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The astonishing recent rise in temperatures makes one wonder whether a Regime Change did take place in 2023. The February 2024 temperature was 1.76°C above 1885-1915, potentially 2.75°C above pre-industrial (bright yellow inset right). The image was created by Sam Carana for Arctic-news.blogspot.com with an April 2024 data.giss.nasa.gov screenshot. The red line (6 months Lowess smoothing) highlights the Regime Change that may have occurred in 2023.Meanwhile, NASA…

Cal Fire says Robert Hernandez ignited blazes while off duty in forest land in north of stateA California department of forestry and fire protection employee was arrested on Friday on suspicion of starting five brush fires in northern California in recent weeks, officials said.Robert Hernandez, 38, was arrested at the Howard forest fire station in Healdsburg, California, on suspicion of arson to forest land, the state…

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 Milei told French news magazine Le Point he was considering quitting…

The above image, created with monthly mean global temperature anomalies by LOTI Land+Ocean NASA/GISS/GISTEMP v4 data while using a 1903-1924 base, has a trend added based on Jan 2016-Aug 2024 data. The image also shows that anomalies could be 0.99°C higher when using a more genuine pre-industrial base. The image below featured in an earlier post and was created with an image from the NASA website…

Update: This Landsat 8 image shows ship wakes and wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean near Block Island, which flanks southern New England. Congratulations to Rafael and Jim Steinert for being the first to identify these features and the image’s location. Read more about the area in “A Piece of Rhode Island in the Atlantic.” Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The July…

The temperature in the Tropics (23.5°S-23.5°N, 0-360°E) reached a new record high on April 20, 2024 of 26.913°C (or 80.44°F). The image below shows the monthly temperature anomaly over the past few years through March 2024, when the anomaly reached a record high of 1.448°C (or 2.606°F).  Note that anomalies in the above image are calculated from 1951-1980 as a base. When calculated from a pre-industrial base, anomalies will…

Around the world, sustainability has made its way to the forefront of everyone’s mind, including businesses. As governments and consumers push companies to improve their sustainability efforts, it can be challenging to keep up with the demand of the oftentimes expensive changes that sustainability requires. Luckily, advances in artificial intelligence, or AI, are helping businesses monitor and improve their facilities to not only improve environmental consciousness,…

Requiring key sectors to switch to clean energy by specific times could trigger benevolent cascades, report claimsIn the terminology of the climate and ecological crises the phrase “tipping point” is loaded with dreadful implications.It evokes a climate breakdown supercharged by the mass escape of methane locked in Siberian permafrost, or the great currents of the oceans smothered by freshwater melting from the Greenland ice sheet, or…

Magnetic resonance methods, including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), are non-invasive, atom-specific, quantitative, and capable of probing liquid and solid-state samples. These features make magnetic resonance ideal tools for operando measurement of an electrochemical device, and for establishing structure-function relationships under realistic condition. The first part of the talk presents how coupled inline NMR and EPR methods were developed and applied to…

On May 11, 2024, the day-night band of VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the Suomi NPP satellite spotted the aurora borealis over the United States during the strongest geomagnetic storm in over two decades. That same night, observers on the ground captured spectacular photographs of the dazzling light. The following photos represent just a handful of those shot by citizen scientists as part of NASA’s Aurorasaurus…

Sustainability Victoria is serving up reusable cups at Australian Open 2025 to reduce single-use plastic waste and encourage people to reuse. Tennis fans will be able to sip sustainably during AO 2025 with 38,000 reusable cups from Sustainability Victoria replacing single-use cups in selected bars around the precinct. It’s projected 50,000 single-use cups will be avoided at the tournament, equivalent to 400 kg of plastic. Future reuse…

Firefighters have been rescuing people stranded on their balconies and rooftops after Storm Boris triggered flooding and landslides in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Two people were reported missing in Traversara, a hamlet in Ravenna province, and about 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. Storm Boris has battered parts of Italy after causing havoc in eastern and central EuropeTwo missing and 1,000 evacuated…

The temperature in the Tropics (23.5°S-23.5°N, 0-360°E) reached a new record high on March 13, 2024. The image below shows the situation over the years through March 13, 2024, when the average daily surface air temperature was 26.9°C and 1.4°C above 1979-2000 (black line is 2024).The previous record high temperature was reached on April 24, 2016, when it was 26.8°C, and 1°C above 1979-2000 (grey line…

What growth opportunities do you predict for your industry in 2025? As industries evolve, there will be a growing demand for effective and highly customisable automation solutions. Manufacturers will seek solutions tailored to their unique operational needs, allowing them to quickly adapt to changing consumer demands. This trend will drive modular automation solutions, where systems can easily be reconfigured or expanded. We are also seeing the…

Sydney’s newest ferry has been named in honour of UNSW Sydney Scientia Professor Martin Green, a solar pioneer dubbed ‘the father of modern photovoltaics’. Green is renowned for leading the development of the passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC), which has become the world’s most commercially viable and efficient silicon solar cell technology. Today, PERC technology is used in the production of more than 90% of…

 by Andrew GliksonWhere “Two plus two equals five if the party says so” (George Orwell)and when drilling methane wells reduces global warming Having turned a blind eye to climate science, ignoring the evidence that extreme atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) rise and ocean acidification have led to mass extinctions of species through time, humanity allows an exponential growth of carbon emissions to track toward a global…

Steve Edwards is head of biodiversity at South Pole.  The 16th United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP16) in Colombia late last year underscored an urgent truth: global efforts to halt biodiversity loss remain inadequate.   While many hoped the event would catalyse clear and enforceable pathways for nature protection, the outcomes fell short, marked by vague targets and limited accountability.  This presents a critical challenge…

  Update on December 17, 2024: This Landsat image shows the Messak Settafet plateau in southwestern Libya. Congratulations to Jim Wright for being the first reader to identify the location, and to Nerissa-Cesarina Urbani for naming the plateau. Read more about the area in “Human Fingerprints on an Ancient Landscape.” Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The November 2024 puzzler is shown…

The MADNESS of NUCLEAR and CLIMATE HORRORby Andrew GliksonThe 24-hour media news cycle clouds the minds of people, perpetrators and hapless victims alike, to the future dimension, whether that of future generations or of the natural world itself.During the 20-21ˢᵗ centuries, as mean global temperature keeps rising toward 4°C, a failed brain neuron or a damaged computer chip can trigger a nuclear catastrophe, while the 24-hour media…

New research out of the University of California, Davis and Stanford University has found that storing carbon dioxide in building materials could hugely reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The study, conducted by civil engineers and earth systems scientists, has been published in the journal Science. “The potential is pretty large,” said Elisabeth Van Roijen, who led the study as a graduate student at UC Davis. Van…

Solid-state batteries are considered next-generation energy storage technology as they promise higher energy density and safety than lithium-ion batteries with a liquid electrolyte. However, major obstacles for commercialization are the requirement of high stack pressures as well as insufficient power density. Both aspects are closely related to limitations of charge transport within the composite cathode. This webinar presents an introduction on how to use electrochemical impedance…

Forecasters warn of ‘particularly dangerous weather situation’ in California; Gavin Newsom hits back at House speaker for ‘politicizing’ tragedy‘Running to danger’: 1,000 incarcerated firefighters on LA frontlinesTell us about financial consequences you are facingLA mayor, Karen Bass, has shared a phone number for residents who have evacuated to get assistance in finding and retrieving pets in evacuation areas.Posting on X, Bass wrote:Pets are family.The City is…

A double Blue Ocean Event could occur in 2025. Both Antarctic sea ice and Arctic sea ice could virtually disappear in 2025. A Blue Ocean Event (BOE) occurs when sea ice extent falls to 1 million km² or less, which could occur early 2025 for Antarctic sea ice and in Summer 2025 in the Northern Hemisphere for Arctic sea ice. Arctic sea ice volume In September…

Just over a year ago, Shell sued Greenpeace UK, Greenpeace International and nine individuals for millions over a completely peaceful protest. We showed them their bully tactics won’t intimidate us – and now they’ve backed down and settled out of court.  And we’ve made sure not a penny of our supporters’ money will go to Shell. Here’s what you need to know. Why did Shell sue Greenpeace? Last…

Neshwin Rodrigues and Duttatreya Das are energy analysts at Ember High cost of capital is a major barrier to the rollout of renewable energy across the Global South. The Alliance of Small Island States has highlighted this repeatedly, and last year the International Energy Agency (IEA) concluded that across a range of developing and emerging economies, raising capital to build utility-scale solar projects costs twice as…

The older and newer cities of the Greater Cairo region look very different at night when viewed from above. Read More…

The precise geometry of the protected area encompassing an iconic New Zealand volcano is unmistakable from space. Read More…

This story was originally published by Yale Environment 360. After a decade of declining to finance large hydroelectric dams, the World Bank is getting back into the business in a big way. Throughout the last half of the 20th century, the bank was the world’s leading supporter of big hydro. But over the last two decades, it followed a zigzag pattern as dam supporters and critics inside the institution took turns determining…

A new report from the United Nations environment program (Unep) finds that on current pledges, the world is heading for a 3.2 degree rise. Although G20 nations collectively account for 78 percent of all emissions, only five members have committed to a long-term emissions target. Of these, the UK and France are the only two to have passed legislation confirming their commitments in law. Germany, Italy…

Update on August 23, 2024: This Landsat 8 image shows several golf courses north of Chicago. Congratulations to Jeff Pettett for being the first reader to identify the location and spot the golf courses. Read more about the area in “Golfing in Illinois.”  Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The August 2024 puzzler is shown above. Your challenge is to use the comments…

A report produced by World Weather Attribution (WWA) and Climate Central finds that 2024 was quite a year for extreme weather events fuelled by climate change. Several trends manifested and strengthened throughout the year, with extreme weather dominating from the beginning to the end, which scientists say is the warmest ever recorded. The impacts are pretty staggering, with the analysis finding that the climate crisis contributed…

Perrine Fournier is a trade and forests campaigner at the forests and rights NGO Fern The view from the highest vantage point in Kabaena island is awe-inspiring. Mountain peaks coated with thin clouds rise over a thick blanket of vegetation. But the natural beauty of this tropical island in Indonesia’s Southeast Sulawesi province, belies the human and environmental damage that’s unfolding below – and which is…

A sensible crew cut, a chic bob, an outrageous mullet. You can infer a lot about a person by how they choose to style their hair. But it might surprise you to know that it is possible to learn more about some objects in the natural world from their “hair” – be it the “quantum hair” that can reveal the deepest darkest secrets of what happens…

Go Carbon Neutral without paying large fees and commissions Carbon Offset Sales a division of the Climate Change Institute Each Carbon Offset Certificate is for One Tonne of Carbon removed from the atmosphere. Enough to fill 500 fire extinguishers or 8 swimming pools, with the same weight as 400 bricks. Verra & Gold Standard Highest Certification Standards Carbon offset certificates finance projects that slow down the…

Antarctic sea ice [ Antarctic sea ice, click on images to enlarge ]The above images, adapted from University of Bremen and ClimateReanalyzer.org, illustrate the decline in thickness (in cm) and of Antarctic sea ice between August 27, 2024, and January 9, 2025, and the sea ice concentration on January 9, 2025.The compilation image below shows the Southern Hemisphere on January 5, 2025, when the sea surface temperature off the…

In the past few years, the topic of climate change has worked its way into every area of our lives, and rightfully so. As we push closer to the irreversible effects of climate change and the ever-looming 2°C, companies, governments, and individuals are looking for every possible way to mitigate emissions. Carbon offsetting was first conceptualized in 1989, but has been gaining traction in recent years….

Region faces ‘extreme fire risk’ warnings and ‘significant risk of rapid fire spread’ as official death toll expected to riseAs forecasters warn of another “particularly dangerous weather situation” across northern Los Angeles, residents braced for new wildfire evacuation orders, even as the official death toll from last week’s fires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades was expected to rise.Los Angeles, and parts of Ventura county to…

You may have noticed that the weather where you live is getting warmer and wilder over time, and you may know this is a part of climate change. But after that, you’re a little unclear on the details. If you’re feeling guilty about not knowing everything there is to know, let’s get real. Sometimes the news about climate change seems overwhelming. Learning more about a problem…

Climate economics researchers have often underestimated – sometimes badly underestimated – the costs of damages resulting from climate change.  Those underestimates occur particularly in scenarios where Earth’s temperature warms beyond the Paris climate target of 1.5 to 2 degrees C (2.7 to 3.6 degrees F). That’s the conclusion of a new report written by a team of climate and Earth scientists and economists from the Earth…

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 for the time of year. Temperatures of the water in the Arctic Ocean…

Update on March 11, 2024: This image shows Spirit Lake, located in south-central Washington, on April 26, 2023. Congratulations to Ivan Kordač for being the first to correctly identify the lake. Special mention goes to David Sherrod, who pointed out the lake’s floating log raft and mentioned a recent debris flow in the region (which occurred several weeks after this image was acquired). Read more about…

As 2024 turns to 2025, we asked subscribers to our newsletter what the top climate issues of the upcoming year will be. With climate destruction growing, their responses clearly indicate they want to see more ambition in tackling climate change and more honesty on how climate action is going. Here’s our summary of responses from our always passionate, well-informed readers and our analysis of when, where…

An ethical oil startup has taken out KPMG’s $100,000 Nature Positive Prize — part of an annual Challenge run by KPMG to boost inventive environmental problem-solving. The successful startup, NSW-based Levur, is dedicated to finding innovative ways to replace unsustainable animal and plant oils for a variety of consumer products. The company was formed in reaction to the devastation wrought by the palm oil industry on…

UN endorsed projects that slow down the rate of global warmingBuying time for the world to make the transition to low-emission economies. Projects have different standards, such as Verra and Gold Standard, and are subject to a rigorous certification and verification process, and must submit regular updates and reports. To be certified, projects must have verifiable attributes. AdditionalityThe project is justified and the the carbon emission…

On January 10, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released their annual analysis finding that 2024 was the hottest year on record globally and that global average temperatures likely surpassed an increase of 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels. On the same day, NOAA released its US Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters analysis for 2024 and found that last year an estimated 568 people…

The April 2024 temperature was 1.32°C higher than 1951-1980, as illustrated by the above image, created with NASA content. Local anomalies are as high as 6.2°C. The April 2024 temperature was 1.62°C higher than 1900-1930, as illustrated by the above image, created with NASA content. The red line highlights acceleration of the temperature rise (Lowess Smoothing). The image below, created with NOAA content, uses a LOESS filter (green line) to…

Earth’s Energy Imbalance is now about four times as high as it was a decade ago, as illustrated by the above image, by Eliot Jacobson. As a result, feedbacks are starting to kick in with greater ferocity. Water vapor feedback One such feedback is the water vapor feedback. The temperature rise results in more evaporation, i.e. more water vapor and heat will enter the atmosphere, much…

FPR Energy, a new venture from CSIRO, has secured $15 million in seed funding with the aim of commercialising next generation solar thermal technology. The company was launched in collaboration with global advisory and funds management firm RFC Ambrian and Japanese utility Osaka Gas, raising the largest seed funding for a CSIRO co-founded venture to date. FPR Energy aims to cut emissions in heavy industries such…

So-called “forever chemicals”, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are widely used in consumer, commercial and industrial products, and have subsequently made their way into humans, animals, water, air and soil. Despite this ubiquity, there are still many unknowns regarding the potential human health and environmental risks that PFAS pose. Join us for an in-depth exploration of PFAS with four leading experts who will shed light…

The market for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is expected to grow ~30x to almost 9 TWh produced annually in 2040 driven by demand from electric vehicles and grid scale storage. Production of these batteries requires high-yield coating processes using slurries of active material, conductive carbon, and polymer binder applied to metal foil current collectors. To better understand the connections between slurry formulation, coating conditions, and composite electrode…

With just $69 million in the bank account of the fledgling loss and damage fund so far, its new executive director was urged to keep running costs as low as possible at his first board meeting this month. Board members from 26 governments around the world questioned the fund’s current and planned spending on consultants, business-class plane tickets and the need to have a deputy executive…

The temperature in the Tropics (23.5°S-23.5°N, 0-360°E) reached a new record high on March 13, 2024. The image below shows the situation over the years through March 13, 2024, when the average daily surface air temperature was 26.9°C and 1.4°C above 1979-2000 (black line is 2024).The previous record high temperature was reached on April 24, 2016, when it was 26.8°C, and 1°C above 1979-2000 (grey line…

The first major, widespread winter storm of 2025 delivered snow, ice, and frigid temperatures to a large swath of the country. Read More…

Temperatures are risingThe NASA temperature anomaly vs. 1904-1924 shows that the temperature has been above 1.5°C for the past twelve months, as illustrated by the image below. The red line shows the trend (one-year Lowess Smoothing) associated with the rapid recent rise. Note that the 1904-1924 base is not pre-industrial. When using a genuinely pre-industrial base, the temperature anomaly has over the past twelve months also…

Scientists use satellites in orbit and boots on the ice to monitor glacial changes on the flanks of Mount Baker and elsewhere in Washington state. Read More…

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Following its win in October at the Australian Water Association (AWA) Victorian Water Awards, Victorian utility South East Water has netted two more awards at this year’s Asian Water Awards, held in late 2024. The utility’s Hydrotrak Geofencing technology received the Water Technology Excellence (Research and Development) – Australia award, as well as the Water Technology Excellence (Water Resource Management) – Australia award, at the Asian Water Awards. Developed by…

In Brief: Methane ‘hot spots’ in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta are more likely to be found where recent wildfires burned into the tundra, altering carbon emissions from the land. In Alaska’s largest river delta, tundra that has been scorched by wildfire is emitting more methane than the rest of the landscape long after the flames died, scientists have found. The potent greenhouse gas can originate from decomposing…

A network of public bodies are supposed to safeguard us from flooding. But, like old boys’ clubs, they are bastions of self-interestLabour’s first stage of government resembles a vast forensic excavation. As it works through the Conservatives’ midden of horrors, it discovers an ever greater legacy of underinvestment, neglect and corruption. However disappointing the new government’s compromises might be, we shouldn’t forget how overwhelming this task…

The UK said it will cut its overseas aid budget in a new blow to vulnerable nations. The move will make it more difficult for the government to deliver on a promise to increase climate finance to developing countries, analysts have warned. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans to slash the UK aid budget from 0.5% to 0.3% of national income in order to…

The Middle East crisis, wildfires in Portugal, floods in Poland and London fashion week: the last seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading…

The image below, adapted from Climate Reanalyzer, shows the temperature in the year 2100, in a CMIP6 SSP585 scenario. The image shows how much the temperature will have risen in 2100, at 2 meters above the surface and compared to the period 1979-2000.  The image below shows a progressive temperature rise reaching 4.589°C in 2100 compared to the same period, i.e. 1979-2000 and in a CMIP6…

Today, more than ever, enzymes and microorganisms are being used to increase sustainable production. This is particularly true in industries such as pharmaceuticals and (bio)chemicals. In these and other industries, researchers within universities, R&D organisations and other institutes, as well as within industry want to know under which conditions these biological cells grow. While it is essential and important to know how and under what conditions…

In Canada, we are witnessing the deliberate weaponization of the term “woke” by political figures like Pierre Poilievre and other right-wing leaders, who use it as a blanket label to dismiss calls for justice, equity, and truth. What began as a term rooted in activism—particularly within Black and Indigenous communities—has been distorted into a derogatory buzzword, often used to discredit legitimate movements for social change. A…

Firefighters and police in Rondônia battle fires intensified by both the climate crisis and a criminal assault on the rainforestThe occupants of the vinyl-coated military tents at this remote jungle camp in Brazil’s wild west compare the hellscape surrounding them to catastrophes old and new: the extinction of the dinosaurs, the bombardment of Gaza, the obliteration of Hiroshima during the second world war.“It’s as if a…

Macquarie University researchers have investigated the level of sewage pollution in 18 global harbours, with concerning results. Their work was part of an international study using a special DNA technique that the researchers say is more targeted than traditional methods. The team’s findings have been published in Nature Water. In contrast to other approaches, which may use E. coli or enterococci to detect sewage pollution, the…

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 for the time of year. Temperatures of the water in the Arctic Ocean…

Yet the young people that we work with @Solutions_for_the_planet in the landlocked cities of Bradford, Inner City London and Birmingham have a strong bond and passion towards the worlds oceans and how they can help to clean them of pollution. As Tom Franklyn a primary school teacher in Inner City said: “We’re never going run to out of inner-city children, but we are going to run out of…

The Rev Sue Parfitt has lost right to conduct religious ceremonies after her arrest at a Just Stop Oil demonstrationAn 82-year-old retired priest has spoken of her pain at losing her right to conduct religious ceremonies because of her participation in Just Stop Oil protests.The Rev Sue Parfitt was arrested in May after allegedly causing damage to the glass around Magna Carta at the British Library…

Thirteen regional New South Wales councils have pooled their resources to make the shift to renewable energy via a power purchase agreement (PPA) coordinated by the Hunter Joint Organisation and Mid North Coast Joint Organisation. The Powering Tomorrow: Regional Councils NSW PPA will secure fixed pricing for the councils up until the end of 2030. Under the agreement, the councils will collectively receive over 390 gigawatt…

The above image shows a trend (magenta), based on NOAA August 2008 through June 2024 data (black) and added on a canvas that is 31.42-year wide. If this trend continues, the clouds tipping point could get crossed in early 2036 due to the rise in carbon dioxide (CO₂) alone. [ from earlier post ] Rising CO₂ emissions could originate from many sources, the more so as more sinks…

 “Plans for two industrial pellet plants would increase carbon emissions and hurt the health of rural communities, campaigners warn. By Phoebe CookeonMar 4, 2024 @ 10:56 PST Series: Drax: The UK’s ‘Carbon Neutral’ Biomass Power Plant The wood pellets Drax produces are treated as “carbon neutral” under international accounting rules, based on an assumption that new-growth trees will capture the carbon lost by wood burnt for…

Satellite imagery and local data helped researchers assess how landscape features, such as watering holes and vegetation, influence elephant movement. Read More…

By Andrew Glikson “History is a nightmare from which I am trying to wake” (James Joyce) Figure 1. Extinctions CC from: The five mass extinctions in Earth History. The rate of the current rise of greenhouse gas levels and thereby temperatures is higher by more than an order of magnitude than that of previous mass extinctions. (Figures 11.2, 11.5). Glikson. A.Y., 2023 The Trials of Gaia.War ─…

The image below indicates that Arctic sea ice volume has meanwhile passed its annual maximum. Over the coming months, volume can be expected to decrease rapidly. The image also highlights that, over the past few months, Arctic sea ice volume has been the lowest on record for the time of year. The image below illustrates the decline of Arctic sea ice volume over the years. The…

In Brief: Such high-tide flooding that inundates roads and buildings along the west coast of the Americas tends to be uncommon outside of El Niño years, but that could change by the 2030s. An analysis by NASA’s sea level change science team finds that if a strong El Niño develops this winter, cities along the western coasts of the Americas could see an increase in the…

Region faces ‘extreme fire risk’ warnings and ‘significant risk of rapid fire spread’ as official death toll expected to riseAs forecasters warn of another “particularly dangerous weather situation” across northern Los Angeles, residents braced for new wildfire evacuation orders, even as the official death toll from last week’s fires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades was expected to rise.Los Angeles, and parts of Ventura county to…

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Global heating could bring “untold suffering” for humans.  It could also mean less fresh water and less rice, though tasting more of arsenic. In an unprecedented step, more than 11,000 scientists from 153 nations have united to warn the world that, without deep and lasting change, the climate emergency promises  humankind unavoidable “untold suffering”. And as if to underline that message, a US research group has…

 by Andrew Glikson Figure 1. 2023 was the Earth’s warmest year since modern record-keeping began in 1880. As temperatures in large parts of the Earth are soaring (cf. 52.3°C in Delhi, flames engulf large regions in California, tornadoes ravage the Gulf of Mexico states, severe drought starve populations in southern Africa and climate extremes continue to taking over large parts of the Earth. Much like oncologists…

The title intrigued me – Did curiosity kill the cat or is it a vital skill to have in our ever-changing world?  The first speaker, Dawn Austwick (Chief Executive, National Lottery Community Fund) delved into where the phrase came from, that plagued many of us as children when asking too many questions of parents and teachers. Dawn suggested that rather than being a vice, curiosity is the very…

Update on August 23, 2024: This Landsat 8 image shows several golf courses north of Chicago. Congratulations to Jeff Pettett for being the first reader to identify the location and spot the golf courses. Read more about the area in “Golfing in Illinois.”  Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The August 2024 puzzler is shown above. Your challenge is to use the comments…

Update on April 23, 2024: This image shows Sortebræ, a large surge-type glacier in eastern Greenland, on September 6, 1986. Congratulations to Steward Redwood for being the first to correctly identify the glacier. Read more about the glacier and see how it has retreated in recent decades in our Image of the Day story. Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The March 2024…

Sustainability Victoria is serving up reusable cups at Australian Open 2025 to reduce single-use plastic waste and encourage people to reuse. Tennis fans will be able to sip sustainably during AO 2025 with 38,000 reusable cups from Sustainability Victoria replacing single-use cups in selected bars around the precinct. It’s projected 50,000 single-use cups will be avoided at the tournament, equivalent to 400 kg of plastic. Future reuse…

The older and newer cities of the Greater Cairo region look very different at night when viewed from above. Read More…

Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The September 2024 puzzler is shown above. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us where it is, what we are looking at, and why it is interesting.How to answer. You can use a few words or several paragraphs. You might simply tell us the location, or you can dig deeper and offer details about…

Rapid progress in the use of machine learning for weather and climate models is evident almost everywhere, but can we distinguish between real advances and vaporware? First off, let’s define some terms to maximize clarity. Machine Learning (ML) is a broad term to distinguish any kind of statistical fitting of large data sets to complicated functions (various flavors of neural nets etc.), but it’s simpler to…

Images of nighttime lights reveal patterns in population and urban development. Read More…

We’ve all been there. You’re talking to someone who says that fossil fuels aren’t causing climate change. Or that climate change is happening naturally, and not because of anything that humans do. Maybe you know these things aren’t right, but you don’t speak up. You’re worried that you don’t know enough. If you’d like to have more confident conversations about how fossil fuels drive climate change,…

On January 10, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released their annual analysis finding that 2024 was the hottest year on record globally and that global average temperatures likely surpassed an increase of 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels. On the same day, NOAA released its US Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters analysis for 2024 and found that last year an estimated 568 people…

The perpetually restless and occasionally explosive volcano in New Zealand has been emitting steam, volcanic gases, and a bit of ash.   Read More…

In my 20 years of work experience, I have never felt so passionate and committed to promoting sustainable development. I started my professional career under the premise of making things more sustainable and more profitable. As a businessman, this business model has allowed me to understand that doing the right thing generates even more profitability for a company. And as a citizen, contributing to the benefit…

The image below shows that the monthly Atlantic surface temperature anomaly in February 2024 was 1.176°C when compared to a 1951-1980 base.[ click on images to enlarge ] The image below shows that the monthly Atlantic surface temperature anomaly in February 2024 was 1.435°C when compared to a 1901-2000 base.  The difference illustrates the importance of selecting a base to calculate anomalies from. The anomaly indicates how much…

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 annual maximum in May, so even higher levels can be expected…

Reflections after reading Sarah Milburn’s article on ‘Young People and Hope’ and Russell Brown’s article on LinkedIn – ‘Trust – building (and rebuilding)’. Although many young people think climate change is an important societal issue, studies indicate that pessimism, anxiety and fear is common. How do we communicate with young people around these issues? How do we find ways to instil hope? Will doom-and-gloom messages scare…

 by Andrew GliksonWhere “Two plus two equals five if the party says so” (George Orwell)and when drilling methane wells reduces global warming Having turned a blind eye to climate science, ignoring the evidence that extreme atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) rise and ocean acidification have led to mass extinctions of species through time, humanity allows an exponential growth of carbon emissions to track toward a global…

Michael Bloomberg has poured his time and hundreds of millions of dollars into projects aimed at getting the world ‘beyond carbon,’ but can he win the presidency? One of the Trump administration’s favorite environmental talking points is that the United States has reduced carbon emissions more than any other country. It’s not an achievement that Trump can take any credit for. But his latest potential challenger,…

An ethical oil startup has taken out KPMG’s $100,000 Nature Positive Prize — part of an annual Challenge run by KPMG to boost inventive environmental problem-solving. The successful startup, NSW-based Levur, is dedicated to finding innovative ways to replace unsustainable animal and plant oils for a variety of consumer products. The company was formed in reaction to the devastation wrought by the palm oil industry on…

Cal Fire says Robert Hernandez ignited blazes while off duty in forest land in north of stateA California department of forestry and fire protection employee was arrested on Friday on suspicion of starting five brush fires in northern California in recent weeks, officials said.Robert Hernandez, 38, was arrested at the Howard forest fire station in Healdsburg, California, on suspicion of arson to forest land, the state…

The above image, created with monthly mean global temperature anomalies by LOTI Land+Ocean NASA/GISS/GISTEMP v4 data while using a 1903-1924 base, has a trend added based on Jan 2016-Aug 2024 data. The image also shows that anomalies could be 0.99°C higher when using a more genuine pre-industrial base. The image below featured in an earlier post and was created with an image from the NASA website…