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An ambitious effort to understand the Earth’s climate over the past 485 million years has revealed a history of wild shifts and far hotter temperatures than scientists previously realized — offering a reminder of how much change the planet has already endured and a warning about the unprecedented rate of warming caused by humans. The timeline, published Thursday in the journal Science, is the most rigorous reconstruction of Earth’s past temperatures ever produced, the authors say. Created by combining more than 150,000 pieces of fossil evidence with state-of-the-art climate models, it shows the intimate link between carbon dioxide and global...

Ireland needs to do more to adapt to climate change, according to the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) which says investment is urgently needed to avoid the worst damage and higher costs that it can bring in future years. The council published its annual progress report on how Ireland is preparing for the impacts of climate change. It said coastal erosion and flooding are the biggest risks. The report suggests part of the budget every year should be ring-fenced for adaptation measures, including making road and electricity networks more resilient to climate change. It predicts coastal flooding will cost €2...

The Swedish climate activist was arrested in Copenhagen while participating in a demonstration against the war in Gaza, along with the pro-Palestinian movement "Students Against the Occupation"

TALENT, Ore. — When Diane Ware’s home state of Oregon proposed a natural gas pipeline that threatened local waterways, she sprang into action — leading workshops on lobbying state lawmakers, mentoring student activists and organizing lectures at her church. But when plans for the pipeline were canceled, Ware, 78, found little pleasure in the victory. The retired elementary school teacher couldn’t shake the feeling that it may be too late to save a planet in deep peril — a prospect tinged with grief, anger and depression. Ware realized she had a case of "climate grief” — and needed help.

[The European climate service Copernicus says Earth just sweltered to its hottest summer on record] Summer 2024 sweltered to Earth's hottest on record, making it even more likely that this year will end up as the warmest humanity has measured, European climate service Copernicus reported Friday. And if this sounds familiar, that's because the records the globe shattered were set just last year as human-caused climate change, with a temporary boost from an El Nino, keeps dialing up temperatures and extreme weather, scientists said. The northern meteorological summer — June, July and August — averaged 16.8 degrees Celsius (62.24 degrees...

ROME — Pope Francis has consecrated his monthly prayer intention to “the cry of the earth” this September, urging Christians to feel the earth’s “pain.” “If we took the planet’s temperature, it will tell us that the Earth has a fever,” the pontiff contends. “And it is sick, just like anyone who’s sick.” But are we listening to this pain?” he asks. “Do we hear the pain of the millions of victims of environmental catastrophes?” he continues. “The ones suffering most from the consequences of these disasters are the poor, those who are forced to leave their homes because of...

Highlighting seas that are rising at an accelerating rate, especially in the far more vulnerable Pacific island nations, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued yet another climate SOS to the world. This time he said those initials stand for “save our seas.” The United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization Monday issued reports on worsening sea level rise, turbocharged by a warming Earth and melting ice sheets and glaciers. They highlight how the Southwestern Pacific is not only hurt by the rising oceans, but by other climate change effects of ocean acidification and marine heat waves. Guterres toured Samoa and Tonga...

The decline in electric vehicle sales is “very worrying” from a climate perspective, an expert has said. The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show that 12,765 EVs were licensed in Ireland between January and July of this year, a decline of nearly 25% compared with the same period last year. The total number of EVs on Irish roads is now around 125,000. However, the target outlined in the Government’s Climate Action Plan is to have 845,000 electric vehicles by 2030. Professor of Transportation at Trinity College Brian Caulfield said that trend is “very worrying” as the country has...

“I can has cheezburger?” became one of the first internet memes... But research has now found that the vast majority of data stored in the cloud is “dark data”, meaning it is used once then never visited again. That means that all the memes and jokes and films that we love to share with friends and family – from “All your base are belong to us” ... are out there somewhere, sitting in a datacentre, using up energy. By 2030, the National Grid anticipates that datacentres will account for just under 6% of the UK’s total electricity consumption, so tackling...

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), the Democratic nominee for Senate in the Grand Canyon State, excoriated the Biden administration Thursday for what he called insufficient federal support on extreme heat. Gallego issued the statement the day after Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra called extreme heat a “public health crisis” in Phoenix before meeting with Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D). The Biden administration in July proposed heat protections that would mandate employers provide indoor or shaded rest areas, drinking water and breaks once temperatures surpass 90 degrees Fahrenheit. “Once again, the Administration is all talk, no action when it comes...

A​n Alaskan community located near the cold Arctic Ocean preliminarily shattered an all-time record for the hottest temperature so far north in the nation's 49th state. T​uesday afternoon's temperature hit 89 degrees in Deadhorse, Alaska. That shattered the location's all-time record of 85 degrees set July 13, 2016. On top of that, it's the hottest temperature ever reliably measured so far north in the state, according to a post on X by Brian Brettschneider, an Alaska-based climatologist. The temperature is short of Alaska's all-time record for any location in the state which is 100 degrees set in Fort Yukon on...

We’re barking up the wrong trees. A new study reveals that a majority of the 7 million trees in New York City are emitting “volatile compounds” that do more harm than good for our air quality — especially during scorching heat. “We’re all for planting more trees. They bring so many good things,” said study coauthor Róisín Commane, an atmospheric chemist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “But if we’re not careful, we could make air quality worse.” The arbors in question include oaks and sweetgums which produce high volumes of a chemical composition called isoprenes — and they’re rooted...

South Pasadena unveiled the city's all-electric police fleet and charging infrastructure, becoming the nation's first law enforcement agency to completely replace its gasoline-powered vehicles with electric vehicles. The city's zero-emission police fleet of 20 new Teslas will rely on a bank of new electric vehicle chargers installed at South Pasadena City Hall. A news conference was held Monday at South Pasadena City Hall to display the fleet vehicles. "This transition reflects the city's vision of a sustainable future based on both sound fiscal management and environmental stewardship," South Pasadena Mayor Evelyn Zneimer said. "We will have a 21st Century police...

Air New Zealand has abandoned a 2030 goal to cut its carbon emissions, blaming difficulties securing more efficient planes and sustainable jet fuel.

In short: - Regions across New South Wales and Queensland are shivering through a prolonged cold snap. - Many inland areas recorded sub-zero temperatures this morning. - What's next? The cold snap will continue tomorrow, with the chance some records will be broken. Getting out of bed is just that bit tougher across parts of New South Wales and Queensland this morning, where residents are waking up to sub-zero temperatures. At 6:30am the coldest part of NSW was the Goulburn Airport in the Southern Tablelands, where the temperature reached -5.7 degrees Celsius. On the south-west slopes, the temperature at Young...

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during a speech in Belem, Brazil, on Saturday that the price tag for a global transition to a low-carbon economy amounts to $78 trillion in financing through 2050. Yellen said that in order to achieve the goal of net-zero global carbon emissions, there would need to be $3 trillion globally in annual financing for the cause, which she said is a top priority for the Biden administration, according to the speech. In order to contribute to this, Yellen vowed to finance green initiatives in developing countries through multilateral development banks and develop “clean energy...

Food shortages have hit the Paris Olympics, with some athletes complaining that the menu has more woke on it than competition food.. “They are saying the Games are more sustainable and there is way more plant-based food but sometimes if you go at peak times it’s challenging to even get a piece of chicken ... British athletes are shunning the main dining hall. “Our athletes have decided they would rather go and eat in our performance lodge in Clichy, so we are having to get another chef to come over as the demand is far exceeding what we thought it...

Earth’s land lost much of their ability to absorb the carbon dioxide humans pumped into the air last year, according to a new study that is causing concern among climate scientists that a crucial damper on climate change underwent an unprecedented deterioration. Temperatures in 2023 were so high — and the droughts and wildfires that came with them were so severe — that forests in various parts of the world wilted and burned enough to have degraded the ability of the land to lock away carbon dioxide and act as a check on global warming, the study said. The scientists...

A recent study on beaked whales showed that even the reclusive giants are negatively affected by a host of anthropogenic activities. What's happening? The paper, published in Royal Society Open Science in April, documented 14 human-caused threats to the cetaceans, which Phys.org dubbed "one of the least encountered mammals." Climate change, including ocean acidification and marine heatwaves; plastic pollution; and whaling were among the dangers categorized as serious, intermediate, moderate, or unknown. The study of "gray literature" was led by Laura Feyrer, a research scientist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Military sonar was listed as a serious threat to beaked...

The world recorded its hottest ever day, as many parts of the Mediterranean face extreme wildfire risks. Sunday witnessed the highest average temperature on Earth, breaching a previous record set a year ago, according to provisional data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Global average temperatures have already hit or exceeded a key climate threshold for 12 months, highlighting the challenge in limiting global warming to below 1.5C above the pre-industrial era. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heat waves, bringing extreme weather events from flooding to wildfires. Extreme heat has wreaked havoc across many...