Climate Change

Present-day climate change includes both global warming – the ongoing increase in global average temperature – and its wider effects on Earth’s climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth’s climate. The current rise in global temperatures is driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution. Fossil fuel use, deforestation, and some agricultural and industrial practices release greenhouse gases. These gases absorb some of the heat that the Earth radiates after it warms from sunlight, warming the lower atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, the primary gas driving global warming, has increased in concentration by about 50% since the pre-industrial era to levels not seen for millions of years. (Source: Wikipedia | CC BY-SA)

Image: Artist's view of EarthCARE satellite on board a Falcon 9 launch vehicle
EarthCARE satellite to probe how clouds affect climateNews

EarthCARE satellite to probe how clouds affect climate

By Juliette Collen | AFP Paris, France - Will clouds help cool or warm our world in the years ahead? The EarthCARE satellite will soon…
SourceSourceMay 26, 2024 Full article
This artist’s concept depicts one of two PREFIRE CubeSats in orbit around Earth.
NASA launches ground-breaking climate change satelliteNews

NASA launches ground-breaking climate change satellite

Washington, United States (AFP) - A tiny NASA satellite was launched Saturday from New Zealand with the mission of improving climate change prediction by measuring…
SourceSourceMay 25, 2024 Full article
Image: Island covered by trees, Maldives
Low-lying Maldives seeks easier funding to battle wavesNews

Low-lying Maldives seeks easier funding to battle waves

Malé, Maldives (AFP) - The Maldives on Saturday demanded international funding to battle rising sea levels, saying the low-lying Indian Ocean archipelago was being unfairly…
SourceSourceMay 25, 2024 Full article
Image: Man in Blue Skirt and Blue Shorts Carrying a Boy in Blue Jacket while Walking on Water
El Niño not responsible for East Africa floods: scientistsNews

El Niño not responsible for East Africa floods: scientists

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP The El Niño weather pattern did not have "any influence" on widespread flooding that killed hundreds in East Africa this year,…
SourceSourceMay 24, 2024 Full article
Image: Kenya flag
Kenyan president warns debt clouds Africa climate potentialNews

Kenyan president warns debt clouds Africa climate potential

Washington, United States (AFP) - Africa's vast potential in the global fight against climate change is at risk due to the heavy burden of debt…
SourceSourceMay 23, 2024 Full article
Image: Boy drinking water
The global clean water crisis looms largeClimate

The global clean water crisis looms large

Water scarcity will intensify with climate and socioeconomic change, disproportionately impacting populations located in the Global South. So concludes a new Utrecht University article published…
SourceSourceMay 23, 2024 Full article
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Atlantic faces ‘extraordinary’ hurricane season: US agencyNews

Atlantic faces ‘extraordinary’ hurricane season: US agency

By Lucie AUBOURG | AFP Washington, United States (UPDATED) - The North Atlantic hurricane season, which starts on June 1, is forecast to be "extraordinary,"…
SourceSourceMay 23, 2024 Full article
Image walrus on the sea shore (s. Arctic)
Drones validate walrus counts in satellite images from spaceScience

Drones validate walrus counts in satellite images from space

In the first successful attempt to calibrate walrus counts from satellite imagery, scientists used drones to validate animal counts in Svalbard, Norway. This International Day…
SourceSourceMay 23, 2024 Full article
Antarctic survey
Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica calves new icebergClimate

Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica calves new iceberg

By British Antarctic Survey A large iceberg (380 km²), about the size of the Isle of Wight, has broken off the 150m thick Brunt Ice…
SourceSourceMay 23, 2024 Full article
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Beach erosion will make Southern California coastal living five times more expensive by 2050Climate

Beach erosion will make Southern California coastal living five times more expensive by 2050

By Nina Raffio | University of Southern California The region’s sandy coastlines are vanishing at an alarming rate. It’s a warning sign for coastal communities worldwide,…
SourceSourceMay 22, 2024 Full article
Image: seaweed in the water
Seaweed forests are an overlooked component of oceanic carbon storageClimate

Seaweed forests are an overlooked component of oceanic carbon storage

A groundbreaking study by an international team of researchers has revealed seaweed forests to be significant contributors to oceanic carbon storage. Their research estimates that…
SourceSourceMay 22, 2024 Full article
Image: earth AI Gen
Embryo activist: baby’s lawsuit takes on S. Korea climate inactionNews

Embryo activist: baby’s lawsuit takes on S. Korea climate inaction

By Hieun SHIN | AFP Seoul, South Korea - When he was a 20-week-old embryo -- before he even had a real name -- Choi…
SourceSourceMay 22, 2024 Full article
Image: Aircraft Flying on a Cloudy Sky
Europe’s climate laws could spell the end to low-cost flights – but what about private jets?Climate

Europe’s climate laws could spell the end to low-cost flights – but what about private jets?

By Fausto Corvino, Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) | The Conversation The era of low-cost air travel in Europe may be over for good, thanks…
SourceSourceMay 22, 2024 Full article
Image: Land with Cut Trees (s. deforestation, climate change, wildfires)
Deforestation exacerbated deadly Brazil floods: expertsNews

Deforestation exacerbated deadly Brazil floods: experts

Porto Alegre, Brazil | AFP The floods devastating southern Brazil have been exacerbated by deforestation, much of it driven by soybean farming, according to experts,…
SourceSourceMay 22, 2024 Full article
Image: Closeup shot of Mangrove tree saplings planted in the forest of Trapeang Sangkae in Kampot
More than half of all mangrove ecosystems at risk of collapse by 2050News

More than half of all mangrove ecosystems at risk of collapse by 2050

In a report released today, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warns that more than half of the world's mangrove ecosystems are at…
Adrian AlexandreAdrian AlexandreMay 22, 2024 Full article
Image: EarthCARE over Europe
Satellite to unravel how clouds impact future climate changeClimate

Satellite to unravel how clouds impact future climate change

A brand new satellite that will revolutionise our understanding of the role clouds and aerosol particles play in climate change is set to launch after…
SourceSourceMay 21, 2024 Full article
Image: Women standing on dry soil and fishing gear, global warming and water crisis
Climate change is a human rights issueClimate

Climate change is a human rights issue

By Kuan-Wei Chen, McGill University and Hoda Asgarian, Bond University, The Conversation In April, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of a group of…
SourceSourceMay 21, 2024 Full article
Image: meeting in a hall (s. Small island states, climate change)
Small island states win key climate case in UN courtNews

Small island states win key climate case in UN court

By Femke COLBORNE | AFP Berlin, Germany (UPDATED) - The UN maritime court on Tuesday ruled in favour of nine small island states who brought…
SourceSourceMay 21, 2024 Full article
Still life with the scales of justice (climate,green justice, Youths sue Trump over US climate orders)
NGOs seek climate trial of French oil giant TotalEnergiesNews

NGOs seek climate trial of French oil giant TotalEnergies

By Guillaume DAUDIN | AFP Paris, France - NGOs filed a criminal complaint against French oil giant TotalEnergies and its top shareholders in Paris on…
SourceSourceMay 21, 2024 Full article
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India shuts schools as temperatures soarNews

India shuts schools as temperatures soar

New Delhi, India (AFP) - Indian authorities in the capital have ordered schools shut early for the summer holiday, after temperatures hit 47.4 degrees Celsius…
SourceSourceMay 21, 2024 Full article
Image: Mantled Howler Monkey Sitting on a Tree Branch
Howler monkeys drop dead during Mexico heat waveNews

Howler monkeys drop dead during Mexico heat wave

Mexico City, Mexico (AFP) - Howler monkeys are dropping dead in Mexico and authorities said Monday that they were investigating whether extreme heat was killing…
SourceSourceMay 21, 2024 Full article
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Record low Antarctic sea ice ‘extremely unlikely’ without climate changeClimateScience

Record low Antarctic sea ice ‘extremely unlikely’ without climate change

By British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have found that the record-low levels of sea ice around Antarctica in 2023…
SourceSourceMay 20, 2024 Full article
Aerial image of Antarctic iceberg
Climate change key driver of record-low Antarctic sea ice: studyNews

Climate change key driver of record-low Antarctic sea ice: study

By Linda GIVETASH | AFP Paris, France - Climate change played a key role in last year's record-low levels of Antarctic sea ice, a study…
SourceSourceMay 20, 2024 Full article
Image: river, vegetation, water
Mapping malaria in Africa: climate change study predicts where mosquitoes will breed in futureClimate

Mapping malaria in Africa: climate change study predicts where mosquitoes will breed in future

Follow the waterA new picture emergesChanging suitabilityIs this good news? The relationship between climate and malaria transmission is complex and has been the subject of intense study for some…
SourceSourceMay 20, 2024 Full article