General

A temperature of -40°C (-39.9°F) was recorded at the circle on February 19, 2025 14:00 UTC, as illustrated by the above image. What made this possible?  Temperature anomalies were very high in January 2025 in the Arctic, as illustrated by the image on the right. Arctic sea ice extent is currently at a record low … Read more

Since January 5, 2025, vehicles are being tolled to enter the Congestion Relief Zone in Manhattan South, New York, under the Congestion Pricing Program of the City of New York. On February 19, 2025, the federal government, through the Department of Transportation, stated its disapproval of the program. A WhiteHouse social media post shows a TIME magazine-style … Read more

Pollution from microplastics – small plastic particles less than 5 mm in size – poses an ongoing threat to human health. Independent studies have found microplastics in human tissues and within the bloodstream. And as blood circulates throughout the body and through vital organs, these microplastics reach can critical regions and lead to tissue dysfunction … Read more

A temperature of -40°C (-39.9°F) was recorded at the circle on February 19, 2025 14:00 UTC, as illustrated by the above image. What made this possible?  Temperature anomalies were very high in January 2025 in the Arctic, as illustrated by the image on the right. Arctic sea ice extent is currently at a record low … Read more

The image below, made with a screenshot from Berkeley Earth, shows an annual average temperature rise of 3°C or more in 2050 in China for each of the three scenarios looked at. China is important, it has a large well-educated population and a large part of global emissions is released in China. Some countries face … Read more

The daily average carbon dioxide (CO₂) at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, was 428.60 parts per million (ppm) on February 6, 2025, the highest daily average on record. The previous record high was 428.59 ppm on April 26, 2024. To find higher levels, one needs to go back millions of years (see inset). CO₂ typically reaches its … Read more

Global sea ice area was 13.00 million km² on February 9, 2025, a deviation (1981-2000 base) of -5.75 σ and the lowest area on record, as illustrated by the image below, adapted from seaice.visuals.earth. What is the difference between sea ice area and extent? Extent is the total region with at least 15% sea ice … Read more

Following the US exit from the Paris climate agreement in January, Argentina’s government, under President Javier Milei, is evaluating whether to follow suit – but analysts say leaving the global accord would be legally tricky and could damage relations with some of the country’s key trading partners and donors. Earlier this month, right-wing populist leader … Read more

In a late night session in Rome, the COP16 biodiversity talks – which resumed this week after failing to reach consensus last year – adopted a finance roadmap that will work towards a 2030 deadline, pushing back a final decision on how to channel scarce funding to help countries protect nature. Under the roadmap, countries … Read more

Zimbabwe is planning to ramp up its use of coal and gas to meet its energy needs after the worst drought in decades dried out the water supply to the hydropower plant, which powers the country. As a result, the Southern African nation is failing to meet its power demand, the government wrote in a … Read more