‘The only uncertainty is how long we’ll last’: a worst case scenario for the climate in 2050
The Future We Choose, a new book by the architects of the Paris climate accords, offers two contrasting visions for how the world might look in thirty years
Coastal erosion: The homes lost to the sea; Video
As sea level rise, a senior figure in the Environment Agency says he wants the country to start “difficult conversations” about which areas should be protected and which should not.
Antarctic temperature rises above 20C for first time on record
Scientists describe 20.75C logged at Seymour Island as ‘incredible and abnormal’.
Twin bomb cyclones to merge into one of strongest-ever storms in North Atlantic
A potentially unprecedented scenario is unfolding in the North Atlantic on Friday, as a bomb cyclone batters Iceland with hurricane-force winds and blizzard conditions, just as another bomb cyclone, known as Storm Dennis, rapidly intensifies behind it.
Salvation or pipe dream? A movement grows to protect up to half the planet
Leading scientists and conservationists are proposing that up to 50 percent of the earth’s land and oceans be protected in the coming decades. While some view the goal as unrealistic, proponents say it is essential for preserving the natural systems on which life itself depends.
As climate risks worsen, U.S. flood buyouts fail to meet the need
The U.S. approach to buying out properties vulnerable to flooding is rife with uncertainty and delays. Now, as climate change drives more extreme coastal storms and precipitation events, the system must undergo a drastic overhaul or risk stranding millions in flood-prone homes.
Rising seas already overwhelm the Bay Area. Time is running out for California to act
In Foster City, where the ‘king tide’ over the weekend reached 9 feet, the answer is a taller levee, costing $90 million. The plan comes as legislators warn that California is running out of time to prepare for sea level rise.
A huge iceberg just broke off West Antarctica’s most endangered glacier
On the ice-covered edge of a remote West Antarctic bay, the continent’s most imperiled glaciers threaten to redraw Earth’s coastlines. Pine Island Glacier and its neighbor Thwaites Glacier are the gateway to a massive cache of frozen water, one that would raise global sea levels by four feet if it were all to spill into the sea. And that gateway is shattering before our eyes.
Climate Change is Decimating the Chinstrap Penguins of Antarctica
Scientists conducting a chinstrap census along the Antarctic Peninsula have discovered drastic declines in many colonies, with some seeing population reductions of up to 77% since they were last surveyed, about 50 years ago