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Climate change is turning snow to rain and raising risk of floods

28 June 2023

Warmer temperatures increase the amount of precipitation that falls as rain instead of snow, leading to more extreme rainfall in snowy places


A partially flooded area of Kherson, Ukraine

Ukraine Kakhovka dam explosion: Flooding is devastating wildlife

8 June 2023

Thousands of people have been evacuated due to the breach of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine. In a briefing, a minister for the Ukraine government explained how it is also harming ecosystems and farms


An emaciated cow stands at the bottom of the water pan that has been dried up for 4 months in Iresteno, a bordering town with Ethiopia, on September 1, 2022. - The devastating Horn of Africa drought is set to get even worse with a fifth consecutive failed rainy season, the UN's weather agency forecasted, fearing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are already going through their worst drought for 40 years and another poor rainy season is now highly likely, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned. (Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP) (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)

Horn of Africa drought is set to become the region’s worst on record

2 March 2023

A sixth failed rainy season would deepen the long-term drought in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia that has contributed to a devastating food crisis


A mangrove forest in Shenzhen Bay, China

Mangroves near Chinese cities can reduce storm surges by over 2 metres

23 February 2023

A 600-metre-wide patch of mangrove forest can reduce the water level during a tropical storm by 2.8 metres, according to modelling of the Pearl river delta in China


An aerial view of the derailment in Ohio on 8 February

Ohio train derailment: What we know about the toxic chemical spill

14 February 2023

A train derailed and caught fire in eastern Ohio, releasing hazardous chemicals into the air, soil and water – and raising concerns about health effects for residents


Residents work to extinguish a wildfire in Chile

Wildfires burning in Chile are among the deadliest in country's record

7 February 2023

Fires in central and southern Chile, exacerbated by extreme temperatures and megadrought, have led to at least 26 deaths and burned more than 2700 square kilometres


Resources provided mutual aid and responded to five new fires in the Fairbanks area on Monday, July 25th. Two fires are connected to downed trees on powerlines, one involved a structure fire that spread into the wildland, one was unable to be located, and the fifth report resulted in crews monitoring an area for fire activity. Aircraft drops retardant on (600) Old Ridge Trail Fire in Alaska. Photo by James Lily (DOF)

What Alaska's record-breaking wildfires mean for the Arctic's future

10 August 2022

Wildfires in Alaska have already burned more than three times as much territory as usual, and fire season isn't over – the environmental effects could last decades


Untitled (Human Mask), 2014

The wildfires and melting ice that science warned us about are here

15 January 2020

News reports of long-predicted disasters are starting to sound familiar. Scientists, too, must carry on repeating calls for rapid cuts to carbon emissions


oil spill

From the archives: When oil turned Alaska's coastline black

3 April 2019

The Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989 was one of the worst environmental disasters on record – but 30 years on, some good has come come of it


A man on the remains of a bridge in Zimbabwe

Images show the devastation of Cyclone Idai

27 March 2019

Cyclone Idai has devastated parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi with winds reaching 170 kilometres per hour


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