How airplane contrails are helping make the planet warmer
New research shows that condensation trails from aircraft exhaust are playing a significant role in global warming. Experts are concerned that efforts to change aviation engine design to reduce CO2 emissions could actually create more contrails and raise daily temperatures even more.
Long-term measurements document sea level rise in the Arctic
Over the past 22 years, sea levels in the Arctic have risen an average of 2.2 millimeters per year. This is the conclusion of a research team after evaluating 1.5 billion radar measurements of various satellites using specially developed algorithms.
As Ocean Temperatures Rise, Corals Are Steadily Moving Poleward
Rising ocean temperatures are increasingly causing coral reefs to shift away from the equator into more temperate waters. Over the past 40 years, the number of young corals has declined by 85 percent on tropical reefs, while at the same time doubling in cooler regions, according to a recent study.
What happens when a country drowns? These 5 island nations will disappear first
Global climate change is endangering small island countries, many of them developing nations, potentially harming their ability to function as independent states.
Heatwave has broken temperature records in several parts of Europe
It’s early summer and Europe is already feeling the heat. Many parts of the continent saw the hottest temperatures so far for 2019, with some cities recording their hottest day on record.
Melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled in recent years
A newly comprehensive study shows that melting of Himalayan glaciers caused by rising temperatures has accelerated dramatically since the start of the 21st century.
These sled dogs aren’t walking on water, but something fishy is going on
Each year in June, just before all the sea ice has melted, climate scientists at the Danish Meteorological Institute head out by dog sled onto the Greenland sea ice to collect their instruments. Typically the dogs walk on ice for this task, but because of warming temperatures, this year the dogs were splashing in ankle-deep water.
Greenland lost 2 billion tons of ice this week, which is very unusual
Over 40% of Greenland experienced melting Thursday, with total ice loss estimated to be more than 2 gigatons (equal to 2 billion tons) on just that day alone.
Renewable Energy Capacity Now Exceeds Coal in U.S.
Renewable energy now generates more electricity in the United States than coal. Solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal totaled 21.56 percent of U.S. generating capacity, according to a report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).