Nearly 1,500 academics, researchers and scientists specializing in Antarctica gathered in southern Chile for the 11th Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research conference this week to share the most cutting-edge research from the vast white continent. Nearly every aspect of science, from geology to biology and glaciology to arts, was covered but a major undercurrent ran through the conference. Antarctica is changing, faster than expected. Extreme weather events in the ice-covered continent were no longer hypothetical presentations, but first-hand accounts from researchers about heavy rainfall, intense heat waves and sudden Foehn (strong dry winds) events at research stations that led to mass melting, giant glacier break-offs and dangerous weather conditions with global implications...
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Hungary's hottest July on record has forced some of the country's winemakers to start harvesting grapes in early August, up to a month earlier than usual. Climate change is having a severe impact on Hungary's acclaimed winemaking industry, as rising temperatures could make the country too hot for producing white wine, including the renowned Tokaji, scientists say. A combine harvester works in a vineyard near Balatonlelle, Hungary, August 5, 2024. REUTERS/Marton Monus "I do not remember ever harvesting this variety of grape this early... we are at least a month early," said Laszlo Kerek, a 35-year-veteran of grape growing in Balatonlelle, south of Lake Balaton in western Hungary. Kerek, who was harvesting grapes with his family in early August by hand, attributes the early harv...
Read MoreWater temperatures in and around Australia's Great Barrier Reef have risen to their warmest in 400 years over the past decade, placing the world's largest reef under threat, according to research published on Thursday. The reef, the world's largest living ecosystem, stretches for some 1,500 miles (2,400 km) off the coast of the northern state of Queensland. A group of scientists at universities across Australia drilled cores into the coral and, much like counting the rings on a tree, analysed the samples to measure summer ocean temperatures going back to 1618. FILE PHOTO: Coral reefs bleach in the Great Barrier Reef as scientists conduct in-water monitoring during marine heat in Martin Reef, March 15, 2024. Australian Institute of Marine Science/Veronique Mocellin/ Handout via RE...
Read MoreRecent glacier retreat across the Andes is unprecedented in the history of human civilization, according to a new study published in the Science journal on Thursday. The discovery shocked scientists, who initially planned to study the current state of glaciers and how they had varied throughout human civilization. FILE PHOTO: A view shows the Iver glacier close to the El Plomo mountain summit, in the Andes mountain range, in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile, April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado "We thought this result was decades away," said Andrew Gorin, lead author of the study, who first believed the initial results were a fluke, but were confirmed by later samples. "It goes to show you that this is happening faster than even those of us that think about this the mos...
Read MoreWarm morning light reflects from the remains of a natural rock arch near Darwin Island, one of the most remote islands in the Galapagos. In clear, deep blue water, thousands of creatures — fish, hammerhead sharks, marine iguanas — move in search of food. The 2021 collapse of Darwin’s Arch, named for the famed British naturalist behind the theory of evolution, came from natural erosion. But its demise underscored the fragility of a far-flung archipelago that’s coming under increased pressure both from climate change and invasive species. A piece of the edge of Darwin’s Arch is visible in the ocean above Pacific creolefish off of Darwin Island, Ecuador in the Galapagos on Thursday, June 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Alie Skowronski) Warming oceans affect the food sources of many of the seago...
Read MoreMonday beats record set on Sunday, according to Copernicus Monday was the hottest day ever globally, beating a record set the day before, as countries around the world from Japan to Bolivia to the United States continue to feel the heat, according to the European climate change service. Provisional satellite data published by Copernicus on Wednesday shows that Monday was 0.06 degrees Celsius (0.1 degree Fahrenheit) hotter than Sunday. Climate scientists say it’s plausible that this is the warmest it has been in 120,000 years because of human-caused climate change. While scientists cannot be certain that Monday was the very hottest day throughout that period, average temperatures have not been this high since long before humans developed agriculture. But it’s a difficult de...
Read MoreLast month was the hottest June on record, the EU's climate change monitoring service said on Monday, continuing a streak of exceptional temperatures that some scientists said puts 2024 on track to be the world's hottest recorded year. Every month since June 2023 - 13 months in a row - has ranked as the planet's hottest since records began, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin. FILE PHOTO: Muslim pilgrims drink water during extremely hot weather, on the first day of the Satan stoning ritual, during the annual haj pilgrimage, in Mina, Saudi Arabia, June 16, 2024. REUTERS/Saleh Salem The latest data suggest 2024 could outrank 2023 as the hottest year since records began after...
Read MoreGlaciers in the Juneau Icefield in southeastern Alaska are melting at a faster rate than previously thought and may reach an irreversible tipping point sooner than expected, according to a study published on Tuesday. Home to more than 1,000 glaciers, the snow covered area is now shrinking 4.6 times faster than it was in the 1980s, according to a new study. Researchers at Newcastle University in England found that glacier loss in the icefield, located just north of Alaska's capital city of Juneau, has accelerated rapidly since 2010. Glacier melt is a major contributor to rising sea levels, a threat to coastal settlements worldwide. Current rates of ice melt could result in a permanent decline of Juneau Icefield, researchers said. People walk on a frozen Mendenhall Lake, with Mende...
Read MoreFatima Brandao goes looking for her chickens in the backyard amidst a veil of smoke from the spreading fires that are engulfing the world's largest tropical wetland faster than ever before. "There never used to be smoke here. The sun shone clearly and the sky was always blue. Now the whole hill is on fire and smoke has clouded the entire area," she said. The Pantanal wetlands in central-western Brazil are home to a wide variety of animals, including jaguars, anacondas and giant anteaters. A drone view shows smoke from the fire rising into the air as trees burn amongst vegetation in the Pantanal, in Corumba, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil, June 11. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino A shortfall of rain this year has caused the wildfire season to start earlier and become more intense th...
Read MoreGreece shut more ancient tourist sites in Athens on Thursday and elderly people took refuge at designated air-conditioned spots as the first heatwave of the summer persisted for a third day. The famous Acropolis, set on a rocky hill overlooking the capital, and other nearby tourist attractions were closed on Thursday afternoon as winds from North Africa pushed temperatures towards 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit). Tourists visit the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill archaeological site before it closes due to a heatwave hitting Athens, Greece, June 13, 2024. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi Many primary schools and nurseries across the country were closed to protect students from the heat, which was expected to recede on Saturday. In Athens, tourists stopped at drinking ...
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