Lakes may cover only a small fraction of Earth's surface, but new research suggests they play a bigger role in regulating the planet's climate than previously recognized. By reflecting sunlight back into space when covered in snow and ice, lakes in the Northern Hemisphere have a stronger cooling effect than the…
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro contributed to deforestation through statements opposing forest conservation, according to an international study led by the University of Bonn. The study found that destruction of the Amazon rainforest accelerated when Bolsonaro and his ministers posted messages opposing…
The quality of European rivers has improved in recent years, but not at the pace required to meet the environmental targets set for 2030. This is one of the main conclusions of a study led by researchers María Pachés Giner and Remedios Martínez from the Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering at the…
The advance of the Iran-aligned Houthi rebel group in Yemen has driven more than 130,000 people from their homes since the beginning of September, deepening the humanitarian crisis in an already poor country with a long history of domestic conflict.
Halting new marine plastic inputs by 2050 is the core objective of the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision, which was shared and endorsed alongside the G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter. However, stopping new plastic inputs will not remove existing marine debris, which can gradually fragment into…
Australia's first mandatory climate reporting regime is now upon us. Since January 2025, organizations across the economy have been required to comply with AASB S2. It requires organizations to assess their climate risks and opportunities and show how they plan to stay resilient under plausible future climate…
Weather forecasts in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) are generally less accurate than those in the Northern Hemisphere because Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean have relatively few weather observations. With limited information about atmospheric conditions in one of the world's most remote regions…
Even if industry rapidly becomes more sustainable, households will still need to change their lifestyles to meet climate targets. Industrial ecologist Stephanie Cap warns that households cannot do this alone: Businesses and governments must create the conditions to make these changes possible. Cap defends her…
When we think of a volcanic eruption, rivers of glowing lava or giant columns of ash come to mind. But beneath Earth's surface, a more complex story is unfolding. Magma deep within volcanoes is more than molten rock. It is a thick mixture of melted rock and solid mineral crystals known as "magma mush". To picture it…
Scientists studying ancient Australian rocks uncovered more than 12,000 fossils from some of the oldest known eukaryotes on Earth. These early complex cells lived in settings ranging from coastal mudflats to the open sea, but only where oxygen was available. Oxygen-free environments contained simpler microbes instead…