Climate Change

It's real. It's happening. It's accelerating. And it's our fault. Human activity — particularly the production of greenhouse gasses from fossil fuel emissions — is reshaping our planet, effecting rapid environmental change at a rate never seen before. 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 more commonplace. Here's where you'll find the latest on the effects of climate change, and the measures that scientists, world leaders and innovators are taking to reduce our harmful impact on the planet and mitigate the damage already done.

Related Topics: Extinction, Global Warming, Deforestation, Heat Wave, Hurricanes

Latest Updates

The International Space Station flies over a city at night. Human activity may be pushing the climate beyond a 'tipping point,' a new report suggests.

Ignoring climate change will yield 'untold suffering,' panel of 14,000 scientists warns

By Brandon Specktor

A new report signed by 14,000 scientists assesses Earth's 'vital signs,' and finds 'untold suffering' awaits if climate change isn't dealt with soon.

Military personnel float on a boat on the Ahr River in Rech, Germany, on July 21, after devastating floods hit the region.

Climate report to be released next month. How bad will it be?

By Mindy Weisberger

A United Nations panel is preparing to present the first of three reports on climate change, defining the factors that shape it and recommending strategies for policymakers and global leaders.

Can we stop Earth from heating up?

By Andrew May, All About Space magazine

A high-altitude balloon mission would investigate a controversial way to reduce global temperatures.

Society is right on track for a global collapse, new study of infamous 1970s report finds

By Brandon Specktor

A 1972 report predicted the collapse of human society by the mid-2000s. New research suggests that, yeah, we're right on track.

Wildfires in the Amazon are polluting the air with greenhouse gases faster than the surviving trees can absorb it.

The Amazon rainforest is officially creating more greenhouse gases than it is absorbing

By Brandon Specktor

The Amazon rainforest is creating more CO2 emissions than it is absorbing, causing global climate change to accelerate, a new study finds.

The mollusks were fried alive by the scorching heat.

1 billion sea creatures cooked to death in Pacific Northwest

By Ben Turner

The mass death of animals such as mussels and clams will have a significant impact on coastal water quality, scientists say.

A map showing sea surface height anomalies in June 2021, with ares in red and orange representing sea levels 10 to 15 cm higher than normal.

A 'wobble' in the moon's orbit could result in record flooding in the 2030s, new study finds

By Brandon Specktor

Coastal flooding could quadruple in the US in the 2030s, a new study of the lunar cycle and sea level rise finds.

The floor is lava; June 2021 was the hottest June in North American history.

June 2021 smashed heat records in North America

By Brandon Specktor

Satellite data finds that June 2021 was the hottest June ever recorded in North America.

Ice fractures on the Wilson ice shelf off the coast of the western Antarctic Peninsula.

Earth's cryosphere loses enough ice to cover Lake Superior every year

By Stephanie Pappas

The planet has been losing 33,000 square miles (87,000 square kilometers) of ice coverage each year since 1979.

A polar bear perches on a thick chunk of sea ice north of Greenland in March 2016. These thicker, older pieces of sea ice don’t fully protect the larger region from losing its summer ice cover.

'Last Ice Area' in the Arctic may not survive climate change

By Mindy Weisberger

In the chilly Arctic, a long-frozen region is a critical refuge for wildlife that depends on ice. But the so-called Last Ice Area could melt away as Earth warms.

Two satellite images of the lake before (left) and after (right) its water vanished.

Enormous Antarctic lake vanishes in 3 days

By Ben Turner

Scientists are concerned that increasing amounts of meltwater could be finding its way into the ocean.

Scorching temperatures descended over the Pacific Northwest and Canada this week as a heat dome trapped a high-pressure block in place.

A dangerous 'Omega block' is trapping scorching hot air over the US and Canada

By Brandon Specktor

Undulations in the jet stream have caused a heat dome to descend on the Pacific Northwest, leading to record high temperatures in the US and Canada.

Land temperatures in Siberia exceeded 118 degrees Fahrenheit on the first day of summer.

Arctic Circle is already recording 118 F degree days (and summer is just heating up)

By Brandon Specktor

EU satellites recorded ground temperatures above 118 degrees Fahrenheit in Arctic Siberia on June 20 — the 2021 summer solstice.

Ice melt in Antarctica and Greenland drives changes to sea level and temperature, sparking off rapid changes to other climate systems..

Climate 'tipping points' could push us past the point-of-no-return after less than 2 degrees of warming

By Ben Turner

Nearly one-third of the 3 million simulations run by scientists showed disastrous effects within 2 degrees of warming, and scientists say their estimates are conservative.

Timelapse shows the Pine Island Glacier flowing towards the sea as chunks of its ice shelf break off into the water

Dramatic images capture rapid slide of Antarctic glacier

By Nicoletta Lanese

Scientists studied the acceleration using high-res radar images, captured by satellites.

A map of tropical water vapor from NASA. Research on water vapor and other climate features suggests that satellite measurements might have underestimated past warming.

Satellites may have been underestimating the planet's warming for decades

By Stephanie Pappas

Satellite observations of different climate variables don't quite add up, suggesting these measurements might be missing something about the atmosphere.