What happens to smoke particles after sunset can depend strongly on something as familiar as the amount of water in the air. New research from Md. Sohel Rana and Marcelo I. Guzman at the University of Kentucky shows that relative humidity can redirect the chemical pathways involved in the nighttime oxidation of…
In September 2024, Storm Boris brought extreme precipitation and severe flooding to large parts of Central and Eastern Europe. Poland, Czechia and Austria were particularly affected. In some areas, several hundred millimeters of rain fell within a few days, and numerous rivers burst their banks.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals known for their exceptional resistance to degradation, earning them the nickname "forever chemicals." These persistent substances can accumulate in water, soil and living organisms, raising concerns about their potential impacts on human health and the…
The combination of heat waves and drought markedly reduces the capacity of street trees to cool the air in Mediterranean cities. The lack of soil moisture severely restricts plant transpiration, reducing the thermal relief provided by these trees during extreme heat events.
Right now, people in parts of Indonesia are inhaling what may be the most polluted atmosphere on Earth. As the historically large 2026 El Niño intensifies, parts of Southeast Asia have been plunged into an air quality crisis of catastrophic proportions.
High on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, the ground stays frozen, with only the top few meters melting each summer. Although the region is warming about twice as fast as the global average, a new study finds that more than a third of its permafrost, mainly in the central plateau, has gained ice since 2000. Stronger…
Climate-driven hazards can push many to leave their homes in search of a livelihood elsewhere, but aspirations for the future may change where they decide to migrate, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State. At the same time, income losses due to climate shocks, or extreme weather events like floods…
A new study by researchers at Montana State University has found that heat waves substantially accelerate the melting rate of mountain snowpack; however, the resulting water doesn't necessarily produce an immediate increase in streamflow.
Scientists have uncovered a surprising connection between Earth's opposite poles that may help explain how the planet plunged into past ice ages. New research suggests that as massive ice sheets expanded across the Northern Hemisphere, they cooled Atlantic Ocean waters that eventually traveled south toward Antarctica…
Ferocious winds and torrential rain lashed India's southeastern coast after a cyclone made landfall on Wednesday, but officials said there were no initial reports of deaths and the storm later began to ease.
The Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW)—a vast layer of fresh water spanning much of the Southern Hemisphere's ocean—has rapidly reversed its long-term trends in salinity and density, according to new research. The AAIW helps store carbon, supply oxygen and drive global ocean currents.
Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier may be melting twice as much as previously predicted, even without additional global warming. Scientists discovered that warm ocean water is penetrating miles beneath the ice, weakening its foundations and accelerating its retreat. A new model predicts that the glacier could add up to 30…