More than 150 species of wild animals across every continent are contaminated with flame retardant chemicals, according to a new map tracking peer-reviewed research worldwide. Polluted wildlife include killer…Continue readingResearch tracking map shows wildlife polluted by flame retardants on massive scale
Tag: biodiversity
A withering drought has turned the Amazonian capital of Manaus into a climate dystopia with the second worst air quality in the world and rivers at the lowest levels…Continue readingDrought turns Amazonian capital into climate dystopia
The water level at a major river port in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has hit its lowest point in at least 121 years, as a historic drought upends the lives…Continue readingWater level at Amazon port in Brazil hits lowest point in 121 years amid drought
Antarctic fur seals that were hunted to near extinction have recovered but now face dangerous decline because of a lack of food, new research suggests. The study of fur…Continue readingLack of food is the new threat to Antarctic fur seals
US carmaker Ford, Brazil’s Vale, China’s Tsingshan and Hong Kong’s Jardine Matheson are invested in Indonesian nickel projects responsible for the clearance of large swaths of some of the…Continue readingNickel miners linked to devastation of Indonesian forests
Bill Gates is emphatic: “I don’t plant trees,” he declared recently, wading into a debate about whether mass tree planting is really much use in fighting climate change. The…Continue readingIs planting trees to combat climate change ‘complete nonsense’?
At least 1,000 birds died from colliding into a single building in Chicago on Thursday, 5 October, as they migrated south to their wintering grounds. Volunteers are still recovering…Continue readingAt least 1,000 birds died from colliding with one Chicago building in one day
Afro-Siberian red knots migrate from the Arctic to winter in Africa, where they recover from the arduous journey. But warming in Siberia is causing physical changes in the birds…Continue readingClimate Change Is Pushing These Migratory Birds to the Brink
As the ice melts, the hunters in the village of Ittoqqortoormiit—home to one of the last Inuit hunting communities—worry where they will get water. On a headland of barren…Continue readingGreenland’s Inuit falling through thin ice of climate change
Tropical coral reefs could end up being one of the first victims of climate change. The marine diversity hotspots are threatened and declining as a result of global warming,…Continue readingGrowth of coral reefs likely cannot keep pace with rising sea level
The carcasses of 120 river dolphins have been found floating in a tributary of the Amazon River in Brazil over the last week in circumstances that experts suspect were…Continue readingDeaths of 120 Amazon dolphins linked to severe drought, high temperatures
When scientists started pouring over data to assess Canada’s fire season this year, they struggled to find the right superlatives. “Never before seen,” was thrown around, as was “exceptional…Continue readingCanada left battered by ‘never before seen’ wildfire season
Experts predict there will be fewer than 100 individuals of the species by 2031 as the rate of decline in population grows faster. This month, the environment minister, Tanya…Continue reading‘Watching extinction in real time’: conservationists losing hope for Australia’s swift parrot if logging continues
Antarctica has likely broken a new record for the lowest annual maximum amount of sea ice around the continent, beating the previous low by a million square kilometres. The…Continue readingAntarctic sea ice shrinks to lowest annual maximum level on record
As many as eight in 10 brown bear cubs born this year in a remote part of northern Japan have died amid a shortage of salmon, with experts blaming…Continue readingBrown bear cubs in Japan die of starvation amid salmon shortage
The vast swaths of pine, spruce and larch forest that blanket much of Canada have been prized for generations. Not only do they provide a home to hundreds of…Continue readingWildfires turn Canada’s vast forests from carbon sink into super-emitter
Sea ice insulates the ocean, reflects heat, drives currents, supports ecosystems and protects ice shelves. It also has an annual seasonal cycle—some of the ice melts, then freezes again.…Continue readingDevastatingly low Antarctic sea ice may be the ‘new abnormal,’ study warns
Half of Britain’s 10 largest fish populations are in a “deeply troubling state”, having been either overfished or depleted to a critically low size, according to a new report.…Continue readingBritain’s fish populations are in a ‘deeply troubling state’
Earth’s life support systems have been so damaged that the planet is “well outside the safe operating space for humanity”, scientists have warned. Their assessment found that six out…Continue readingEarth ‘well outside safe operating space for humanity’
Our research shows almost everywhere in Australia is now in a different fire climate than it was just 20 years ago, with falling relative humidity a key factor. Previous…Continue readingFire climate regimes around Australia shifted abruptly 20 years ago, and falling humidity may explain why
Urban stormwater particles from tire wear were the most prevalent microplastic a new Griffith-led study has found. Published in Environmental Science & Technology, the study showed that in stormwater…Continue readingBit by bit, microplastics from tires are polluting our waterways
The rapid sea level rise and resulting retreat of coastal habitat seen at the end of the last Ice Age could repeat itself if global average temperatures rise beyond…Continue readingUsing evidence from last Ice Age, scientists predict effects of rising seas on coastal habitats
Much of the world’s natural coastline is protected by living habitats, most notably mangroves in warmer waters and tidal marshes closer to the poles. These ecosystems support fisheries and…Continue readingAfter studying more than 1,500 coastal ecosystems, researchers say they will drown if we let the world warm above 2˚C
Devastating wildfires in Greece will ravage more than 150,000 hectares (370,600 acres) by the end of the summer, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis estimated Thursday, blaming the climate crisis for…Continue readingGreek summer wildfires will burn over 150,000 hectares
A warming Arctic is limiting polar bears’ access to sea ice, which the bears use as a hunting platform. In ice-free summer months the bears must fast. While in…Continue readingStudy connects greenhouse gas emissions to polar bear population declines
Being cautious by nature, scientists warned that in the next few decades the global emperor population will suffer significant losses. This fate appeared a long way in the future,…Continue readingI have studied emperor penguins for 30 years. We may witness their demise in our lifetime
Conservation groups have accused a New South Wales agency of logging one of the last known strongholds of the greater glider, an endangered marsupial species, and urged the state…Continue readingHome of endangered marsupial hit by state-sanctioned logging in New South Wales
The “crazy” extreme weather rampaging around the globe in 2023 will become the norm within a decade without dramatic climate action, the world’s leading climate scientists have said. The…Continue readingDramatic climate action needed to curtail ‘crazy’ extreme weather
Global warming is driving leafy tropical canopies close to temperatures where they can no longer transform sunlight and CO2 into energy, threatening total collapse. A tiny percentage of upper…Continue readingTropical forests nearing critical temperatures thresholds
Many credits in the voluntary market going unused, with study finding some offsetting could make global heating worse Carbon credit speculators could lose billions as scientific evidence shows many…Continue readingCarbon credit speculators could lose billions as offsets deemed ‘worthless’
Helpless emperor penguin chicks perished at multiple breeding grounds in West Antarctica late last year, drowning or freezing to death when sea ice eroded by global warming gave way…Continue readingWarming decimates Antarctica’s emperor penguin chicks
You may not have noticed, but earlier this month we passed Earth overshoot day, when humanity’s demands for ecological resources and services exceeded what our planet can regenerate annually.…Continue readingCritics of ‘degrowth’ economics say it’s unworkable—but from an ecologist’s perspective, it’s inevitable
Five species, including Tasmania’s Maugean skate, could jeopardise the Albanese government’s zero extinctions target, according to a scientific committee that provides advice on endangered species. A further 41 species…Continue readingFive species face immediate concern of extinction, scientific committee warns Australian Labor
Wallacea is a fascinating region of both land and sea. Spanning approximately 338,000 square kilometers within Indonesia, it is home to a rich diversity of animals and plants, with…Continue readingWallacea: A living laboratory of Earth’s evolution. Its wildlife, forests and reefs will be devastated if we don’t act
Corals across several countries are bleaching and dying en masse from unprecedented levels of heat stress, prompting fears that an unfolding tragedy in Central America, North America and the…Continue reading‘Huge’ coral bleaching unfolding across the Americas prompts fears of global tragedy
Over the past few weeks, a large-scale rescue operation has been under way off the coast and keys of Florida. It began as water temperatures were rising towards a…Continue readingMissing ice and bleached coral: the sudden warming of the oceans
Sea ice in the Antarctic region fell to a record low this year as a result of rising global temperatures and there is no quick fix to reverse the…Continue readingNo quick fix to reverse ‘astonishing’ Antarctic sea ice loss
Antarctica is currently experiencing dramatic changes at unprecedented rates, marked by repeated extreme events. These include circum-Antarctic summer heatwaves and an autumn heatwave last year, with temperatures soaring up…Continue readingAntarctica’s heatwaves are a warning to humanity – and we have only a narrow window to save the planet
Hard coral cover in the northern section of the reef, from Cape York to Cooktown, was estimated at 35.7%, down from 36.5% in 2022. Between Cooktown and Proserpine, the…Continue readingRecovery of Great Barrier Reef stalls as scientists point to bleaching, disease and starfish attacks
For centuries, wolves have roamed the mountain ranges of Andalucía in southern Spain, but after years of decline the creature has been officially declared extinct in the region. “This…Continue reading‘Shameful loss’: wolves declared extinct in Andalucía
A massive fire burning through the desert in California and southern Nevada has scorched tens of thousands of acres in a biodiverse national preserve and torched its iconic Joshua…Continue readingHuge wildfire explodes in southern California and spreads into Nevada
Shallow waters off south Florida topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8˚C) for several hours on Monday, potentially setting a new world record with temperatures more commonly associated with hot tubs.…Continue readingFlorida ocean temperature topped 100˚F, setting potential record
A little-known organization is meeting this week in a conference center in Jamaica. The rules the International Seabed Authority (ISA) are drafting could have immense impact. That’s because this…Continue readingMining the seabed for clean-tech minerals could destroy ecosystems. Will it get the green light?
The Murray Darling Basin Plan is an historic deal between state and federal governments to save Australia’s most important river system. The A$13 billion plan, inked over a decade…Continue readingWith less than a year to go, the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is in a dreadful mess
The wetlands system processes about 60 percent of Kolkata’s sewage free of charge, saving the city over $64 million a year. Farms in the wetlands provide about 150 tons…Continue readingThe ‘kidneys of Kolkata’: Indian wetlands under threat
A team of scientists has completed the most comprehensive study of (macro)plastic waste in the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench, a 2,250-kilometer-long deep-sea trench in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean.…Continue readingJourney to the deep: Plastic pollution in the Pacific Kuril-Kamchatka Deep-Sea Trench
According to analysis of seabed ecology undertaken after drilling tests in 2020 in Japan – the country’s first successful extraction of cobalt crusts from deep-sea mountains – there was…Continue readingDeep-sea mining causes huge decreases in sealife across wide region, says study
Global warming and drastic deforestation could dry out the Amazon rainforest faster and enforce the risk of keeping it downright fire-trapped. A new study published in Communications Earth &…Continue readingAmazon in the firetrap: Deforestation and warming lock rainforest in dry and damaged grassland state
Not far from Latin America’s biggest city, Sao Paulo, a river is covered in a white layer that resembles fresh snow but is in fact a smelly, toxic foam.…Continue readingToxic foam blights river crucial to Brazil’s biggest city
The marshlands have shrunk from 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 square miles) in the early 1990s to 4,000 (1,500 square miles) by latest estimates—choked by dams on the great rivers…Continue readingIraq’s marshes are dying, and a civilization with them
Around 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year. But that is not the only water source where plastic represents a significant intrusion. “We found…Continue readingGlobal study details microplastics contamination in lakes and reservoirs
Approximately 40% [25%] of the global ocean is currently experiencing MHWs, which ranks 1st [14th] among all months since 1991. Values include the effects of long-term warming. Values with…Continue readingCurrent marine heatwave (MHW) conditions
Volume of debris in the unexplored twilight zone is an ‘emerging threat’ to reefs already stressed by climate crisis, say scientists. The researchers noted that plastic can spread coral…Continue readingPlastic pollution on coral reefs gets worse the deeper you go, study finds
Agricultural pesticides leach far from their original sources into the world’s waterways, according to new research which finds pesticides exceed safe levels in 13,000km of rivers globally. Analysing 92…Continue readingPesticides from farming leach into world’s waterways at rate of 710 tonnes a year, UN research shows
Research shows 176 bird species have been found to build nests with human litter, including items that hurt them and their offspring. The scientists highlighted ways birds are at…Continue readingSafety concerns for chicks grow as birds build nests with rubbish, study shows
Seabirds are one of the world’s most threatened animal groups. They already contend with multiple issues, including climate change, accidental capture in fishing gear and being eaten by invasive…Continue readingPlastic pollution threatens birds far out at sea, according to new research
The sea is becoming greener due to changes in plankton populations, analysis of Nasa images finds. When comparing these changes in colour with those hypothesised from a computer model…Continue readingWorld’s oceans changing colour due to climate breakdown, study suggests
Soaring greenhouse gases, ubiquitous microplastics, pervasive “forever chemicals”, the global upheaval of animals, even old mobile phones and chicken bones—all have been put forward as evidence that the world…Continue readingSigns of the human era, from nuclear fallout to microplastics
“The world just had the hottest week on record, according to preliminary data,” the WMO said in a statement, after climate change and the early stages of the El…Continue readingLast week the hottest worldwide on record: UN
Scientists say human activity has so fundamentally altered the geology, atmosphere and biology of the earth that it has entered a new geologic epoch known as the Anthropocene. On…Continue readingEvidence in Canada lake indicates start of new Anthropocene epoch