28 h. ago Global temperatures to remain above average despite return of La Niña, says UN

Climate phenomenon cools surface of Pacific but won’t stop human-induced climate change increasing temperatures and exacerbating extreme weatherThe cooling La Niña weather phenomenon may return between September and November, but even if it does, global temperatures are expected to be above average, the United Nations has said.La Niña is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that cools surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It brings changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Climate change threatening ‘nature’s sharpest weapons’ as shark teeth appear to weaken

Shark teeth are composed of highly mineralised phosphates but are still vulnerable to corrosion

Events

2 w. ago Dramatic slowdown in melting of Arctic sea ice surprises scientists

Natural climate variation is most likely reason as global heating due to fossil fuel burning has continuedThe melting of sea ice in the Arctic has slowed dramatically in the past 20 years, scientists have reported, with no statistically significant decline in its extent since 2005.The finding is surprising, the researchers say, given that carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning have continued to rise and trap ever more heat over that time. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Oil exploration in the Congo basin rainforest could be a disaster for nature and the climate

The Democratic Republic of Congo is putting one of the best-preserved tropical ecosystems left on Earth up for auction, and the impact could be felt worldwide• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here to get the newsletter in fullThe “worst place in the world” to explore for oil is open for business. Again. Swathes of the Congo basin rainforest, home to okapis, lowland gorillas, bonobos and other rare wildlife, are being auctioned off by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for the second time in three years.This round of licensing includes 52 blocks across 124m hectares (306m acres) of swamps and rainforest in some of the best-preserved tropical ecosystems left on Earth. Opening it up for fossil fuel extraction could be a disaster for nature and the climate.DRC to auction oil and gas permits in endangered gorilla habitatThe rangers turning the DRC’s ‘triangle of death’ back into a thriving wildlife reserveThe secret life of the Congo rainforest – in pictu...

Events

4 w. ago Chemical pollution a threat comparable to climate change, scientists warn

More than 100 million ‘novel entity’ chemicals are in circulation, with health impact not widely recognisedChemical pollution is “a threat to the thriving of humans and nature of a similar order as climate change” but decades behind global heating in terms of public awareness and action, a report has warned.The industrial economy has created more than 100 million “novel entities”, or chemicals not found in nature, with somewhere between 40,000 and 350,000 in commercial use and production, the report says. But the environmental and human health effects of this widespread contamination of the biosphere are not widely appreciated, in spite of a growing body of evidence linking chemical toxicity with effects ranging from ADHD to infertility to cancer. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago The EU is a colossus. So why is it cowering before Trump like a mouse? | Alexander Hurst

With its woeful trade deal, Europe prostrated itself before the president. We need a leader who will tell him where to shove itWho remembers the spate of “introduction videos” that emerged during the first Trump administration – a series of tongue-in-cheek clips about European countries to introduce them to Donald Trump? The viral video trend was sparked by the Dutch comedian Arjen Lubach, who ended his segment on the Netherlands with: “We totally understand it’s going to be America first, but can we just say the Netherlands second?” It seems that Europe’s leaders remember the videos all too well; that they internalised the caustic message a little bit too much.Afraid of rocking the boat during its trade negotiations with Trump, the EU decided to pre-emptively sink itself. Instead of strategic autonomy, it will spend hundreds of billions of dollars on American weapons; in place of future climate goals, it will pour hundreds of billions into US natural gas; instead of a mutual tariff...

Politics