted their…

Climate Change Brian Kahn Jun 25

The Everglades Are on Fire

The Democratic National Committee refuses to hold a climate change-focused debate despite calls for one from activists and candidates. And now, it would seem the Everglades are also helping to make their case. Ahead of the first presidential debate in Miami on Wednesday, part of the Everglades about 30 miles northwest of downtown caught fire. Lightning…

Earth Science Brian Kahn Jun 25

Photo: ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center

Incredible Photo from the Space Station Shows Raikoke Volcano Erupting

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station caught the spectacular eruption of the Raikoke volcano off of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula over the weekend. It’s a pretty amazing view. Here’s the entire image: The image shows the classic shape of a volcanic plume rising, and then ash spreading at the top. It’s surrounded by a ring of…

Earth Science Ryan F. Mandelbaum Jun 25

Deforestation and Climate Change Could Split the Amazon Rainforest in Two, Study Finds

When I worry about the Amazon Rainforest, I typically worry about deforestation. Maybe I should start worrying about climate change, too. A new study out Monday shows that climate change plus deforestation equals disaster for the Amazon: The average number of tree species present in a given patch of rainforest could decline by up to…

Climate Change Yessenia Funes Jun 25

Worst Monsoon Rains in 14 Years Swamp Mumbai, Killing at Least 35

Defying International Community, Japan Resumes Commercial Whaling

Alaska Is Hot and on Fire

A Freak Storm Buried Parts of Guadalajara in Nearly Five Feet of Hail This Weekend

France Just Obliterated Its All-Time Heat Record

Scientists Find Dozens of Lakes Buried Far Below Greenland’s Ice

Everyone Flopped on Climate Change During the First Democratic Debates

Wildfire Explodes in Spain as Europe Reels From Record Heat

Airplane Contrails Have Surprising Effect on the Atmosphere

Huge New Review of Fracking’s Health Hazards Will Help Communities Fight It

The Gateway Protecting the Arctic’s Oldest Sea Ice Has Collapsed Months Ahead of Schedule

Incredible Observation Links Two Different Radioactive Phenomena Inside a Thunderstorm

Another Top EPA Official Is Out Amid Ethics Scandal

Big Little Lies Asks Whether Some Kids Are Too Young to Learn About Climate Change

Scientists Are Probing Tornadoes With Drones to Save Lives

Longest Oil Spill in U.S. History May Be 900 Times Larger Than Originally Estimated

Oregon Climate Bill Appears Dead After Some Ridiculous Bullshit You Can’t Make Up

The Everglades Are on Fire

Incredible Photo from the Space Station Shows Raikoke Volcano Erupting

Deforestation and Climate Change Could Split the Amazon Rainforest in Two, Study Finds

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