climate change

A 30-meter sediment core drilled from the depths of the Great Blue Hole in the Caribbean has revealed a detailed archive of the region’s storm history, stretching back nearly 6,000 years. The findings suggest that while the Caribbean has long faced tropical storms, human-driven climate change could be intensifying storm activity at an unprecedented rate.

A groundbreaking study led by the University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka is set to revolutionise predictions of how glaciers and ice sheets deform and move. Published in Nature Geoscience and supported by The Royal Society Te Apārangi Marsden Fund and Antarctica New Zealand, the study brings together an international team of researchers from the Universities of Cambridge, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.

A North Dakota jury has ruled against environmental group Greenpeace, finding it liable for defamation and other claims over protests that took place in the state during 2016-2017. Under the verdict, Greenpeace must pay at least $660 million to pipeline company Energy Transfer. The decision has been condemned by numerous advocacy groups, who decry the ruling as a calculated attack on free speech and protest rights.

Flood cover in parts of south-west Queensland has tripled over the past two years, leaving residents and local councils reeling from the surge in insurance premiums. In a region where flash flooding is a recurring threat—exemplified by periodic overflow of the Warrego River in Charleville—local authorities are now challenging major insurers over what they describe as exorbitant increases that are putting essential cover out of reach for many.

As Australia heads toward the next federal election, a lesser-known but increasingly significant group of regional voters could determine the outcome. Dubbed ‘curves’—conservative, uncommitted rural voters with environmental sympathies—this emerging demographic defies traditional political stereotypes and presents a challenge for parties hoping to secure the bush vote.

A recent study conducted by marine biologists at Stanford University has raised alarming concerns about the combined impact of rising ocean temperatures and increasing acidification on marine ecosystems. The study, published in Nature Climate Change, warns that the rapid changes in ocean chemistry could lead to significant disruptions in the food chain, affecting marine life from the smallest plankton to the largest predators.

It was a cold, wet night in the City of London, the heart of the global financial system. Two young men, dressed in high-visibility vests with their faces hidden beneath hoods, navigated the rain-slicked streets under the gaze of countless surveillance cameras. Despite the near-empty roads, they felt watched. Reaching Lime Street, they stopped beside a maintenance hole, ensuring no one was watching. One pried open the cover, revealing a bundle of black cables, and began cutting. Hours later, news outlets received an email: “Internet cut off to hundreds of insurers in climate-motivated sabotage.”

In a remarkable discovery, researchers have uncovered remnants of an ancient glacier buried deep within the permafrost of Canada's far north. The glacier, which could be over a million years old, was exposed by a landslide caused by the thawing of permafrost. This unexpected finding, made on Bylot Island in Nunavut, Canada, has provided scientists with a rare opportunity to explore a long-hidden part of Earth’s climatic history.