Climate Change Worldwide

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In the gateway to the Arctic, fat, ice and polar bears are crucial. All three are in trouble

ON HUDSON BAY (AP) — Searching for polar bears where the Churchill River dumps into Canada’s massive Hudson Bay, biologist Geoff York scans a region that’s on a low fat, low ice diet because of climate change.

https://apnews.com/article/polar-bear-arctic-climate-change-whale-fat-938de0e1662eed4d01a747708b82e539?

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?️ Climate change redraws borders

The Matterhorn Glacier, seen this summer from Zermatt, Switzerland. Photo: Steve Christo/Corbis via Getty Images

Switzerland and Italy are in the process of renegotiating their border, the BBC reports. ?? Large parts of the border between the two countries are determined by glacier ridges.  ?? But as those glaciers melt, natural boundaries are moving. So the two nations have to figure out another way to delineate their borders. ⛷️ The redefined areas will mostly fall near the Matterhorn, Europe's tallest mountain, and the surrounding ski resorts.

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Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon drops by 30% compared to previous year Forest loss in Brazil’s Amazon dropped by 30.6% compared to the previous year, officials said Wednesday, the lowest level of destruction in nine years. Read more.

Why this matters: The results sharply contrast with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s predecessor, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who prioritized agribusiness expansion over forest protection and weakened environmental agencies. Deforestation hit a 15-year high during his term.   The Amazon holds the world’s largest rainforest, about two-thirds of it within Brazil. It stores vast amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes climate change. The Amazon thus prevents the climate from warming even faster than it would otherwise. The basin also holds about 20% of the world’s fresh water and biodiversity, including 16,000 known tree species.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ In new term, Trump set to go after measures that are doing the most to fight climate change   European climate agency says this will likely be the hottest year on record -- again   A top energy strategist is optimistic about climate change. And he has the data to back that up

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Climate crisis

New data confirms 2024 will be the hottest year on record and the first calendar year to exceed the Paris Agreement threshold — devastating news for the planet that comes as America chooses a president who has promised to undo its climate progress both at home and abroad. Nearly all the world's countries pledged to strive to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius in the Paris Agreement. They warn at that level, the human-caused climate crisis — fueled by heat-trapping fossil fuel pollution — begins to exceed the ability of humans and the natural world to adapt. Copernicus data released Wednesday shows 2024 is "virtually certain" to shoot above that threshold. Trump, a noted climate denier, pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement during his first term and has vowed to do it again in his second.

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Climate crisis

As global leaders gather in Azerbaijan for the United Nations Climate Change Conference this week, a new report is flashing a warning signal about natural disasters. The total cost of damage from climate-related extreme weather events globally was approximately $2 trillion between 2014 and 2023, according to the International Chamber of Commerce. That's roughly in line with the economic toll of the 2008 global financial crisis. There has also been an 83% increase in recorded climate disasters between 1980-1999 and 2000-2019, the ICC says. The report comes as President-elect Donald Trump promises to undo climate regulations in the US, including rolling back pollution limits on tailpipes and power plants.

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Climate

President Joe Biden has become the first sitting president to visit the Amazon rainforest. In prepared remarks over the weekend, Biden described the fight against climate change as a "defining" part of his presidency, warning future administrations that undoing it would risk depriving the world of its benefits. "I will leave my successor and my country a strong foundation to build on if they choose to do so," Biden said without naming President-elect Donald Trump. As Trump is likely to roll back on the US' role as a global climate leader, experts say China will have to lead the charge. A CNN analysis shows China has more power than any other nation to put a dent in global emissions as it is the world's biggest polluter of planet-heating carbon.

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Climate solution: Sails make a comeback in shipping, to dent its huge carbon footprint

SAINT-MALO, France (AP) — Had he continued working aboard fuel-powered cargo ships, Yann Jourdan reckons he’d be earning perhaps four times what he now gets as captain of a sailboat that instead uses the wind’s clean energy to transport goods across the Atlantic.

https://apnews.com/article/climate-clean-shipping-sail-carbon-emissions-environment-0c191cb3674e157e66f65c8e58e7c0ce?

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From destruction to deadly heat, Associated Press photographers capture climate change in 2024

After heat records were smashed and a torrent of extreme weather events rocked countless countries in 2023, some climate scientists believed that the waning of the El Nino weather pattern could mean 2024 would be slightly cooler.

https://apnews.com/article/photo-gallery-climate-2024-flooding-heat-928163df24a7a73d619bb138d80ac560?

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?️ New data: Earth's record year (again)

Map: World Weather Attribution 2024 will be the second straight "hottest year" on record. But it wasn't supposed to be as hot as it was, coming in as the clear winner ahead of 2023's alarming global temperature spike, Axios' Andrew Freedman writes. For reasons climate scientists don't yet fully understand, 2024 is even likely to temporarily eclipse the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C temperature target, when compared to preindustrial levels. ? Between the lines: Earth's extreme heat can be partially explained by human-caused warming, the lingering effects of a strong El Niño event, and other factors. But the truth is, researchers aren't completely sure why the planet's fever has increased faster than anticipated. The unsettling possibility in play is that climate change is accelerating, which implies that tipping points, such as the shutdown of major ocean currents, are closer than once thought. ⚡ New this morning: People around the world suffered an average of 41 extra days of dangerous heat this year because of climate change, AP writes from a report out this morning from scientists at World Weather Attribution and Climate Central. ? The big picture: Millions of people endured stifling heat this year. Northern California and Death Valley baked. Sizzling daytime temperatures scorched Mexico and Central America. Heat endangered already vulnerable children in West Africa. Skyrocketing southern European temperatures forced Greece to close the Acropolis. In South and Southeast Asian countries, heat forced school closures. Earth experienced some of the hottest days ever measured and its hottest-yet summer, with a 13-month heat streak that just barely broke. Photo gallery: Climate change in '24.

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? 2025's big climate reality check

Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios

2025 begins amid fresh signs that steering away from fossil fuels will be harder than many governments and C-suites once hoped, Axios' Ben Geman writes. Five key signs: ? Global coal demand is proving very persistent. ? The mammoth scale of AI-driven data center power needs is coming into focus. ?? President-elect Trump is vowing to nix President Biden's climate policies and plans to exit the Paris Agreement. ? Big banks are recalibrating. A number of Wall Street giants, including Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, left the UN-affiliated Net-Zero Banking Alliance. (They've kept their own climate goals.) ? Big Oil has slowed its roll. European giants Shell and BP have gotten more selective about renewables, even as they maintain 2050 net-zero targets. ⛽️ The bottom line: S&P Global Commodity Insights sees overall energy demand growing by more than clean energy additions in 2025. That means more fossil fuels.

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A tiny island country is selling citizenship for $105,000 to save itself from rising seas

Citizenship of Nauru, an island nation spanning just 8 square miles in the southwest Pacific Ocean, can be yours for $105,000. The tiny, low-lying island has launched a “golden passport” initiative with the aim of raising money to fund climate action.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/05/climate/nauru-passport-program-rising-seas/index.html?

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Hottest decade

The latest “State of the Global Climate” report has been released and the news is pretty dire: our world has just experienced its hottest decade. According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2024 was the hottest since record-keeping began and was likely the first time global temperatures exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above the baseline set in 1850-1900. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide were at the highest levels in the last 800,000 years. Such record levels of greenhouse gases — along with the El Niño weather pattern — were mostly to blame for the higher temperatures.

ps:I think they need to stick to 5,000 to 6,000 yrs

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Earth’s storage of water in soil, lakes and rivers is dwindling. And it’s especially bad for farming New research finds that global warming has significantly reduced the amount of water that’s being stored around the world in soil, lakes, rivers, snow and other places on land. The research, published Thursday in the journal Science, says the lost water has “potentially irreversible” impacts on agriculture and sea level rise. Read more.

Why this matters: Earth’s soil moisture dropped by over 2,000 gigatons in roughly the last 20 years, the study says. For context, that’s more than twice Greenland’s ice loss from 2002 to 2006, the researchers noted. Meanwhile, the frequency of once-in-a-decade agricultural and ecological droughts has increased, global sea levels have risen and the Earth’s pole has shifted.   The study also confirms an explanation for a slight wobble in the rotation of the Earth — it’s being driven by the changing moisture levels of the planet.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Arctic sea ice hits record low for its usual peak growth period   From deluges to drought: Climate change speeds up water cycle, triggers more extreme weather   Report highlights how communities hardest hit by climate change can build resilient water systems

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Global coral bleaching has now hit 84% of ocean’s reefs Harmful bleaching of the world’s coral has grown to include 84% of the ocean’s reefs in the most intense event of its kind in recorded history, the International Coral Reef Initiative announced Wednesday. The bleaching event has been so severe that the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch program has had to add levels to its bleaching alert scale to account for the growing risk of coral death. Read more.

Why this matters: It’s not clear when the current crisis, which began in 2023 and is blamed on warming oceans, will end. Last year was Earth’s hottest year on record, and much of that heat is going into oceans. The average annual sea surface temperature of oceans away from the poles was a record 20.87 degrees Celsius (69.57 degrees Fahrenheit).   Corals are key to seafood production, tourism and protecting coastlines from erosion and storms. Coral reefs are sometimes dubbed “rainforests of the sea” because they support high levels of biodiversity — approximately 25% of all marine species can be found in, on and around coral reefs.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Coral reefs in Vietnam face collapse. Can conservation efforts turn the tide?   WATCH: Climate change isn't funny. But comedians are using humor to raise awareness   Book Review: ‘Hope Dies Last’ visits visionaries fighting global warming

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Coral reefs

Warming oceans have caused the worst coral reef bleaching event in recorded history. According to a new report, harmful bleaching has grown to include 84% of the ocean’s reefs — and it’s not clear when the crisis will end. Last year was Earth’s hottest year on record and most of that heat went into the oceans. Such high temperatures are deadly to corals, which protect coastlines from erosion and storms. Coral reefs are also known as the “rainforests of the sea” because they support high levels of biodiversity. “We’re looking at something that’s completely changing the face of our planet and the ability of our oceans to sustain lives and livelihoods,” Mark Eakin, corresponding secretary for the International Coral Reef Society, said. Although efforts are underway to conserve and restore coral, scientists say it’s essential that we reduce emissions from burning the fossil fuels that are warming the planet.

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Global sea levels are rising faster and faster. It spells catastrophe for coastal towns and cities

For around 2,000 years, global sea levels varied little. That changed in the 20th century. They started rising and have not stopped since — and the pace is accelerating.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/09/climate/sea-level-rise-melting-ice-sheets?

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Sea levels

The pace of global sea level rise is accelerating, and the US is hindering scientists’ ability to track it. According to a NASA analysis of satellite data, the annual rate has more than doubled over the past 30 years due to climate change. Here’s why: The oceans absorb roughly 90% of the excess heat primarily produced by burning fossil fuels, and when water heats up, it expands. Heat in the oceans is also causing the melting of Greenland and the Antarctic ice sheets. While melting ice sheets have driven roughly two-thirds of longer-term sea level rise, last year — the planet’s hottest on record — the two factors flipped, making ocean warming the main driver. As scientists were working to understand what this means for the future, the Trump administration cut funding and laid off more than 1,000 employees from NOAA, the nation’s top weather and climate agency. With such research stymied by the government, crucial climate data may be lost.

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Grim warning

The world’s ice sheets are on course for runaway melting, leading to multiple feet of sea level rise and “catastrophic” migration. The dire prognosis from a group of international scientists suggests that coastlines will pay the heaviest price.

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Europe and China agree to take action on climate change and nothing else in tense Beijing summit

BEIJING (AP) — China and the European Union have issued a joint call to action on climate change during an otherwise tense bilateral summit in Beijing on Thursday riven with major disagreements over trade and the war in Ukraine.

https://apnews.com/article/european-union-china-trade-summit-beijing-0f2f0b67435b88a78adef3aa001d0099?

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Choppy waters

There’s another impact of climate change to add to the list. It’s making the ocean more acidic, a process that can affect many species and ecosystems. New research suggests even the ocean’s fiercest predators could be vulnerable.

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‘Something is working’: UN climate chief optimistic about green transition

Exclusive: Simon Stiell believes economic benefits will compel countries to speed up climate action

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/20/simon-stiell-un-climate-chief-climate-progress-green-transition?

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China, world’s largest carbon polluting nation, announces new climate goal to cut emissions With China announcing its first emission cuts, world leaders said Wednesday they are getting more serious about fighting climate change and the deadly extreme weather that comes with it. Read more.

Why this matters: At the United Nations’ high-level climate summit, Chinese president Xi Jinping announced the world’s largest carbon-polluting country would aim to cut emissions by 7% to 10% by 2035. China produces more than 31% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, and they have long been soaring.   Xi also pledged that China would increase its wind and solar power sixfold from 2020 levels, make pollution-free vehicles mainstream and “basically establish a climate adaptive society.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ China’s Xi takes a step back, putting a lieutenant in the limelight at UN meeting   A US lawmaker in China says there’s ‘a lot of work to do’ to resolve trade conflict

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Swiss glaciers shrank 3% this year, the fourth-biggest retreat on record, experts say

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s glaciers have faced “enormous” melting this year with a 3% drop in total volume — the fourth-largest annual drop on record — due to the effects of global warming, top Swiss glaciologists reported on Wednesday.

https://apnews.com/article/switzerland-glaciers-global-warming-994f227b545cfa87c2357aa1cb4f2d6d?

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UN agency says CO2 levels hit record high last year, causing more extreme weather

GENEVA (AP) — Heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere jumped by the highest amount on record last year, soaring to a level not seen in human civilization and “turbo-charging” the Earth’s climate and causing more extreme weather, the United Nations weather agency said Wednesday.

https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-greenhouse-gases-wmo-un-708c3d35ce6fc3d3bcaccafdba6bba45?

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As the Atlantic Ocean warms, climate change is fueling Hurricane Melissa’s ferocity

The warming of the world's oceans caused by climate change helped double Hurricane Melissa's wind speed in less than 24 hours over the weekend, climate scientists said Monday. The hurricane is set to hit Jamaica on Tuesday and then move across Cuba and the Bahamas. Experts note this is the fourth Atlantic storm this year to undergo rapid intensification of its wind speed and power. Read more.

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