Climate change is real and it's getting worse. Global temperature averages are creeping upward, seas are warming, rising and becoming more acidic, and extreme weather events such as droughts, wildfires, floods and powerful storms are becoming more common. The threat is so great that humanity must act now to defuse what United Nations scientists call a "climate time bomb" which, if ignored, will yield "untold suffering."
At Live Science, our expert writers and editors cover the impact of global warming, and the measures that scientists, world leaders and innovators are taking to reduce our harmful impact on the planet, with the latest climate change news, features and articles.
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Nor'easters have become 20% more destructive in the last 80 years, scientists warn
Nor'easters are becoming more destructive as the climate warms, a new study finds, with a 20% increase in storm intensity recorded from 1940 to now.
Humanity could be just 3 years away from crossing a dire climate threshold, report warns
Record carbon emissions mean that the planet's carbon budget could be exceeded in as little as three years, according to a new report.
Ancient groundwater records reveal worrying forecast for US Southwest
Groundwater records from the last ice age indicate that aquifers in the U.S. Southwest are more sensitive to global warming than aquifers in the Pacific Northwest.
Covering poop lagoons with a tarp could cut 80% of methane emissions from dairy farms
"Digesters" that convert methane from manure ponds into fuel can dramatically reduce emissions of this potent greenhouse gas on dairy farms, scientists have found.
Earth's energy imbalance is rising much faster than scientists expected — and now researchers worry they might lose the means to figure out why
For reasons still unknown, Earth's energy imbalance is rising much faster than models can account for. Now, scientists are calling for long-term investment in monitoring capability, so that they can make informed predictions about climate change.
Almost 2 billion people could see a change in rain patterns if the planet continues to warm
Higher global temperatures mean the intertropical convergence zone could shift south — throwing off precipitation trends for a major swath of humanity, according to new research.
The decline of key Atlantic currents is underway, and it's been flooding parts of the US for 20 years
New research has linked sea level rise and an increase in flooding in the U.S. Northeast over the past 20 years to the breakdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).
Climate change made April's catastrophic floods worse, report finds
A report into April's deadly flooding has found that climate change made the central Mississippi River valley's extreme weather event more likely and more intense.
