The year 2024 has been marked by a series of extreme weather events that forced billions of people to face the harsh reality of a changing climate.



Persistent droughts gripped southern Africa and Central America, while devastating floods swept through Spain. In the Southeast U.S., Hurricane Helene unleashed its fury.



An international team of scientists led by Dr. Wenxia Zhang analyzed these events as part of a study published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences.



The study highlights the year's notable extremes - rainfall, flooding, tropical cyclones, and droughts. The researchers examined their causes, the role of global warming, and the challenges of building a climate-resilient future.



“Most extreme events have a large random element,” said Dr. James Risbey of CSIRO. “Some extremes are more likely when larger-scale drivers such as ENSO influence weather patterns.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-role-of-el-nino-and-climate-change">Role of El Niño and climate change</h2>



El Niño, a natural climate phenomenon, influenced many of 2024's extreme rainfall and drought events, particularly during the winter of 2023/24. 



However, El Niño alone does not explain the severity of these events. Attribution science has revealed that human-induced climate change has amplified the impacts of such natural patterns, making extreme weather more intense and destructive.



“The climate change influence can be direct through physical processes causing the extreme, or indirect in influencing the weather, large scale drivers, and key baselines,” explained Dr. Risbey.



Dr. Zhang, an expert at the <a href="http://www.cas.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>, noted that anthropogenic warming enhances atmospheric moisture and evaporation, intensifying rainfall and droughts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenges-in-understanding-climate-extremes">Challenges in understanding climate extremes</h2>



Attribution science, which studies the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-added-41-extra-days-of-dangerous-heat-in-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">role of climate change</a> in specific extreme weather events, has made significant progress. 



However, challenges remain, particularly when observed weather extremes do not match predictions from climate models. These inconsistencies reduce confidence in the results and make it harder to draw precise conclusions about the role of human-induced climate change in individual events.



Dr. Michael Brody of <a href="https://www.gmu.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">George Mason University</a> emphasizes that improving our ability to attribute extreme events to climate change requires a deeper understanding of how climate systems work. 



Enhanced attribution methods can provide more reliable insights, which are crucial for shaping recovery efforts after disasters and creating better preparedness plans for the future. 



Accurate attribution enables decision-makers to allocate resources effectively, minimize risks, and build resilience in vulnerable communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forecasting-and-warning-systems">Forecasting and warning systems</h2>



Forecasting and effective warnings can save lives. While Hurricane Helene was well-predicted, its impact exposed vulnerabilities in underprepared communities.



“Increasing the quality of forecasts is important, but acting upon them to reduce vulnerabilities is crucial," said Dr. Piotr Wolski of the <a href="https://uct.ac.za" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Cape Town</a>.



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/valencia-floods-a-tragedy-fueled-by-extreme-weather/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">devastating floods</a> in Spain during October <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2024-confirmed-as-earths-hottest-year-in-recorded-history/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2024</a> highlight the critical need to reduce the impacts of extreme weather and strengthen community resilience towards climate change. 



Such disasters often result in widespread frustration and anger, especially when people feel unprepared or unsupported.



Dr. Wolski stresses that simply issuing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scorching-summer-of-2024-could-make-it-the-hottest-year-on-record/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warnings</a> is not enough. It is essential to ensure that these warnings are communicated clearly, reach those at risk, and are acted upon effectively. By taking these steps, we can address vulnerabilities, reduce harm, and help communities recover more quickly.



The events in Spain serve as a reminder that better preparation and response systems are vital to managing the challenges of a changing climate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preparing-for-climate-extremes">Preparing for climate extremes</h2>



The events of 2024 highlight the growing urgency to understand and address the causes of extreme weather.



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-temperatures-are-wreaking-havoc-on-the-global-water-cycle/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Climate change</a> has made such events more intense and frequent, impacting millions of lives and communities. To reduce these effects, it is crucial to develop better systems for predicting extreme weather, ensuring that warnings reach people effectively and on time.



Clear communication and quick action can make a significant difference in saving lives and minimizing damage when disasters strike. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-embracing-climate-resilience">Embracing climate resilience</h2>



Additionally, adopting climate resilience - measures that help communities prepare for and adapt to changing climate conditions - offers a proactive way to reduce vulnerabilities and build safer, more sustainable futures.



As extreme climate events grow more <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/record-ocean-warming-in-2024-is-a-warning-for-our-planet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unpredictable and severe</a>, our ability to predict and respond quickly will determine how well we can protect lives and adapt to these challenges. 



Embracing climate resilience means not just responding to disasters but preparing for them in ways that safeguard people and their livelihoods in an increasingly unstable world.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00376-025-4540-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Advances in Atmospheric Sciences</a>.



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Climate extremes in 2024: What have we learned?

The year 2024 has been marked by a series of extreme weather events that forced billions of people to face the harsh reality of a changing climate. Persistent droughts gripped southern Africa and Central America, while devastating floods swept through Spain. In the Southeast U.S., Hurricane Helene unleashed its fury. An international team of scientists led by Dr. Wenxia Zhang analyzed these events as part of a study published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. The study highlights the year's notable extremes - rainfall, flooding, tropical...

Industrial,Coal,Power,Station,On,Sunset,,Germany

According to a new <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-co2-emissions-in-2021-2">report</a> by the International Energy Agency (IEA), global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-emissions-can-be-turned-into-clean-fuels/">carbon dioxide emissions</a> from energy combustion and industrial processes rose to an all-time record of 36 billion tons in 2021 (six percent higher than in 2020), as world economies started to recover from the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omicron-wreaks-havoc-among-immunologically-naive-populations/">Coronavirus pandemic</a>.



Coal emissions accounted for over 40 percent of the overall global increase, reaching an unprecedented high of 15.3 billion tons, followed by natural gas emissions, with 7.5 billion tons. China - the only major economy to experience growth during the entire pandemic – was the largest driver of the rise in emissions. “In 2021 alone, China’s CO2 emissions rose above 11.9 billion tons, accounting for 33 percent of the global total,” reported the IEA.



India’s coal use for electricity generation also reached an all-time record, increasing by 13 percent above its 2020 level, while a surge in gas prices in both the United States and Europe significantly contributed to the rise in global emissions too. This surge in prices made it more profitable for power generators to use coal, which emits double the amount of CO2 as gas-powered plants.



“Gas-to-coal switching pushed up global CO2 emissions from electricity generation by well over 100 million tons, notably in the United States and Europe where competition between gas and coal power plants is tightest,” explained the IEA.



While clean energy provisions of several major economies have already contributed to mitigating – at least to a certain degree - the near-term rebound in emissions, urgent actions from policy makers, industries, and federal agencies are needed to make sure that the increases we witnessed during 2021 will not exacerbate in the coming years.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The world must now ensure that the global rebound in emissions in 2021 was a one-off – and that sustainable investments combined with the accelerated deployment of clean energy technologies will reduce CO2&nbsp;emissions in 2022, keeping alive the possibility of reducing global CO2&nbsp;emissions to net zero by 2050,” the authors of the report concluded.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Global CO2 emissions reached unprecedented highs in 2021

According to a new report by the International Energy Agency...

Although humans and their direct ancestors have been around on Earth for several million years, it is in the last one thousand years that we have interfered with and changed almost every aspect of the biosphere - that precious space on our planet that is inhabited by living organisms. Today, human activities change climates, alter and destroy natural <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/illegal-cannabis-farms-infringe-on-crucial-animal-habitats/">habitats</a>, move plants and animals to locations where they didn’t previously occur, pollute the air, sea, freshwater and land, and exploit natural resources. We are truly the "lords of the biosphere."



And as lords of the biosphere, a term coined by John McNeil in a publication in the year 2000, we decide what shall live and what shall die. According to <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/staff/john-kress">John Kress</a>, botany curator emeritus at the&nbsp;<a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/">Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/staff/gary-krupnick">Gary Krupnick</a>, head of the museum’s plant conservation unit, humans have favored species that they have found useful and desirable, while the useless or valueless species have been excluded or driven to extinction.&nbsp;



The scientists combed through current environmental databases, ethnobotanical descriptions, and conservation assessments of green plants to survey and measure the impact of humans on today's botanical diversity. They considered the characteristics of more than 86,000 different plant species in order to decide whether their survival was aided by human activities, in which case they were "winners," or whether human activities relegated them to a state of irrelevance and potential extinction, in which case they were "losers."



“I actually started this project from a place of optimism,” said Kress. “I had just planted all these trees around my house in Vermont and thought to myself that maybe there are actually more winners than losers, and we are just focused on everything that’s disappearing.”



In order to categorize the chances of survival of different plant species in a future world dominated by humans, Kress and Krupnick evaluated mountains of data on the economic uses, environmental tolerances, legal and illegal trades and conservation status of approximately 30 percent of all vascular plants on Earth (that is plants that transport water, dissolved nutrients and other substances within their bodies by means of specialized vessels).&nbsp;



Based on this data, they divided all the plants into seven categories: those that are winners and are useful to humans; winners that are not useful; losers that are useful; losers that are not useful; species that seemed likely to win in the future; those that seemed likely to lose in the future; and those that had already become extinct (571 species).



When the categories were tallied up, the analysis showed that losers currently outnumber winners, and that losers are likely to be more numerous than winners in the future if human impact on the planet continues on its current course. Kress and Krupnick categorized 20,293 species of plants as losers, with the vast majority of them being identified as not useful to humans. In contrast, just 6,913 species were categorized as winners, with all but 164 of those species having some human use.



In the future, assuming that human behavior will not change substantially, losers are projected to continue to outnumber winners, with 26,002 species in the potential losers category compared to 18,664 species in the tentative winners category.&nbsp;



The researchers also considered whether there were evolutionary relationships within the groups of clear winners and losers. They mapped these species onto evolutionary trees to see if some plant orders contained high numbers of winner species, or high numbers of losers.&nbsp;



“The question was whether there were some lineages of plants that were more packed with winners or were full of losers we should be concerned about,” said Kress.



The findings, published today in the journal <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/25722611">Plants People Planet</a>, showed that winners and losers are distributed pretty evenly across plant orders. There were a few instances where branches of the plant evolutionary tree had few species but more losers than winners, and these branches had an increased risk of being lost altogether. Plant groups such as cycads, and cypresses (the family that includes redwoods and junipers) were among those that fell into this category.&nbsp;



“Now and in the future, plants have to adapt to the environment humans have created or they will go extinct,” said Krupnick. “Our results suggest that this means the plant communities of the future will be more homogenized than those of today.”



This loss of plant diversity could have major negative consequences for ecosystems around the world in future. Losing plant diversity will be associated with losses in animal diversity, Kress said, and this will make ecosystems less resilient in the face of hardship or change. This would have serious implications for humanity as well.



“The list of winners shows that we’ve selected certain species that are useful to us, but as that pool of plants we have to select from decreases in the future, humanity will have many fewer options when we want to reforest the planet, find new medicines or foods, or develop new products,” said Kress.



According to Kress, he hopes that these lists will give other researchers opportunities to look more in depth at the reasons why certain species or lineages are winning or losing in the age of humans and to identify the plants that are most in need of conservation.



“It still looks green outside my window, and that can create the illusion that plants are doing well,” said Kress. “But this study suggests we’re on course for a big loss of plant diversity, and we better wake up.”



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Humans decide which plants win or lose, and most are losing

Although humans and their direct ancestors have been around on...

The return of the swallows has been celebrated for thousands of years as a harbinger of <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/new-evidence-reveals-that-dinosaurs-died-in-the-spring/">spring</a> in the United Kingdom. However, it was not known until the 20th century where they went after they disappeared in the autumn. Many people - including notable scientists - believed that they hibernated on the bottom of ponds.&nbsp;



With the introduction of bird ringing at the beginning of the 20th century, their true destination was revealed. In December 1912, a swallow was caught on a farm in South Africa, bearing a ring that had been placed on its leg 18 months earlier in Staffordshire, UK. Because the European winters were too cold for the insects on which swallows fed, the birds headed south each winter, traveling incredible distances until the warm south of the African continent.&nbsp;



However, according to the <a href="https://www.bto.org/">British Trust for Ornithology</a> (BTO), swallows have recently started to spend winters in the United Kingdom instead of migrating over 6,000 miles to South Africa. This major change in behavior is one of the most remarkable signs that climate change is severely dismantling a large variety of ecosystems.



“It is indeed remarkable,” said BTO’s chief executive, Professor Juliet Vickery. “We haven’t got to go back too far to remember winters when it would have been impossible for swallows to survive the freezing temperatures, but as our winters get milder it is something we may see more and more.”&nbsp;



BTO’s <a href="https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/birdtrack">BirdTrack survey</a> of birdwatchers has received more than 100 reports of up to 12 individual swallows that were observed during January in the warmer south and south-west of Britain, as well as parts of Ireland. Thus, with an increase of mild winters in the past few years, it appears that a small number of swallows are able to spend the winter months in Britain, instead of migrating to the south.



“To suggest that our winters would be warm enough for swallows to survive would have been unthinkable a few decades ago,” said&nbsp;BTO’s Director of Science, Professor James Pearce-Higgins. “But the evidence that our climate is changing is building year by year.”



According to BTO, swallows are not the only birds affected by climate change. In fact, almost a quarter of British breeding species may be negatively affected by the steady rises in temperature witnessed in the past years. Scientists are yet to understand all the implications of these fundamental changes in bird behavior caused by global warming, and to find solutions to minimize their negative impact.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Swallows are no longer migrating south as winters become milder

The return of the swallows has been celebrated for thousands...

Lithium is a non-renewable resource in high demand to support the transition to a low carbon economy. It’s most commonly used to power the world’s electric vehicles, a promising technology to reduce global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lower-emissions-needed-to-save-the-winter-season/">emissions</a>.



Most of the world’s lithium is mined in Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina, an area known as ‘The Lithium Triangle," which is coincidentally, home to three species of flamingos.&nbsp;



A new study has found that lithium mining and climate changes in the Andes Mountains could be negatively affecting the region’s flamingo population.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study, published in the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>, considered the effects that lithium mining and climate change are having on the lakes in the Chilean Andes where flamingos flock for feeding and breeding.&nbsp;



“Given how rapidly our demand for lithium is growing, there is a great need to understand what negative effects its production might be having on biodiversity and especially those species, like flamingos, that are important to local economies,” explained study co-author Dr. Nathan Senner, a population biologist at the <a href="https://sc.edu/">University of South Carolina</a>.



The "lithium triangle" is home to two species of flamingos who only breed in this region exclusively. Flamingos are also an important foundation of the region’s ecotourism industry.&nbsp;



The study looked at five lakes in the Chilean Andes, part of the Lithium Triangle, where Chile’s lithium mining is largely focused.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed 30 years of flamingo counts collected by citizen scientists and biologists from the Chilean government. Remote sensing data was also used to identify changes in water levels and food availability within each lake. This allowed the experts to evaluate the climatic factors influencing water and flamingo food availability, as well as how water and food influenced flamingo abundance.&nbsp;



The study revealed that lakes across the regions are starting to shrink, largely due to climate change. The impacts of a shrinking lake directly impact breeding flamingos. When a lake’s water levels are low, food levels decrease, leaving less opportunity for breeding flamingos.&nbsp;



The results show that in Salar de Atacama, a lake directly affected by mining, the two species of flamingos that breed only in these mountains have already lost 10 to 12 percent of their populations. Overall, however, the flamingo population has not yet declined.&nbsp;



The stability of the local flamingo population is likely due to the opportunity for the birds to migrate to different lakes with better conditions. The researchers are concerned that this may not last, as the demand for lithium mining is growing at an exponential rate.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In order to meet demand for electric vehicles, cell phones, and electronic storage devices, lithium mining in Chile is projected to triple by 2026 relative to 2018 levels.



“The problem is that, in the Salar de Atacama, in addition to the changes caused by climate change across the region, lithium mining is reducing water levels and increasing disturbances for flamingos,” explained Dr. Jorge Gutiérrez, an ecologist at the Universidad de Extremadura who led the study. “This means years with sufficient water for flamingos to breed occur less frequently and fewer flamingos are now present, Study co-author Dr. Cristina Dorador said that the flamingo declines in the Salar de Atacama may soon spread to the rest of the region.“Given that two of these flamingo species breed nowhere else in the world, this could lead to dramatic declines across their entire range and severely hurt the local ecotourism industry that relies on flamingos.”



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Demand for lithium comes at a cost to flamingos

Lithium is a non-renewable resource in high demand to support...

Approximately half of the Earth’s land area has been converted for agricultural use and this has led to three of humanity’s most urgent environmental challenges. Agriculture is responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions, demands around 70 percent of global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/salt-pollution-threatens-freshwater-ecosystems/">freshwater</a> use, and is the largest driver of habitat loss, which in turn threatens terrestrial biodiversity.&nbsp;



A team of international scientists has now proposed that if current croplands could be relocated to more suitable and productive locations around the globe, while allowing ecosystems in the then-abandoned farming areas to regenerate, the carbon and biodiversity footprints of agricultural production would be minimized. And locating the new croplands in areas where rainfall provides all the necessary water would removing the need for systematic irrigation.&nbsp;



Details of their reimagined world maps of agriculture are published today in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/commsenv/">Nature Communications Earth &amp; Environment</a>. The experts propose large new farming areas for many major crops around the Cornbelt in the mid-western US, and south of the Sahara desert, while huge areas of current farmland in Europe and India would be allowed to revert to natural habitat.



“In many places, cropland has replaced natural habitat that contained a lot of carbon and biodiversity - and crops don’t even grow very well there. If we let these places regenerate, and moved production to better suited areas, we would see environmental benefits very quickly,” said study first author Dr. Robert Beyer, formerly a researcher in the Department of Zoology at the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>.



The researchers used global maps of the current growing areas of 25 major crops, including wheat, barley and soybean, which together account for 77 percent of croplands worldwide. For each crop they assessed the carbon impact by comparing the carbon stocks present in the crops with the carbon that would be bound up in local natural vegetation and soil. Similarly, they estimated the difference between local biodiversity in natural vegetation and in croplands.&nbsp;



The same methods enabled the researchers to predict the potential biodiversity and carbon impacts of crop production in locations that are currently not cultivated. They then developed a mathematical model to look at all possible ways to distribute this cropland across the globe, while maintaining overall production levels for each crop. They used potential yield estimates for three different farming scenarios representing the range from traditional, subsistence-based organic farming systems to advanced, fully mechanized production with high-yielding crop varieties and optimum fertilizer and pesticide application.



According to the model’s predictions, the proposed redistribution of croplands, under a high-input, mechanized farming scenario, would cut the carbon impact of crop agriculture by 71 percent, as long as the original croplands were allowed to return to their natural, forested states. This is the equivalent of capturing 20 years’ worth of the current net CO2&nbsp;emissions. Trees capture carbon as they grow, and also enable more carbon to be captured by the soil than when crops are grown in it.



In this optimized scenario, the impact of crop production on the world’s biodiversity would be reduced by 87 percent, which would drastically reduce the extinction risk for many species for which agriculture is a major threat. The researchers say that croplands would quickly revert back to their natural state, often recovering their original carbon stocks and biodiversity within a few decades.



The authors recognize that it is not currently possible to relocate croplands on a global scale to the new and more productive locations they have identified. However, their maps and models highlight places were croplands are currently very unproductive, but have potential to be hotspots for biodiversity and carbon storage.



Even considering less extreme changes and only redistributing croplands within national borders, rather than globally, would result in significant benefits: global carbon impact would be reduced by 59 percent and biodiversity impact would be 77 percent lower than at present.



A third, even more realistic option of only relocating the worst-offending 25 percent of croplands nationally would result in half of the benefits of optimally moving all croplands.



“It’s currently not realistic to implement this whole redesign. But even if we only relocated a fraction of the world’s cropland, focusing on the places that are least efficient for growing crops, the environmental benefits would be tremendous,” said Beyer.



Their study predicts that the optimal distribution of croplands will change very little until the end of the century, irrespective of the specific impacts of climate change.



“Optimal cropping locations are no moving target. Areas where environmental footprints would be low, and crop yields high, for the current climate will largely remain optimal in the future,” said study senior author Professor Andrea Manica.



While other studies have shown that moving to more plant-based diets would significantly reduce the environmental impacts of agriculture, the researchers say that, in reality, diets aren’t changing quickly. Their model assumes that diets will not change, and focuses on producing the same types of food as today but in an optimal way.



Many of the world's croplands are located in areas where they have a huge environmental footprint, having replaced carbon-rich and biodiversity-rich ecosystems, and are a significant drain on local water resources. These locations were chosen for historical reasons, such as their proximity to human settlements, but the researchers say it is now time to grow food in a more optimal way.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Relocating croplands could drastically reduce their environmental impact

Approximately half of the Earth’s land area has been converted...

Very,Beautiful,And,Panoramic,Landscape,Or,Seascape,With,Dramatic,Cumulus

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/el-nino-drives-millions-of-children-into-hunger/">El Niño</a> – a climate pattern characterized by the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean – is affecting the climate, ecosystems, and societies all over the world. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> has found that the global weather fluctuations caused by El Niño will become more frequent by 2040, regardless of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ipcc-report-window-to-secure-a-liveable-future-is-rapidly-closing/">climate change</a> mitigation effects that we might undertake in the near future.



By using state-of-the-art climate models, scientists examined the “time of emergence” of changes in the tropical Pacific related to El Niño – i.e., the moment when the signal of climate change emerges from the usual background noise of natural climate variability. They took into account four possible scenarios for future greenhouse gas emissions and found that, in all the four scenarios, the best estimate of the time of emergence of changes converged on 2040.



“We know from previous studies that, when measuring El Niño changes in terms of rainfall shifts in the eastern equatorial Pacific, models predict an increase in the frequency of events. This study shows that those changes could happen after the next two decades,” said study lead author Dr. Jun Ying, a visiting scholar at the University of Exeter.



“What surprised us is that changes emerge regardless of the scenario we look at,” added study co-author Matthew Collins, a professor of Climate Science at the University of Exeter.&nbsp;



“Because rainfall in the tropics is associated with the warmest sea surface temperatures (SSTs), it is the relative changes in SST that are more important than the absolute change. This leads us to the rather stark conclusion that these changes are essentially unavoidable.”



Although the study results suggest that El Niño events and associated climate extremes are more likely regardless of any significant mitigation actions to reduce emissions, this should not lead to complacency from policy makers and federal agencies. If no immediate actions are taken to curb global warming, the negative effects associated with increases in temperatures will most likely escalate to unprecedented levels, highly endangering life on our planet.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01301-z">Nature Climate Change</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Increase in extreme El Niño events is unavoidable

El Niño – a climate pattern characterized by the unusual...

Global warming is modifying countless aspects of marine ecosystems, including species compositions and interactions, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-food-chains-threatened-by-ocean-acidification/">marine food webs</a>, metabolic rates and growth of species, disease profiles and rates of primary production. The effects of this degradation are particularly noticeable in the tropical reef ecosystems of the Caribbean, where warming has caused mass coral mortality events, extinction of reef-dependent taxa and the loss of ecosystem function over the past few decades.&nbsp;



Building on previous research, Colleen Bove of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues, present the results of a new analysis of 150 years of sea-surface temperature changes throughout the Greater Caribbean region. Their results, published today in the open-access journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/climate/">PLOS Climate</a>, provide a synthesis of ocean warming that will help scientists understand how temperatures are impacting these iconic ecosystems.



Initially, the researchers compiled a data base of the locations of Caribbean coral reefs, using the coordinates of known reefs listed in several international sources. In total, they identified the locations of 5,326 unique reefs across the Caribbean Basin. They allocated all the reefs into one of eight ecoregions that they identified using the World Wildlife Fund’s marine ecoregions classification.



They then used three open-access datasets of satellite and on-location sea-surface temperature observations to assess the changes in temperature in the region between 1871 and 2020.



Their analysis showed that, in the Greater Caribbean area as a whole, reef warming began in 1915, although in four of the eight ecoregions, warming began even earlier, during the second half of the nineteenth century. Following a global pause in warming in the mid-twentieth century, warming of the Caribbean reefs resumed in the 1980s and 1990s and has continued ever since then.



The researchers found that Caribbean reefs have been heating up at remarkable rates over the last century: they have warmed by an average of 0.18oC per decade, during this period, giving a total increase of 0.5 to 1°C in the past century. Different ecoregions have experienced varying rates of warming over time. If the warming trend continues as it has, the authors predict that the Caribbean reefs will warm by an additional1.5°C by the year 2100.



Analysis of the sea-surface temperature data also showed that marine heatwave events have increased in frequency and duration since the 1980s. The Caribbean reefs now experience an average of five heatwave events each year, compared to only one per year in the early 1980s. Recently, these extreme heating events have lasted an average of 14 days.&nbsp;



“Our study indicates that coral reefs have been warming for at least a century and many reefs across the Caribbean have already warmed by a degree Celsius," wrote the study authors. "This explains why we have seen such devastating declines in the health of this invaluable ecosystem.”



The experts conclude that the changes in thermal environment, in addition to other stressors such as fishing, pollution and diseases of corals, have caused a dramatic shift in the functioning of Caribbean coral reef ecosystems. They are calling for an urgent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, as well as plans to address these other stressors, in order to protect the remnant Caribbean coral reefs.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Caribbean corals have been warming for at least a century

Global warming is modifying countless aspects of marine ecosystems, including...

A commonly accepted explanation for the unusually cold weather over the United States in the early 2021 - including the unprecedented and brutal cold snap that gripped Texas in February – posits a “sudden stratospheric warming” as the main cause behind these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-extreme-weather-impact-marine-ecosystems/">weather</a> events. 



However, a new study led by the <a href="https://ncar.ucar.edu/">National Center for Atmospheric Research</a> (NCAR) has challenged this assumption, arguing that the tropospheric circulation and bidirectional coupling between the troposphere and stratosphere were the dominant contributors to the unusual weather patterns during that period.



Sudden stratospheric warmings are breakdowns of the winter stratospheric polar vortex. During the Northern Hemisphere winters, when the North Pole remains shrouded in darkness, a frigid mass of cold air forms in the stratosphere above the pole. This cold air is locked into place by a jet stream known as a stratospheric polar vortex.&nbsp;



About once every two years, the polar vortex is disrupted by planetary-scale waves that propagate upward from the troposphere (the lowest layer of the atmosphere) and warm the vortex, weakening it or causing it to be displaced or split in two – a phenomenon known as a sudden stratospheric warming. In the month after such events occur, it is usually warmer than normal in Canada, Alaska, and the Middle East, and colder than normal in Siberia, Europe, and the United States.



However, scientists from NCAR argue that this phenomenon has not been the main cause behind the early 2021 cold waves over the United States. “I think everyone imagined that a pinball is shot up from the troposphere, hits the polar vortex, and breaks it apart,” said study lead author Nicholas Davis, an expert in climate dynamics at NCAR.&nbsp;



“And then another pinball shoots back down and changes the weather. But this study shows that it’s not so simple. I think it possible that the events in the troposphere and the stratosphere are feeding back on one another and reinforcing what’s happening.”



According to Dr. Davis and his colleagues, the initial state of the troposphere was the primary driver of the US cold snap, rather than the onset of the sudden stratospheric warming. However, a disturbed polar vortex following stratospheric warmings can reflect planetary waves back down into the troposphere, where they can intensify weather systems and create or exacerbate cold air outbreaks.&nbsp;



Thus, the complex interactions between the troposphere and the stratosphere are most likely behind the unusual weather patterns from early 2021, rather than the simpler form of causality connecting stratospheric warmings with the onset of the cold wave.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“There is overall insufficient dynamical evidence to conclude that the sudden stratospheric warming in particular, or the stratosphere in general, had a substantial impact on the surface circulation or surface temperatures in the month after the event. The tropospheric circulation, surface forcings, and their bidirectional coupling with the stratosphere played an equal if not more important role,” concluded the authors.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28836-1#Sec2">Nature Communications</a>.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Study reveals cause last winter’s brutal U.S. cold snap

A commonly accepted explanation for the unusually cold weather over...

The number of snowshoe hares in a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thirsty-mountain-forests-leave-lower-elevations-with-less-water/">forest</a> is a good indicator of how healthy the ecosystem is, and scientists have now applied a new method to find out.



Usually, live-trapping is used by researchers for determining the density of snowshoe hares and other small mammals. However, this method is costly, requires a team of people to manage, and can potentially harm the animals.



The researchers have adopted an improved, more humane method for monitoring the population density of snowshoe hares that is based on newly developed camera-trapping methods.



“Snowshoe hares are considered a keystone, boreal forest species and there’s been some evidence that hare populations are changing as the climate warms,” said study co-author Dan Thornton. “This study comes out as rapidly changing climatic conditions are altering our natural plant and animal communities worldwide.”&nbsp;



Cameras have long been used to study the presence and population density of large cats, like the Canadian lynx for years. This is because large cats are easily distinguishable, with unique markings that differ between individuals. Snowshoe hares have unmarked coats, making it difficult to use traditional camera trapping methods.&nbsp;



Analytical models have been recently developed that use photographs to extract data such as animal speed and location. While these models have been effective in estimating the density of unmarked animals such as hares, the approach has not yet been used in the wild. Questions remain as to whether the modeling approach is as reliable as traditional, live-trapping methods.&nbsp;



In 2019, researchers from <a href="https://wsu.edu/">Washington State University</a> designed a large-scale field test to analyze the camera method while investigating the density of snowshoe hares at various forested sites on the eastern edge of the North Cascades in Washington. The experiment successfully trapped 770 snowshoe hares and collected 13,608 camera trap photos.&nbsp;



To determine effectiveness, the research team compared live-trapping and camera-trapping data. The study found that, overall, density estimates from the cameras had an 86 percent correlation with live trapping data. “Until now, cameras could only really tell us if the hares are there or not there,” said Thornton.&nbsp;



To validate the reliability of this approach, the researchers plan to use camera trapping methods in larger scale experiments. The research could help map the health of snowshoe hares and other unmarked animals, and shed new light on the health of forests themselves.&nbsp;



The study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jmammal/gyac009/6541509">Journal of Mammalogy</a>. 



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Snowshoe hares provide clues about forest health

The number of snowshoe hares in a forest is a...

Understanding how forests and other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/salt-pollution-threatens-freshwater-ecosystems/" data-type="news" data-id="1904645">ecosystems</a> respond to drought is critical to support water availability for all. A new study from <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a> has found that higher elevation mountain forests, located above 3,280 feet, increase their water use during droughts.&nbsp;



“We’re expecting that droughts will become more severe and frequent, so it’s important to understand how that’s going to influence the amount of water we have available,” said study lead author Katie McQuillan.&nbsp;



The study was focused on the Blue Ridge Mountains, a forested mountain region in the eastern United States. The researchers found that when upstream forests’ increase water consumption, less water is available for downstream ecosystems, wildlife, and even cities.&nbsp;



Using satellite data from 1984 - 2020, the experts analyzed how trees use water and release it as vapor. The thermal infrared data helped identify trends in forest water use for more than 15,000 square miles of forest across Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia.



“Forested mountain regions are super important for the quality and quantity of water that we have downstream,” said McQuillan. “Mountain forests produce some of the cleanest and most stable sources of water, and have an impact on how much water is available downstream for people and aquatic species.”



The analysis revealed that during extreme drought, higher elevation forests’ water use was slightly increased. Meanwhile, lower elevation forests’ reduced water use during the same periods of drought. This is because higher elevations find droughts stressful, and end up using more water every time drought occurs - therefore adapting to droughts.&nbsp;



“These high elevation and ridge forests are able to increase water use because they have first access to precipitation. With less runoff, that makes dry conditions for trees at lower topographic positions worse, leading to larger declines in forest water use in low elevation and valley forests.” said study senior author Katherine L. Martin.



Lower water consumption by lower elevation forests could mean that they are less adapted to drought.&nbsp; Trees that are better adapted to drought are usually able to continue drinking water and can even grow under stressful conditions.



Across all elevations, the researchers saw that mountain forests drank more water at the droughts’ peak, likely due to climate change. “When it’s hotter, forests use more water to keep themselves cool," said McQuillan.



The types of trees found in these forests have also changed, likely due to trends in fire suppression and changes in precipitation.&nbsp; Drought-sensitive species like maples, historically found at lower elevations, are now more common throughout the landscape. These species drink more water than others.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“If those are in the high elevation or upslope areas, that exacerbates what we’re seeing,” said McQuillan.&nbsp;



The findings could mean that changes in the way forests use water would make water shortages more severe.



Given the large proportion of forests on the landscape distributed across high elevation, reductions in downslope water availability could be widespread - reducing runoff, impacting the health of downslope vegetation, and aquatic biodiversity.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/10980">Landscape Ecology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Thirsty mountain forests leave lower elevations with less water

Understanding how forests and other ecosystems respond to drought is...

A new study led by Columbia University’s <a href="https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/">Mailman School of Public Health</a> has found that hurricanes and other tropical cyclones in the United States were associated with up to 33.4 percent higher death rates from several major causes – including injuries, infectious and parasitic diseases, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, or neuropsychiatric disorders - in the months after the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/natural-disasters-may-lead-to-premature-aging/">natural disasters</a> occurred. These findings highlight how far-reaching and varied the hidden costs to life could be from climate-related disasters and climate change.



“In the U.S., tropical cyclones, such as hurricanes and tropical storms, have a devastating effect on society, yet a comprehensive assessment of their continuing health impacts had been lacking,”&nbsp;said study senior author Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou, an assistant professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health.



“Our study is a first major step in better understanding how cyclones may affect deaths, which provides an essential foundation for improving resilience to climate-related disasters across the days, weeks, months, and years after they wreak destruction.”&nbsp;



After collecting 33.6 million U.S. death records from 1988 to 2018, Professor Kioumourtzoglou and her colleagues used statistical methods to calculate how death rates changed after tropical cyclones when compared to equivalent periods in other years. For the month when the natural disaster occurred, the researchers found a 33.4 percent spike in injuries-related deaths, with female injury death rates higher than males’ (46.5 percent compared to 27.6 percent).&nbsp;



In subsequent months, they noticed increases in death rates for injuries (3.7 percent), infectious and parasitic diseases (1.8 percent), respiratory diseases (1.3 percent), cardiovascular diseases (1.2 percent), and neuropsychiatric disorders (1.2 percent).



&nbsp;“Our results show that tropical cyclones in the U.S. were associated with increases in deaths for several major causes of death, speaking to the ‘hidden burden’ of climate-related exposures and climate change,” said study lead author Robbie Parks, a postdoctoral researcher at the Mailman School of Public Health.



“An outsized proportion of low-income and historically-disadvantaged communities in the United States reside in tropical cyclone-affected areas; understanding the public health consequences of climate-related disasters such as hurricanes and other tropical cyclones is an essential component of environmental justice,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/">JAMA</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists reveal the hidden death burden of tropical cyclones

A new study led by Columbia University’s Mailman School of...

On Monday, March 7, 2022, the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/">United States Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA) proposed a new rule to curb nitrogen oxide and carbon pollution from buses, delivery vans, tractor-trailers, and other heavy trucks. This is the first time in 20 years that tailpipe standards for the biggest polluters on the road have been tightened.



According to EPA officials, the pollution from diesel-powered trucks has a disproportionate impact on low-income communities and ethnic minorities who live near highways, ports, or other heavily trafficked areas. The surge in home deliveries during the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omicron-wreaks-havoc-among-immunologically-naive-populations/">pandemic</a> has worsened air pollution in some neighborhoods near the many warehouses built recently to satisfy America’s rise in online shopping habits.



“Seventy-two million people are estimated to live near truck freight routes in America, and they are more likely to be people of color and those with lower incomes,” said Michael S. Regan, the EPA administrator.&nbsp;



“These overburdened communities are directly exposed to pollution that causes respiratory and cardiovascular problems, among other serious and costly health effects. These new standards will drastically cut dangerous pollution by harnessing recent advancements in vehicle technologies from across the trucking industry as it advances toward a zero-emissions transportation future.”&nbsp;



EPA’s new draft rule would require heavy-duty trucks to reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions by 90 percent by 2031, as well as to continue to reduce carbon dioxide emissions starting in 2024. According to EPA estimates, these new limits could prevent up to 2,100 premature deaths, 6,700 hospitalizations and ER visits, 18,000 cases of asthma in children, 78,000 lost days of work, and 1.1 million lost school days by 2045. Moreover, the economic benefits of the rules could be up to $250 billion.



Public health officials welcomed this first step in EPA’s “<a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-proposes-stronger-standards-heavy-duty-vehicles-promote-clean-air-protect">Clean Trucks Plan</a>”&nbsp; - a series of clean air and climate regulations which will be developed in the following three years to reduce pollution from heavy vehicles. “Cleaning up trucks is a critical step to achieving the president’s vision not only of environmental justice but also the cancer moonshot,” said Paul Billings, a senior vice president at the <a href="https://www.lung.org/">American Lung Association</a>. “Diesel gas is a known carcinogen.”



However, many truckers and manufacturers consider the new rule too stringent and costly. “This new standard simply may not be technologically feasible,” said Jed Mandel, president of the <a href="http://www.truckandenginemanufacturers.org/">Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association</a>. “We’re worried about the cost. There is a potential of adverse impacts on the economy and jobs.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Regardless of the costs though, EPA’s new step towards the transition to a future of zero-pollution vehicles is timely and should be implemented as soon as possible in order to protect the health of millions of people and the environment. The <a href="https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/proposed-rule-and-related-materials-control-air-1">rule</a> will be open for public comment for 46 days, and hopefully finalized by the end of 2022.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Biden administration moves to curb emissions from heavy trucks

On Monday, March 7, 2022, the United States Environmental Protection...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes how Earth is unique in our solar system for its ability to sustain liquid water on its surface. But now, the water cycle is shifting as the climate warms, and scientists must find ways to predict how these changes will affect water availability.



Overall, 96 percent of Earth's water is saltwater, and nearly all of freshwater is found in ice and groundwater. These sources of water are linked as it passes through solid, liquid and gas phases.



In a warmer climate, the water cycle will be transformed. It will be easier for water to evaporate and form clouds, and storms will become more frequent and intense. Some regions will get too much water, while others will be left without enough water. In addition, soil moisture will be lost - which threatens food security.



Scientists are using satellite data from over the last 40 years to track changes that are happening in the water cycle. This will ultimately help us prepare for extreme events and better manage our water resources, according to ESA.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Tracking changes in Earth's water cycle

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Saturn,-,High,Resolution,3d,Images,Presents,Planets,Of,The

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> features images of Saturn from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The photographs capture the start of the mysterious "spoke season" on Saturn - when unexplained features appear on its rings. 



According to NASA, both the cause of the spokes and their seasonal variability have yet to be fully explained by planetary scientists.



"Like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons, though because of Saturn's much larger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox occurs when the rings are tilted edge-on to the Sun," explains NASA.



"The spokes disappear when it is near summer or winter solstice on Saturn. (When the Sun appears to reach either its highest or lowest latitude in the northern or southern hemisphere of a planet.) As the autumnal equinox of Saturn's northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, draws near, the spokes are expected to become increasingly prominent and observable."



Experts believe that the spokes may be a product of the planet's variable magnetic field. When magnetic fields interact with solar wind, an electrically charged environment is created. This phenomenon is visible on Earth as the northern lights.&nbsp;



"Scientists think that the smallest, dust-sized icy ring particles can become charged as well, which temporarily levitates those particles above the rest of the larger icy particles and boulders in the rings," says NASA.



The spokes were first observed in the early 1980s by NASA's Voyager mission. Depending on the angle of the rings, the spokes can appear dark or light.



"Thanks to Hubble's OPAL program, which is building an archive of data on the outer solar system planets, we will have longer dedicated time to study Saturn’s spokes this season than ever before," said NASA senior planetary scientist Amy Simon, head of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.



"Despite years of excellent observations by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning and duration of the spoke season is still unpredictable, rather like predicting the first storm during hurricane season."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Mysterious "spoke season" captured on Saturn

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Closeup,Of,Fresh,Green,The,Napier,Bush,Grass,As,Animal

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="http://www.ntu.edu.sg/">NTU Singapore</a> reveals that some plants can remove toxic heavy metals from soil.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed samples of various tropical plant species to test for levels of heavy metals and metalloids. The study showed that there are existing plants with high levels of these contaminants, which means that these species are great candidates for drawing pollutants out of the soil.&nbsp;



Among the plants examined in the study, 12 species had accumulated several types of heavy metals and metalloids. These plants are widely available, including species that are native to Singapore.



“In a small nation like Singapore, land may be repurposed to support new development plans, so it is important that we have a green and sustainable way to remediate land that is contaminated," said Professor Lam Yeng Ming.



"We set out to uncover how to better make use of tropical plants to do phytoremediation and through advanced characterization techniques, we showed how some of these tropical plant species can be an environmentally friendly and literally a 'green' way to remove contaminants in soil."&nbsp;



"Phytoremediation also has benefits of cost effectiveness, simplicity of management, aesthetic advantages, and long-term applicability and sustainability. The strategy prevents erosion and metal leaching by stabilizing or accumulating heavy metals, so that helps reduce the risk of contaminant spread.”



Video Credit: NTU Singapore



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Plants help remove heavy metals from contaminated soil

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes why herbicides are not as effective in killing weeds anymore. In the 20th century, chemical companies developed thousands of herbicides. The most commonly used herbicide was glyphosate, which was introduced in 1974.



Over the past few decades, dozens of species of weeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate. Depending on the site of action, the part of the plant that an herbicide interacts with, weeds may even be resistant to herbicides that have not been developed yet.&nbsp;



With increasing resistance to glyphosate and other herbicides, weeds are - once again - becoming a major concern for farmers.&nbsp;



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/">NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a> (JPL) describes a dust storm on Mars that was nearly twice the size of the United States. As the storm covered the southern hemisphere of the planet, some of NASA’s explorers had to delay their normal activities.



NASA’s Insight lander put itself in a "safe mode" for 11 days to conserve battery power because solar power was disrupted by the dust. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter postponed flights until conditions improved.



"A fleet of NASA orbiters monitor Martian dust storms like this one and serve as lifelines to Earth by relaying data from the rovers and lander on the ground back to the team. This includes the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MAVEN, and Odyssey," reports JPL.



"Dust storms like this recent one start close to the ground and are spread by wind as they rise – warming the cold Martian atmosphere."



The images in the video were captured by NASA’s Curiosity as the dust rolled in. A fleet of orbiters monitored the dust storm from above, relaying data from Mars’ explorers back to scientists on Earth.



Video &amp; Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

NASA monitors giant dust storms on Mars

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="http://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. This strait provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean.



Qeshm is separated from the Iranian coast by the Clarence Strait, also known as Khuran.&nbsp;The Hara Forest Protected Area is a network of shallow waterways and forest located between the island and the mainland. This protected region is home to sea turtles, snakes, and more than 150 species of migrating birds.



Qeshm is famous for its wide range of&nbsp;ecotourist&nbsp;attractions, such as the&nbsp;Hara marine forests. According to environmentalists, about 1.5 percent of the world birds and 25 percent of Iran's native <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-hummingbirds-avoid-sexual-harassment-by-looking-like-males/">birds</a> annually migrate to the forests, which are the first national geo park in Iran.



Tourists are also drawn to the island to see an age-old Portuguese&nbsp;fort, historic mosques, the&nbsp;Seyyed Mozaffar&nbsp;and&nbsp;Bibi Maryam&nbsp;shrines, and the "Valley of Stars."



The average temperature on the island is 81 degress and the region is often hot and humid. From June to August, the island is described as being oppressively hot. The ideal time to visit is during the winter season. 



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique.&nbsp;



"Inhambane Bay is a deep inlet into which the small Mutamba River flows," says ESA. "On one side of the bay lies the historical city of Inhambane, capital of the Inhambane Province, while the sister city of Maxixe, the economic capital of Inhambane, sits across from it. The province is the second largest grower of cashews, after Nampula, and it also produces coconut and citrus fruits."



The beaches of Barra and Tofo are popular with tourists. There are also coral reefs along the long coastline of Inhambane, making it an ideal destination for scuba diving and snorkeling.



"Mozambique’s extensive coastline heightens the country’s vulnerability to tropical cyclones that develop in the Indian Ocean as well as storm surge flooding," says ESA.



"More than half of the population lives in low lying coastal areas, putting communities at risk. Inhambane Bay was dangerously close to where Cyclone Idai made landfall in 2019 causing widespread destruction to the country."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Inhambane Bay in southeast Mozambique

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency </a>&nbsp;features the Kangerlussuaq Glacier, one of the largest tidewater outlet glaciers in Greenland. The glacier is located on the east coast of the Greenland ice sheet.



As human-induced climate change continues to drive up temperatures, global ice loss is accelerating at an alarming rate. ESA reports that, over the past decade alone, 3.5 trillion tons of ice have melted from the Greenland ice sheet. This is enough to cover the UK with meltwater 15 meters deep.



Based on satellite imagery, researchers determined that Kangerlussuaq entered a new phase of rapid retreat and acceleration in 2017. In their study, published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2019.00123/full">Frontiers in Earth Science</a>,&nbsp; the experts report that the glacier's ice front is now at its most retreated position since the early 20th century.



"Given Kangerlussuaq’s previous impacts on both the magnitude and pattern of ice sheet wide mass loss, we predict that its new phase of retreat, acceleration and thinning will markedly enhance the south-east region’s contribution to increasing discharge from the ice sheet," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"More broadly, accurate forecasting of the ice sheet’s contribution to sea level rise will require a deeper understanding of, and responses to, these non-linear ice dynamic processes."



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Kangerlussuaq Glacier on the Greenland ice sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the complex relationship between ocean and climate. ESA's Climate Change Initiative will help us understand how oceans influence the climate and how climate change is impacting the oceans.&nbsp;



"Earth’s oceans are huge heat stores, soaking up 93% of the excess heat from human activity over the past 70 years. Ocean currents redistribute heat around the planet, from the Equator to the poles. Where this ocean heat goes influences weather patterns and regional climate," explains ESA.



"As well as absorbing heat, oceans are a natural carbon sink, absorbing a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. This has led to the acidification of ocean water, threating marine life."



The amount of heat and carbon dioxide soaked up by the ocean depends on specific variables, including phytoplankton, temperatures, waves, salinity, and ice cover. Satellites can be used to measure these variables from space.



"From their unique vantage point, satellites provide key information for understanding the complexities of our planet and monitoring environmental issues," says ESA.



Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Ocean heat influences regional climate

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes the importance of monitoring the shape of the sea surface, which is constantly changing. These observations have many applications, such as ship routing, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-modem-ocean-is-a-tough-place-for-whales-to-survive/">ocean</a> current forecasting, and debris tracking.



"A project supported by the Discovery element of ESA’s Basic Activities recently investigated a new technique to measure sea surface topography very precisely," reports ESA.



"The technique involves looking at satellite navigation (GNSS) signals that have been reflected off of the sea surface at very low angles. At these so-called grazing angles, waves and surface roughness have very little impact on the reflection process; the sea surface acts as a very smooth mirror."



Estel Cardellach is the principal investigator at the Institute for Space Studies of Catalonia, who first submitted the idea for the project.



“In a mirror-like reflection the phase of the signal can be tracked – it is continuous," said Cardellach. "Different surface heights result in different phase measurements. It gives a very precise measurement of the surface altitude at a few centimetres’ precision.”



The researchers developed a GNSS receiver and set up an experiment in the Balaeric Islands to collect signals from the receiver that were reflected off the sea surface. Ultimately, these signals will provide improved measurements of the shape of the sea surface.



Image/ Video Credit: ESA



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Monitoring the dynamic shape of the sea surface

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Aerial,Photo,Of,River,In,Amazon,Rainforest,Jungle,In,Peru

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center</a> describes how scientists are using autonomous sound sensors to monitor deforestation in the Amazon. By recording soundscapes, the experts can determine which animals are present through their distinct sounds.&nbsp;



Using this method, sounds can be used as scientific measurements to analyze the effects of deforestation. The researchers will gain a better understanding of how the acoustics of a forest can be used to measure its health.&nbsp;



"From space, parts of the Amazon rainforest that have previously been logged or burned may look lush and green, like a place buzzing with activity and full of sounds. But inside the rainforest, the animal life may tell a different story, of a harsh environment and a quieter soundscape," says NASA.



Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center&nbsp;



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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Monitoring deforestation in the Amazon through sounds

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