Farewell to summer? ‘Haze’ and ‘trash’ among Earth’s new seasons as climate change and pollution play havoc: Throughout history, people have viewed seasons as relatively stable, recurrent blocks of time that neatly align farming, cultural celebrations and routines with nature’s cycles. But the seasons as we know them are changing. Human activity is rapidly transforming …
Only 3 years left – new study warns the world is running out of time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change: Bad climate news is everywhere. Africa is being hit particularly hard by climate change and extreme weather, impacting lives and livelihoods. We are living in a world that is warming at the …
Green energy and protecting nature get the thumbs up in climate change study in 68 countries: Africa has begun experiencing frequent extreme weather events. Extreme weather is defined as the kind of heatwaves, droughts, storms and floods that have historically been rare occurrences for the place and time, and which pose a danger to large …
Can you trust climate information? How and why powerful players are misleading the public: Ten years ago, the world committed itself to keeping global warming well below 2°C (and preferably below 1.5°C) above the pre-industrial era. This would be done by reducing greenhouse gas emissions significantly by 2030 and ending all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions …
African women are key to fighting climate change – these are the green skills they will need: Women are an important and often underutilised human resource in Africa. They’ve faced many problems historically. Limited access to land, finance, education and decision-making platforms have meant that women across Africa haven’t been able to take part fully …
China’s Everest obsession: following Mallory’s footsteps a century on, I saw how tourism and climate change are transforming the mountain: Chinese tourists at Everest's northern base camp, Rongbuk in Tibet, photograph the world's highest mountain. Carl Cater, CC BY-NC-ND To the discerning eye, other mountains are visible – giants between 23,000 and 26,000 feet high. …
Climate justice for Africa: 3 legal routes for countries that suffer the most harm: Climate change lawsuits have become a new way for countries to assert their rights against actions that degrade the environment. But African countries have yet to fully exploit this route. In the Netherlands, the court found that greenhouse gas emissions breached …
One lawsuit just helped melt the fossil fuel industry’s defence against being held accountable for climate change: There was a time when oil and gas companies happily linked themselves to the idea of planet-wide environmental changes. “Each day Humble supplies enough energy to melt 7 million tons of glacier!” boasts the headline from a 1962 …
How seaweed is a powerful, yet surprising, climate solution: Picture a place at the centre of a global seaweed revolution. I’ll bet the small English seaside town of Paignton in south Devon is not what comes to mind. A decade ago, I moved from the edge of Dartmoor to the coast. It was about a …
Insect protein could support healthy ageing and fight climate change: Charoen Krung Photography/Shutterstock When we think about the future of food, it’s unlikely that crickets, meal worms or grasshoppers come to mind. But believe it or not, insects might just be one of the most promising answers to two big global problems: feeding a growing …
India-Pakistan conflict over water reflects a region increasingly vulnerable to climate change: Water from the Chandra Taal lake in Himachal Pradesh, India, ultimately flows into Pakistan and the Indus river. ImagesofIndia / shutterstock In an unprecedented move, India recently suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, citing cross-border terrorism. This was one of a …
The UK must make big changes to its diets, farming and land use to hit net zero – official climate advisers: William Edge / shutterstock If the UK is to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, over one-third of its sheep and cows will have to go, with their fields being replaced by huge new …
Climate change could make more turtles female – but some are starting to adapt: A loggerhead turtle nesting. Mollie Rickwood, CC BY-NC-ND Rising global temperatures are a particularly acute threat for the world’s sea turtles. That’s because the temperature of a turtle’s nest controls the sex of their offspring. Coming ashore onto a beach (often …
Why personal climate action matters – according to experts: EL_Images/Shutterstock Do you feel powerless? You probably aren’t responsible for the investment decisions of an energy company, nor do you have a hand in government policy. But still, you are reading about climate change – a problem that can easily seem intractable to most people. The Veganuary …
Most of Britain’s peat bogs could stop forming new peat as the climate changes – new study: Joe Dunckley / shutterstock By the 2080s, climate change will mean most of Britain’s peatlands could be too dry to form new peat. That’s the stark warning from a new academic study my colleagues and I just published in …
Protesting farmers are having to fight off the radical right, conspiracy theorists and climate sceptics: Thousands of farmers travelled to London on November 19 to protest the new government’s first budget and its imposition of new inheritance tax rules. Nearly a month later, on December 12, there was another protest, this time with more tractors, …
Sediment is a time capsule that shows how past climate change altered our landscapes – and hints at their future: Sediments are more than just layers of mud on the ground. They can reveal a wealth of information about landscapes from millions of years ago right up to the present day. To delve into those …
COP29 failed Africa – what went wrong with the climate financing bid and what happens next: The United Nations’ 29th annual climate change conference of the parties, COP29, ended with countries from the global north committing US$ 300 billion per year in climate finance to developing countries. This money is meant to pay for developing …