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Quantum quirk explains why carbon dioxide causes global warming

13 February 2024

A phenomenon called the Fermi resonance, which affects how molecules vibrate, is responsible for a large part of carbon dioxide’s planet-warming effect


Shortage of male turtles could be solved by splash of cold seawater

21 July 2023

Over 99 per cent of green turtles born on beaches in the northern Great Barrier Reef are now female due to nest overheating, but cooling their nests with seawater may help to rebalance the sex ratio


Melting Arctic glaciers expose new sources of planet-warming methane

6 July 2023

Hundreds of groundwater springs have emerged at the base of retreating glaciers in Svalbard, and they may be adding significant amounts of methane to the atmosphere


Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu

The uncomfortable reality of life on Earth after we breach 1.5°C

7 June 2023

Passing 1.5°C of global warming isn't just a political disaster, it will have dire consequences for us all, as those living on the front line already know


Cool photographs capture new geopolitics of the melting Arctic

Cool photographs capture new geopolitics of the melting Arctic

22 February 2023

As global warming accelerates, the Arctic is changing fast. Gregor Sailer captures this deep shift in his photographs of military stations and ice monitoring kit, part of his exhibition called The Polar Silk Road


The Moon

Launching a huge dust cloud from the moon could ease global warming

8 February 2023

Launching a million tonnes of moon dust around Earth could dim sunlight across our planet by 1.8 per cent. This would reduce the global temperature, but whether it would be worth the resources, and the risks involved in such a strategy, are unclear


The first breach of 1.5°C will be a temporary but devastating failure

16 January 2023

Limiting global warming to 1.5°C has become the defining measure of success in the climate fight and we need to think about what comes next


Satellite view of volcanic ash cloud

2022 Tonga eruption means we may hit 1.5°C of global warming earlier

12 January 2023

The massive eruption of a Tongan volcano in January 2022 has made it more likely that we will exceed 1.5°C of global warming within the next five years, but the effect will disappear by 2035


Protesters hold placards during a

2022: The year of rolling polycrisis, but with a few glimmers of hope

14 December 2022

This year, there were the lows of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, soaring prices and extreme weather, and the highs of an accelerating shift to green energy and space wonders from the James Webb Space Telescope


Mandatory Credit: Photo by Mayank Makhija/NurPhoto/Shutterstock (13007378a) A cow grazes on the dried-up bed of a natural pond on a hot summer day, amid the ongoing heatwave in New Delhi, India on June 27, 2022. The intense and prolonged heatwave has damaged the wheat crop, and made conditions for people who work outside very difficult. Climate scientists say the prolonged heatwave is undoubtedly the result of global heating. INDIA-WEATHER-HEAT, New Delhi - 27 Jun 2022

Most days could be dangerously hot for 5 billion people by 2100

25 August 2022

The majority of days every year could become dangerously hot in many parts of the world if warming reaches 3°C by 2100


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