Antarctic ice is melting faster than ever before, and it's on track to increase global sea levels. (Photo: Dr. Mike Goebel, NOAA NMFS SWFSC) If the global temperatures rise more than 2-degrees Celsius — the current threshold set by climate scientists — it could have disastrous consequences. Warming above this level as a result of the burning of fossil fuels could totally melt the Antarctic ice sheet, causing the equivalent of 50 meters (164 feet) of sea level rise. This...

Because of warmer than usual ocean temperatures, the islands of Hawaii will likely see the worst coral bleaching they’ve ever experienced. "Water temperatures around Hawaii currently range from 82 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on location. These readings are four to six degrees above average for September – a pretty large anomaly for ocean water in the tropics,” said weather.com senior meteorologist Nick Wiltgen. “Between El Niño to the south and the unusually warm expanse of water known as 'The...

Thanks to higher temperatures and lower precipitation levels, the Sierra Nevada snowpack in Northern California has dipped to its lowest level in the past 500 years, a new study has found. This is just the latest in a series of studies of the declining Western snowpack, which can fuel wildfires, limit drinking water and cause agricultural irrigation systems to run dry, all symptoms of a changing climate. In the latest paper, researchers from the University of Arizona used previously published...

A surge of Arctic air has left much of the continental U.S. shivering in unusually bitter November cold. But this early foray into winter weather is just a small blip in the overall global picture, which is of a warming world that is still on track to see , the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday. That warming — fueled largely by the manmade in Earth’s atmosphere — is so relentless, in fact, that the odds of seeing a...

And the heat goes on, and the heat goes on. August continued the parade of months in 2015 at or near the top of the temperature rankings, according to , further upping the odds that the year as a whole will be the warmest on record, beating out 2014. The year’s potentially chart-topping heat has been driven in part by an El Niño that could , but it is also something that is more likely to happen now thanks to...

The most intense El Niño events may soon hit every 10 years, instead of every 20 years, thanks to warming water in the eastern Pacific Ocean, a new study predicts. An is the warm phase of a long-standing natural climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean. When changing wind patterns start piling up warm water in the eastern part of the equatorial Pacific, the redistribution of hotter water triggers changes in atmospheric circulation that influences rainfall and storm patterns around the...

As a toxic band of algae blooms along the West Coast, local fishery-dependent economies have taken a large financial hit and residents are being asked to exercise caution. that scientists still don’t know much about the algae, but what they’ve seen so far has them concerned. The bloom shows no signs of subsiding and after collecting samples from along the West Coast this summer, they have , which produces domoic acid, a toxin that can harm or even kill seabirds,...

(Worldwatch Institute) It’s not easy to keep track of the complex ways in which our everyday choices have an impact on a global scale. But as the world’s population surpasses 7 billion, each of our actions—positive or negative—gets multiplied. Read on to learn about five global trends from 's latest publication,Vital Signs: The Trends That Are Shaping Our Future,that show that our consumption choices affect more than ourselves—they affect the environment and the lives and livelihoods of millions. (Worldwatch Institute)...

In a published in Environmental Science & Technology, researchers say that the microbeads found in many of your toothpastes, soaps, face washes and cleaning products have been contributing to the major plastic pollution in oceans, lakes and other aquatic habitats. Microbeads are tiny bits of plastic smaller than 5 mm, . Because they are designed to wash down drains, it's difficult to clean them up on a large scale. such as polyethylene, polylactic acid and polypropylene, microbes are used as...

As climate change melts permafrost in the Arctic, huge amounts of carbon dioxide and methane are released into the atmosphere, speeding global warming in the process. A new University of Cambridge shows that by the end of the 22nd century, the global economic toll of those greenhouse gases will total $43 trillion. The study, published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that permafrost soils contain roughly 1,700 gigatonnes of carbon locked in frozen organic matter, which has begun...

The front yard of a vacant home is flooded from rising ground water in Robbins, Maryland. Many homes in the region are slowly eroding away as sea levels rise — a problem set to get worse, according to a new study. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Coastal flooding from sea-level rise and human activity could increase “several hundredfold” by 2100, researchers say this week in the journal Nature Climate Change. This projected surge, then, could threaten U.S. cities from the Northeast to...

A funny little photo posted to Reddit this month is getting some major attention. The post depicting a hermit crab on a Cuban beach taking shelter in a toothpaste cap has garnered over 6,800 upvotes on the site. Yes, it looks like a pint-sized chef. Sure, it’s adorable. The photo is something else though. A reminder of the significant damage done to the world’s oceans. Photo shows hermit crab with a toothpaste cap over its head along a beach in...

An ambitious plan looks to combat California’s ongoing drought by recycling record amounts of water. If put into motion, the project, estimated to cost $1 billion, would be one of the biggest in the world. at a committee meeting Monday, would allow for the purification and reuse of as much as 168,000 acre-feet of water each year, according to The Los Angeles Times. The program would then serve recycled water to nearly 336,000 homes. (MORE:) MWD told Los Angeles County...