CLIMATE CHANGE

15 Amazing Facts About "The Year Without a Summer"

Few volcanoes had had such a dramatic and devastating impact on the world as Indonesia's Mount Tambora.

Why Does Humidity Make Us Feel Hotter?

Is it really not the heat, but the humidity? With temperatures spiking around the world, it's a good time to answer some questions about the heat index.

Seattle residents use air conditioning at half the rate of the national average.

It's Summer, But Many Seattle Residents Are Opting Out of Air Conditioning—Here's Why

Even in the dead heat of summer, stoic Seattle residents beg off on AC. Here's why.

'American War' and 'Clade' are just two of the cli-fi books tackling global climate and environmental issues.

11 Gripping Cli-Fi Books to Put on Your TBR List

Set in a fictionalized future, these cli-fi novels explore how climate change is poised to forever impact our civilization.

The ‘Doomsday Vault’ Has Opened Its Doors to Receive New Seed Deposits

The Svalbard Global Seed Bank in Norway contains 1.1 million seed samples from roughly 6000 plant species, and it just received a new batch of deposits.

Apple Is Launching a New Self-Service Repair Program, So You Never Have to Be Embarrassed by Your Cracked Screen Again

Apple screen repair could be easy for tech-savvy DIYers to figure out. Now, thanks to Apple's new Self-Service Repair Program, they’ll finally get the chance.

Christmas tree harvesters hard at work at Oregon's Holiday Tree Farms in November 2017.

The American Christmas Tree Association Is Warning of a Christmas Tree Shortage in 2021—So Plan Ahead

Climate change has hit Christmas tree farms hard. Thanks to supply chain issues, artificial tree vendors haven’t fared much better.

A Currier & Ives lithograph depicts people fleeing across the Randolph Street Bridge during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

8 Surprising Facts About the Great Chicago Fire of 1871—150 Years Later

On October 8, 1871, Chicago was transformed into a hellish inferno by the Great Chicago Fire. By the time a sudden rain helped extinguish the flames, 300 people were dead, and 100,000 more were homeless. And no: It was not because of Mrs. O'Leary's cow.

The Rainiest City in Every Country

From Hilo, Hawaii to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, these are the rainiest cities in every country around the world.

Calving is one way that glaciers lose ice.

12 Disappearing Glaciers Around the World

If you want to behold some of the world's most majestic glaciers on six continents, you better act fast.

A Sydney Suburb Is Combating Climate Change by Requiring Light-Colored Roofs and a Tree in Every Yard

Planting trees means more shade, and white roofs emit less heat. Here’s how Australia’s Wilton area is fostering eco-friendly growth.

Lenticular clouds in Cape Town, South Africa.

8 Strange Cloud Types and What They Mean

The next time somebody points out a UFO-shaped cloud, you can whip out the word ‘lenticular.’ They’ll love it.

Record Temperatures Are Frying Live Shellfish on Canada's Pacific Coast

The brutal Pacific Northwest heatwave of summer 2021 has left Canada's beaches filled with cooked and rotting shellfish.

What's worse than a single mosquito? Mosquitoes that don't want to be single.

Funnel of Love: Mosquitoes Looking for Mates Formed ‘Mosquito Tornadoes’ in Siberia

A mosquito bite eventually goes away. The image of a mosquito tornado, meanwhile, will live in your brain forever.

Lonely at the Top: Protecting Hyperion, the World's Tallest Tree

Redwood National Park is home to Hyperion, the world's tallest tree. But you won't find it marked on any maps—and that's for its own good.

Lonely at the Top: Protecting Hyperion, the World's Tallest Tree

Redwood National Park is home to Hyperion, the world's tallest tree. But you won't find it marked on any maps—and that's for its own good.

Lonely at the Top: Protecting Hyperion, the World's Tallest Tree

Redwood National Park is home to Hyperion, the world's tallest tree. But you won't find it marked on any maps—and that's for its own good.

The World’s Best and Worst Cities for Air Pollution

Taking a breath of fresh air isn't always possible in some heavily polluted cities around the world.

The Quest for the North Pole, Episode 9: The North Pole Today

Global warming is changing the Arctic—and explorers of the past would barely recognize its green tundra, diminished glaciers, and ice-free seas. Our final episode looks at the North Pole’s many legacies.

6 Ways to Help People Affected by Texas’s Cold Weather Crisis

Frigid temperatures have left many Texans without electricity, heat, and even water. Here’s how to help from afar.

Sea Cucumbers on One Coral Reef Drop Several Eiffel Towers’ Worth of Poop Each Year—and That’s a Good Thing

Slow clap for sea cucumbers, whose excretory achievements could help slow climate change damage to the Great Barrier Reef.

Wildfires have reached historic proportions this year.

What Exactly Is a Gigafire?

The August Complex fire ravaging California is being called a "gigafire," and it's every bit as imposing and destructive as the name implies.

A look at the Global Safety Net's online map application.

Which Places Should We Protect First to Stop Climate Change? This Interactive Map Tells You

Certain lands can store large quantities of carbon (though we also need to cut carbon emissions in the first place).

Smoke fills the sky on Harbor Island in Seattle, Washington on September 12, 2020.

Smoke From the West Coast Wildfires Has Been Reported As Far Away As the Netherlands

The combination of the raging fires and a jet stream has led to smoke from the West Coast wildfires moving across the Northeast and has even tinted the sky in Europe.

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