Methane Pollution Just Reached New Heights, And The Sources May Not Be What You Think

Methane recently reached 1,900 parts per billion (ppb) of Earth’s atmosphere according to measurements taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US. This compares with about 700 ppb before the industrial revolution.   Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, but lasts around nine years in the air. Including the knock-on effects … Read more

What Actually Is a ‘Bomb Cyclone’? An Atmospheric Scientist Explains

A bomb cyclone is a large, intense midlatitude storm that has low pressure at its center, weather fronts and an array of associated weather, from blizzards to severe thunderstorms to heavy precipitation. It becomes a bomb when its central pressure decreases very quickly – by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.   Two famed … Read more

Lithium fields: Beautiful from the air, trouble on the ground

By Gege Li Tom Hegen Photographer Tom Hegen THE vivid swathes of minerals in this lithium extraction field make for a dazzling sight, but also represent a troubling aspect of our rapidly electrifying world. Taken by photographer Tom Hegen, this image of the Soquimich lithium mine in the Atacama desert, run by major mining operator … Read more

We May Finally Understand Why Clouds Are Different Between Earth’s Hemispheres

You might think that clouds are clouds all over Earth, but that’s not quite so. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, the clouds there are different, more abundant, and more reflective than clouds found in the Northern Hemisphere, a fact scientists are well familiar with, but have not been able to fully explain.   Now, … Read more

How much more contagious could the coronavirus get?

The coronavirus is evolving to become more transmissible, and eventually it could even overtake measles, the most contagious virus we know of Health 26 January 2022 By Alice Klein An illustration of SARS-CoV-2 Gerd Altmann/Pixabay Over the past two years, we have witnessed evolution in action, with new variants of the coronavirus becoming increasingly contagious. … Read more

Climate Change Could Open Up ‘Rivers in The Sky’ Over East Asia

We know that the climate crisis is already having a profound effect on global weather systems, altering temperatures, rainfall, wind patterns, and more – and a new study predicts likely deluges over the mountainous parts of East Asia in the future.   The pouring rain will be brought on by atmospheric rivers, scientists predict. These … Read more

Air pollution makes it harder for pollinators to find plants

A field trial found that levels of nitrogen oxides and ozone similar to those near roads led to a 70 per cent drop in the numbers of bees and butterflies on mustard plants Environment 19 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan A marbled white butterfly (Melanargia galathea) feeding on a greater knapweed flower (Centaurea scabiosa) robertharding … Read more

Sucking DNA Out of The Sky Could Help Us to Identify And Save Endangered Species

The air around us carries detectable traces of animals living in our midst, scientists have found, and the discovery stands to revolutionize the way researchers monitor and track populations of vulnerable or endangered species.   In two new studies conducted by separate teams of scientists, researchers discovered that environmental DNA (eDNA) shed by living creatures … Read more

Wildfires Are Fueling a Toxic Combo of Air Pollutants

Unseen dangers accompanied deadly flames in the record-breaking wildfire season that raged across the U.S. West in 2020. In addition to the millions of acres burned by the blazes, the thousands of structures they destroyed and the dozens of people they killed, the 2020 fires brought some of the worst air quality conditions ever observed … Read more

Air pollution: One in 12 child asthma cases linked to nitrogen dioxide exposure

Researchers estimate that 1.85 million new childhood asthma cases in 2019 were linked with exposure to nitrogen dioxide, a toxic gas released by diesel vehicles Health 5 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan Heavy traffic on a street in New Delhi, India Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times/Getty Images About one in 12 new child asthma cases worldwide … Read more