The wildfires blazing across Europe have been fuelled by extreme weather that has been made up to 20 times more likely than it would be without human-induced climate change, according to an analysis by World Weather Attribution. Back-to-back heatwaves and an early drought have created tinderbox conditions in western Europe since early July, with severe wildfires […]
Experts warn that the extreme heat reflects a broader climate trend that is increasing health, water and food security risks across Central Asia. Summer in Astana is only halfway through, yet residents of the Kazakh capital have already endured two record-breaking heatwaves. On 14 July, temperatures soared to 39.5°C, breaking the previous record for the […]
Scientists have found that ocean temperature patterns may help keep droughts from spreading across the world all at once. The research, led by the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) with international collaborators, suggests that natural climate shifts in the oceans act as a kind of global brake on synchronized drought. Published in Communications Earth & […]
After nearly 40 years of research, scientists have uncovered evidence that challenges a long held assumption about forest soils. The world’s longest running soil warming experiment suggests that even carbon once considered stable can begin to break down as temperatures rise, releasing additional CO2 into the atmosphere. Jerry Melillo, a Distinguished Scientist at the Marine Biological […]
Wildflower meadows are a maintenance-free and beautiful way to support pollinators. Panting cats and dogs are worrying pet-owners as another heatwave grips western Europe. Avoiding the hottest parts of the day used to be enough, but UK vets now warn that pets can overheat even resting indoors. It’s not just animals in the home who are suffering. As scorching […]
Europe has come top in the latest Environmental Performance Index, partly due to the boom in renewables. But experts warn that more progress is needed. Europe has dominated new global sustainability rankings, but experts warn that all nations are “still far from critical goals” to tackle climate change. The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) – produced […]
Eco construction techniques keep buildings cool and produce less emissions. With millions sweltering in heatwaves that started earlier than ever this year, the buildings we live and work in have come under the spotlight. Northern Europeans have found that most homes are designed to trap heat rather than stay cool, making them saunas when temperatures […]
Solar panels have been proven to help keep houses cool during extreme temperatures and may even increase the value of your home. Solar has been described as a “shining star” of the EU’s energy transition, helping to shelter households from the crippling cost of fossil fuels. According to Eurostat data, solar covered more than 17 per cent […]
Global water scarcity has reached a new and potentially irreversible stage, an era of “bankruptcy” driven by decades of overuse, groundwater depletion and climate change, UN experts warned on Monday. Kaveh Madani, lead author of Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era, told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that this issue matters […]
Beneath the ground, vast networks of fungi quietly support plant life and play an important role in regulating the planet’s climate by helping move carbon into soils. Now, researchers have created the first global maps showing where these underground fungal networks are found and how much of them exist worldwide. The study, published in Science, focuses […]
