Environment

The tropical Pacific Ocean and the frozen expanse of Antarctica sit more than 10,000 kilometers apart. Yet new research shows that when surface waters warm near the equator in northern winter, the Antarctic stratosphere responds months later—a delayed reaction that could improve predictions of Southern Hemisphere climate patterns.... Read more

The bottom sediment of water bodies is an archive of all human activity. It is a reservoir of nutrients but also of harmful substances—and it can also turn into a source of emissions. "Most lakes tend to be remediated due to eutrophication. Water bodies have also been remediated due to... Read more

A wildfire forecasting system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) could help detect dangerous fire conditions earlier and reduce the cost of wildfire response, according to new research from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha, University of Canterbury (UC). The work is published in the International Journal of Wildland Fire.... Read more

Jun Zhang and colleagues have published a new article in Urban Geography arguing that urban AI should not be understood as a single, inevitable next stage of the smart city. Instead, it shows that AI urbanism is a contested political and discursive formation—a set of truth-claims about what AI is,... Read more

This past winter, the Rocky Mountains experienced an historic snow drought, a worrying development for the tens of millions of people in the arid American West who depend on snowmelt for water. Now, a new study in the journal Geology investigates the geologic history of a surprising process that might... Read more

Across much of the Western United States, winter 2026 was the year the snow never came. Many ski resorts got by with snowmaking but shut down their winter operations early. Fire officials and water supply managers are worried about summer.... Read more

Potentially harmful chemicals can contaminate untreated water used in recycling plants to clean plastics before they're processed into new products, according to a new study by an Iowa State University research group. Researchers from Iowa State's Polymer and Food Protection Consortium tested common industrial plastic-washing practices and found that some... Read more

Levels of toxic "forever chemicals" in New Jersey's public water systems dropped by as much as 55% after the state moved to limit the contaminants in drinking water, according to a Rutgers Health researcher who has analyzed 19 years of monitoring data from throughout the state. Their findings in Environment... Read more

Fires are a recurring phenomenon in central South America, often intensified by drought and deforestation. In 2024, wildfire activity reached its highest levels in 20 years, affecting vast areas of the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado—the world's most biodiverse tropical savanna, stretching across one-fifth of Brazil and extending into Bolivia... Read more

Extreme climate impacts on people and the environment are often associated with very high levels of global warming (3 or 4°C). A new study led by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) shows that this assumption is too simplistic. Even moderate warming of 2°C could pose considerable climate risks... Read more

The economic damage yet to come from carbon dioxide emitted decades ago far exceeds the harm it has wrought so far, according to a new Stanford University study. The research, published in Nature, puts a dollar value on the harm done to individual nations and the world by carbon dioxide... Read more

Across much of the Rocky Mountain West, a winter of record-breaking high temperatures and historically low snowfall has forced people to think about having less water this spring. But it could also mean more severe wildfires this summer, according to new research from Western Colorado University. In a paper published... Read more

Billions of dirty diapers end up buried or burned every year in Japan—more from seniors than babies—but a recycling breakthrough has given them a new lease on life, one hot mess at a time.... Read more

An international study warns that critical scientific and practical gaps are slowing the use of blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs) in global efforts to tackle climate change. Led by a team of international researchers, including Professor William Austin from the University of St Andrews, the research identifies the most urgent questions... Read more

Rising sea surface temperatures in coastal waters are driving 50 to 64 percent of the increase in large-scale humid heat waves, according to new research. The study, from researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Princeton University and Sun Yat-sen University, implies that coastal sea surface temperatures... Read more