Local residents debated whether a massive release of spruce pollen, which accumulated on every surface—including car bonnets, picnic tables and the nearby Kachemak Bay—amounted to a “golden sheen” or a “yellow scum”. The fine dust turned the surface of the sea the colour of butter and left a bright, lemony line on shore that marked the extent of high tide and gave off a sickly sweet smell. This huge release of pollen might be yet another symptom of a rapidly changing environment.
The region is so hot that it has experienced 12 "tropical" nights with evening temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius so far this year, according to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
Iraq has banned its farmers from planting summer crops this year as the country grapples with a crippling water shortage that shows few signs of abating. Citing high temperatures and insufficient rai...
What will British gardens look like in 20 years’ time? Robbie Blackhall-Miles finds some clues at the Chelsea flower show
From rising temperatures preventing take-off to rising seas flooding runways, aviation needs to adapt to changes already grounding flights around the world
All the rain and snow falling in Western Washington bumps up the risk for mudslides and avalanches.
Vegetable prices are rising rapidly in Japan after a deadly heatwave saw highs of more than 40C. Record-breaking temperatures triggered a spike in the cost of some foods with increases of up to 65 per cent. An agriculture ministry official in Tokyo warned about "pretty severe price moves" for vegetables if predictions of more weeks of hot weather held up, resulting in less rain than usual.
The swelling Tom River in southwestern Siberia has led to a partial dam collapse in the city of Tomsk. This year’s heavy rainfall, combined with abnormally warm spring weather, has led to severe flooding in Russia’s Urals and western Siberia. So far, the floods have submerged around 15,600 homes and 28,000 land plots in 193 Russian towns and cities across 33 regions.
France has launched a special smartphone application to track a rocketing plague of ticks, which cause over 30,000 cases of Lyme disease par year and pose a threat to thousands of British holidaymakers who take to the French countryside in summer.
Intense rainfall in Russia's Far East Primorye region caused floods, power outages, and evacuations, with water levels exceeding the norm by eightfold in some areas, following previous flooding caused by tropical storm Khanun.
The weekend was marked by cold sunny days and stunning aurora displays at night, but then the weather took another turn. By Tuesday morning, an east wind was howling and blowing snow sideways. The week started looking like a repeat of the last.
El Bosque, a Mexican fishing village with a population of 400 people, is being swallowed by rising sea levels, and experts predict that the entire village could be underwater within a year, leaving residents displaced and without adequate housing alternatives.
“Local rainfall amounts of 50 inches would exceed any previous Texas rainfall record. The breadth and intensity of this rainfall are beyond anything experienced before,” said a statement from the National Weather Service. “Catastrophic flooding is now underway and expected to continue for several days.”
More than 150,000 people could die as a result of climate change each year in Europe by the end of the century, shocking new research has found. The number of deaths caused by extreme weather events will increase 50-fold and two in three people on the continent will be affected by disasters, the study – that serves as a stark warning of the deadly impact of global warming – found.
High winds that pushed water high up on south facing shores of the Seward Peninsula cause shoreline erosion on the Chukchi Sea coast of Shishmaref, last week.
Graves at the historic St. Michael cemetery in Alaska are eroding due to increased storms and erosion, prompting an archaeologist to recover exposed remains and coordinate efforts to re-bury them. Tom Wolforth’s prime mission was to appropriately handle the remains and make sure they could be reburied. He has been working closely with the tribe and the municipality to address their concerns. One concern, Martin said, was that these exposed remains could pose a risk of disease, especially if the dead had been buried during the time of the 1918 flu pandemic. But Wolforth assured them that if properly handled this shouldn’t be a problem.
Climate change and the end of Soviet state support have forced 600,000 to migrate to the capital, leaving it struggling to cope.
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