Volcano Spews Ash and Steam
August 31 — Montserrat's Soufriere Hills volcano blasted ash and steam into the air and authorities warned the Caribbean island could see heightened activity in coming days. (Associated Press)

Study: Summer is Getting Longer
August 31 — By studying moisture and rainfall patterns across the globe, scientists unexpectedly found that the lines between seasons are blurring and summer is getting longer in North America. (LiveScience.com)

Ocean Plankton Absorb Less Carbon Dioxide
August 30 — The amount of carbon absorbed by plant plankton in large segments of the Pacific Ocean is much less than previously estimated, researchers say. (BBC)

Rare Carbon Dioxide 'Lake' Found under the Ocean
August 30 — A team of scientists from Japan and Germany has found an unusual "lake" of liquid carbon dioxide beneath the ocean floor, a rare natural formation that could offer clues about undersea ecosystems. (National Geographic Online)

Melting Ice Dilutes Northern Seas
August 30 — Freshwater pouring into northern oceans is slowly turning high-latitude waters less salty, and shrinking ice sheets and melting glaciers are partly responsible for the freshening effect, a review in the journal Science has confirmed. (BBC)

Earth's Formerly Thin Ozone Layer is Recovering, Scientists Say
August 30 — Earth's protective ozone layer, which was notably thinning in 1980, may be fully recovered by mid-century, scientists report. (Reuters)

Scientists Pinpoint Polar Catastrophe
August 29 — A 30-mile maze of canyons in Antarctica was carved out of bedrock by the catastrophic draining of sub-glacial lakes during global warming 12 million to 14 million years ago, according to researchers who warn that a similar event today could have serious environmental consequences. (Associated Press)

Global Warming Feedback Loop Caused by Methane
August 29 — Scientists say new research suggests more methane is released into the atmosphere from ocean deposits during periods of warming than previously thought, creating warmer temperatures and the release of additional methane. (National Geographic Online)

Indonesia Downgrades Quake
August 29 — An undersea earthquake struck near Indonesia's Moluccas islands, but officials said its strength was moderate and there was no risk of a tsunami. (Reuters)

NASA Satellites Can See How Climate Change Affects Forests
August 29 — A NASA-funded study shows that satellites can track the growth and health of forests and detect the impact of a changing climate on them. (The Register)

Ernesto Bears Down on Cuba
August 28 — Tropical Storm Ernesto threatened to regain hurricane strength as it bore down on southeastern Cuba on a track toward the Florida Keys after killing at least one person in Haiti. (Reuters)

Disaster-Prone China Takes Heed of Global Warming
August 28 — Storms, floods, heat and drought that have killed more than 2,000 people in China this year are a prelude to weather patterns likely to become more extreme due to global warming, the head of the Beijing Climate Center said. (Reuters)

Professor Helps Invent Lightning Sensor
August 28 — By measuring electricity in the atmosphere, a University of Oklahoma professor has helped invent a device that provides advance warning that lightning may be imminent. (Associated Press)

Caribbean Faces Stormier Future
August 28 — Latin America and the Caribbean face a greater risk of more natural disasters because of environmental degradation and climate change, environmentalists warn. (BBC)

Acid Rain Affects Large Swathes of China
August 27 — Acid rain caused by sulphur dioxide spewed from factories and power plants affected a third of China's vast land mass last year, posing a threat to food safety, Xinhua news agency said, citing a parliamentary report. (Reuters)

Dam Broken to Restore California Wetlands
August 25 — The ocean flowed into historic wetlands for the first time in more than a century after bulldozers peeled back the last layer of an earthen dam, following the most ambitious restoration of coastal wetlands in the history of California, where 95 percent of saltwater marshes have been given over to development. (Associated Press)

New Model Promises Better Weather Forecasts
August 25 — A new forecasting model that incorporates data from satellites, radars, and several other tools to create higher-resolution data sets is now in use for both daily weather forecasting and research. (LiveScience.com)

Ice Age Gives Clues to Global Warming
August 25 — Ice Age evidence confirms that a doubling of greenhouse gases could drive up world temperatures by about 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit), causing havoc with the climate, a new study has found. (Reuters)

Warming 'More Severe' for Cities
August 25 — A study finds that predictions for climate change by 2080 show London is likely to be hit with more cloud-free days and more frequent periods of intense heat and that city temperatures will be exacerbated by the urban heat island effect. (BBC)

Climate Changes Shift Springtime
August 25 — A Europe-wide study has provided "conclusive proof" that the seasons are changing, with spring arriving earlier each year, researchers say. (BBC)

More Tropical Fish Sighted in Rhode Island's Waters
August 25 — Scientists said a northward shift of the Gulf Stream -- that moves north from Florida along the East Coast before turning east toward Europe -- is bringing a number of warm-water visitors off Rhode Island this summer, including juvenile orange filefish, snowy grouper and lookdowns. (Associated Press)

Worst Red Tide in Years Hits Puget Sound
August 24 — The worst red tide in perhaps a decade has shut down shellfish beds all along Puget Sound and prompted serious public health worries, state officials said. (Associated Press)

Arctic Freshwater Pouring into Atlantic, Scientists Say
August 24 — Freshwater from the Arctic Ocean is pouring into the North Atlantic at record rates, caused by rising rainfall and runoff from land, and melting sea ice and glaciers, say scientists. (National Public Radio)

Ozone Layer on the Mend, But Recovery Delayed
August 24 — The earth's ozone layer is finally on the mend after decades of damage, but two international agencies say the protective layer, which filters dangerous solar radiation, is recovering more slowly than experts had originally hoped. (Reuters)

Tropical Storm Debby Strengthens Slightly
August 23 — Debby, the fourth tropical storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, strengthened slowly over open waters but posed no threat to land, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. (Reuters)

Flood Threat Puts Britain at Risk
August 23 — The combination of a severe storm and high tide would cause catastrophic damage to parts of the UK, leading researchers have warned. (BBC)

Ozone Hole Stable, Say Scientists
August 23 — Leading U.S. scientists say the hole in the ozone layer of the Earth's atmosphere above the Antarctic appears to have stopped widening. (BBC)

Climate Change Linked to Mercury Emissions
August 23 — A new study concludes that more frequent fires promoted by the warming atmosphere are releasing mercury sequestered in the soils at levels up to 15 times greater than previous estimates. (Science Now)

Climate Linked to Plague Increase
August 22 — A study suggests climatic changes could lead to more outbreaks of bubonic plague among human populations after finding that the bacterium causing the deadly disease became more widespread following warmer springs and wetter summers. (BBC)

Global Warming Imperils Alaska Village
August 22 — Shishmaref, a barrier island town on Alaska's west coast, has been the home of the Inupiat for 4,000 years, but the protective sea ice that used to buffer the village's homes against storms isn't as massive or long-lasting now � the weather's been too warm for too long, making the shoreline vulnerable to erosion at an average of 10 feet a year. (CBS)

Dying Salt Marshes Puzzle Scientists
August 22 — Ecologists warn that saltwater marshes -- wetlands dominated by plant life sheltered from surf -- from Maine to Connecticut are suddenly and inexplicably dying, leaving behind land resembling honeycombs or an eroded desert landscape. (Associated Press)

Grey Jays Hit by Warming as Birds Freezer Fails
August 21 — Grey jay birds that store frozen food to help survive icy winters are dying out in parts of North America because global warming is rotting their hoards, a scientist said. (Reuters)

Malaysia's Development Race Puts Mangroves at Risk
August 21 — Researchers say Malaysia's unprecedented development threatens its mangroves, rich wetlands that offer a home to marine life and help block extreme weather. (Reuters)

Ethiopia Steps up Flood Warnings as Death Toll Rises
August 21 — The death toll from flash floods in Ethiopia rose after police reported an unknown number of bodies had been found in the country's southwest, where 364 deaths have already been confirmed. (Associated Press)

Ozone-Friendly Chemicals Lead to Warming
August 20 — A UN report finds the chemicals that replaced CFCs are better for the ozone layer, but do little to help global warming because they also act as a reflective layer in the atmosphere that traps heat like a greenhouse. (Associated Press)

Atlantic Hurricanes Could Rev Up Any Time
August 20 — There has been little action in the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season so far, but forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said there are recent signs of increased activity near the west coast of Africa, source of the troublesome "Cape Verde" hurricanes that grow powerful on their long trip across the Atlantic. (Reuters)

Bacteria Warnings Hit New Hampshire, Maine Coast
August 20 — This summer has seen a record number of warnings about bacteria at coastal beaches in New Hampshire and Maine and scientists say heavy rains are likely to blame for the high bacteria levels. (Associated Press)

Moderate Earthquake Hits Mexico Coast, Felt in City
August 19 — A moderate earthquake rocked Mexico's Pacific coast close to the popular beach resort of Huatulco and was felt as far away as Mexico City, but no damage was reported. (Reuters)

Japan Heat Wave to Continue
August 18 — The current heat wave will continue in many areas of Japan for at least another week, the official forecaster said, following average temperatures in the past two weeks of up to three degrees higher than normal that boosted daily electricity demand to record levels. (Reuters)

Chinese Drought Affects Millions
August 18 — At least 18 million people have been affected by China's worst drought in 50 years, according to the state news agency Xinhua. (BBC)

Typhoon Saomai Death Toll Rises in China
August 18 — The death toll from Typhoon Saomai, the strongest storm to hit China in more than five decades, jumped to 436 after more than 100 new deaths were confirmed in the country's east, the official Xinhua News Agency said. (Associated Press)

Hurricane Katrina, Rita Oil Spills Mostly Minor, Didn't Reach Shore
August 18 — Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused 124 spills of petroleum products into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, almost all of them minor and none resulting in pollution reaching shore, the government reports. (Associated Press)

Report Blames Keys Algae Blooms on Roads
August 18 — Disturbances from last year's hurricanes likely stirred up phosphorus in the water, but construction widening along an 18-mile stretch of U.S. Route 1 between Florida City and Key Largo may also be to blame for large algae blooms in the Florida Keys, say researchers. (Associated Press)

Greenhouse Gas Good for Some Trees
August 18 — In an experiment where carbon dioxide levels were elevated to those predicted for 2050, one and a half times today's levels, scientists found that some trees were able to withstand ice storms much better than those growing under current carbon dioxide levels. (LiveScience.com)

Scientists Add Years to Ozone Recovery
August 18 — The atmosphere will take up to 15 years longer than previously expected to recover from pollution and repair its ozone hole over the southern hemisphere, the UN weather organization said. (Associated Press)

60 Missing as Ecuador Volcano Erupts
August 17 — A violent eruption by Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano showered incandescent rock and lava on nearby villages, killing at least one person, leaving 60 missing and burning residents as they tried to flee, a local mayor said. (Associated Press)

Scientists Collaborate on Quake Research
August 17 — A group of University of Missouri-Columbia scientists are hoping the lessons from north China's frequent, deadly earthquakes including one 30 years ago near Beijing that killed at least 244,000 people can provide clues to better understand the seismic risks in the American heartland. (Associated Press)

Australia Formed by Three-Continent Collision
August 17 — The island continent of Australia was once three continents which collided 1.64 billion years ago, a new study has found, prompting speculation of new mineral deposits in the outback. (Reuters)

Thousands of Katrina Evacuees Seen as Climate Refugees
August 17 — Some 250,000 evacuees from last year's Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast may never return permanently and should be considered "climate refugees," whose ranks around the world could grow until global warming is mitigated, an environmental expert said. (Reuters)

Global Warming Affects Hurricane Intensity, U.S. Study Shows
August 16 — Global warming is affecting the intensity of Atlantic hurricanes, according to a new study by a scientist who says his research provides the first direct link between climate change and storm strength. (Reuters)

Philippine Volcano's High Alert to Last Weeks
August 15 — Seismic activity at the Philippines' most active volcano calmed overnight but it could be weeks before 40,000 people evacuated from the shadow of the shuddering mountain can return home. (Reuters)

Typhoon Death Toll Rises
August 14 — The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit China in half a century has risen to 255, the official Xinhua news agency said, with about 140 people still missing. (Reuters)

Fires in Northwest Spain Lessen
August 14 — Firefighters in Spain's ravaged northwest region of Galicia have at last gained the upper hand over the blazes there, helped by cooler night temperatures, Galicia's regional government said. (AFP)

Researchers Probe What Spawns Hurricanes
August 14 — Researchers still do not know exactly what causes some tropical disturbances to stay weak and others to strengthen into hurricanes, but a new field study led by NOAA and NASA will track tropical systems from their breeding grounds in Africa west toward the U.S. to help find out. (Associated Press)

'More Disasters' for Warmer World
August 14 — Rising temperatures will increase the risk of forest fires, droughts and flooding over the next two centuries, U.K. climate scientists have warned. (BBC)

Pollution Helps Marine Aliens Spread
August 13 — Polluted water helps exotic species become tolerant to metals like copper, which gives them a selective advantage over native species, an Australian scientist has found. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Antarctic 'Snow Shock' Just Around Corner
August 12 — An Australian scientist says his findings that Antarctic snowfalls have changed little in 50 years, despite global warming, could be evidence the worst is yet to come. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Philippine Volcano Blast Appears Likely
August 12 — Mayon, the Philippines' most active volcano, appears to be gearing up for an explosive eruption since it began quietly oozing lava four weeks ago, scientists said. (Associated Press)

Quake Jolts Mexico City
August 11 — A moderate earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 5.9, rocked Mexico City, causing skyscrapers to sway and frightening residents, but emergency officials said no major damage or injuries were reported. (Associated Press)

Pacific 'Dead Zone' Worse than Thought
August 11 — The oxygen-starved "dead zone" along the Pacific Coast that is causing massive crab and fish die-offs is worse than initially thought and weather is the likely culprit, scientists said. (Associated Press)

Dying Salt Marshes Puzzle Scientists
August 11 — Ecologists warn that saltwater marshes from Maine to Connecticut are suddenly and inexplicably dying, leaving behind land resembling honeycombs, Swiss cheese or an eroded desert landscape. (Associated Press)

Pigeons Beam Air Quality Info to Blog
August 11 — Pigeons with backpacks and cell phones will be taking to the sky and sending air quality data to a blog to fill in gaps in knowledge about the air we breathe. (Associated Press)

Greenland Melt Speeding Up
August 10 — Data from a NASA satellite shows that the melting rate of Greenland's ice sheet has greatly accelerated since 2004. (BBC)

Volcanic Eruptions Score Melodies
August 10 — The low-frequency, seismic rumblings of volcanoes are being transformed into delicate musical scores in an effort to predict when they will erupt. (BBC)

Stronger Hurricanes Spawn Bigger Storm Surges
August 10 — Stronger hurricanes forecast for the next few decades could flood major cities including Miami and New Orleans, scientists said. (Reuters)

Weak El Nino May Be Forming
August 10 — There is a 50 percent chance a weak El Nino will develop this year, government forecasters said, but if the weather abnormality reappears it will be too late to affect the Atlantic hurricane season. (Reuters)

Indonesian Forest Fires Flare
August 9 — Choking smoke from Indonesian forest fires marks the return of an annual hazard across the region that authorities appear powerless to stop. (Reuters)

Floods Maroon Thousands in Indian Cities
August 8 — Swirling floodwaters inundated several towns and cities in western and southern India as the military deployed helicopters and boats to help hundreds of thousands of marooned people. (Reuters)

Louisiana Builds New Land with River Mud
August 8 — A pilot project at the mouth of the Mississippi River shows how hurricane-ravaged Louisiana may be able to rebuild its vanishing coast with fertile river bottom soil now dumped by dredges into the ocean. (Reuters)

Hurricane Forecast Lowered, Slightly
August 8 — Government hurricane forecasters said there would likely be fewer storms this year than predicted in May, but they warned people living near coastlines not to be lulled. (Associated Press)

Second Chinese Crab Found in Chesapeake Bay
August 8 — Maryland biologists confirmed that a second Chinese mitten crab has been found in the Chesapeake Bay, heightening worries the invasive species may have a foothold in the bay. (Associated Press)

Scientists Links Nitrogen to 'Dead Zone'
August 7 — A Louisiana State University scientist says his accurate predictions for the large low-oxygen "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico prove that nitrogen is a main factor in its creation. (Associated Press)

Scientists: Warming Triggers 'Dead Zone'
August 6 — Bottom fish and crabs washing up dead on Oregon beaches are being killed by a recurring "dead zone" of low-oxygen water that is larger than in previous years and may be triggered by global warming, scientists said. (Associated Press)

Half a Million Homeless in Indian Floods
August 6 — Rescuers in India stepped up efforts to help hundreds of thousands of people forced from their homes by floods in a southern state as torrential rain hit the country's financial capital. (Reuters)

Floods Kills 150 in Ethiopia
August 6 — Floods killed about 150 people in eastern Ethiopia when heavy rains caused a river to burst its banks, sending a wall of water into a town that killed most of the victims as they slept, officials said. (Reuters)

Storm Death Toll Rises to 57 in South China
August 6 — Tropical Storm Prapiroon has killed 57 in south China with 16 people still missing, the official Xinhua news agency said. (Reuters)

Air Conditioning Fuels Warming
August 6 — A study slated for publication later this month suggests that turning on the air conditioner may make global warming worse because the electricity for air conditioning widely relies on coal power plants, which add more warming "greenhouse" gases to the atmosphere. (USA Today)

NASA Joins Search for Elusive Woodpecker
August 4 — NASA scientists have joined the search for the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker, long thought to be extinct but recently sighted in Arkansas. (Reuters)

Potential Invasive Crab Found in Maryland
August 4 — A crab species from China has been discovered in the Patapsco River, state authorities said, prompting fears about the potentially invasive species' presence in the Chesapeake Bay. (Associated Press)

Tropical Storm Chris Downgraded
August 4 — Tropical Storm Chris was downgraded to a depression as it moved through the Turks and Caicos islands, and forecasters were uncertain whether the ragged weather system would regain strength. (Reuters)

Russia to Launch European Weather Probe in Autumn
August 4 — Russia is to launch a European weather satellite in September or October, the Russian space agency said, setting a time frame for the launch after it was postponed three times in July. (AFP)

Weather Official: 'Alarming Increase' in Lightning Deaths
August 4 — Lightning killed at least 14 people in the United States during the second half of July, a pace twice as deadly as in a typical year for the same two weeks. (LiveScience.com)

Taller Mountains Blamed on Global Warming Too
August 4 — The European Alps have been growing since the end of the last little Ice Age in 1850 when glaciers began shrinking as temperatures warmed, but the rate of uplift has accelerated in recent decades because global warming has sped up the rate of glacier melt, researchers say. (LiveScience.com)

Minerals Send Mixed Signals about Early Earth
August 4 — Some geologists have recently claimed that tiny zircons crystals reveal a surprisingly cool and hospitable planet very early on, but new research counters that the old "Hadean" zircons don�t look very different from those made today by submarine volcanoes, and so don�t necessarily rule out a Hades-like young Earth. (Discovery.com)

Philippine Officials: Volcano May Erupt
August 4 — The government has deployed troops to keep sightseers away from the edge of advancing lava from Mayon volcano, and officials warned that a violent eruption could occur within weeks or days. (Associated Press)

UK's Jurassic Coast Feels Heat of Climate Change
August 4 — The seaside town of Lyme Regis seems a million miles from the melting polar ice caps or the flooded coral atolls of the Pacific, but the exposed steel piling behind the promenade and the newly reinforced beach, designed to stop the town from crumbling into the sea, show it too is threatened by climate change. (Reuters)

Red Tide Moving Up Florida's West Coast
August 4 — A persistent red tide bloom that has been killing fish off Fort Myers since July has spread north to Charlotte and Sarasota counties, officials said. (Associated Press)

Hurricane Forecast Revised Downward
August 3 — Forecasters at Colorado State University have reduced the number of tropical storms they think will form in the Atlantic this season, but they still predict that three major hurricanes will form before November 30. (National Geographic Online)

Hurricane Secrets May Be Revealed by African Thunderstorms
August 3 — A team of U.S. and European scientists is strategically positioned between continental Africa and the Caribbean to study why some thunderstorm clusters�called tropical waves�develop into hurricanes and others just fizzle out. (National Geographic Online)

NASA Conducts Summertime Air Check
August 3 — Researchers from NASA and across the nation have assembled a powerful array of scientific instruments -- in space and on the ground -- to not only gain a better understanding of intense urban air pollution episodes, but also a better toolkit to track and probe air pollution worldwide from space. (United Press International)

Hottest July Since 1950 Claimed Dozens of Lives
August 3 — The French government said 112 people had died due to the heat in the hottest July since 1950. (Reuters)

Eastern U.S. Swelters in Heat Wave
August 2 — With temperatures soaring close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the National Weather Service posted excessive heat warnings for communities from Maine to Illinois as electricity usage in the six-state New England region was forecast to top a record 28,000 megawatts. (Associated Press)

Summer Nights Heating Up, Scientists Say
August 2 — America in recent years has been sweltering through three times more than its normal share of extra-hot summer nights, government weather records show. (Associated Press)

July in Poland was Hottest in 227 Years
August 2 — Poland has experienced its hottest July since official records began 227 years ago, with average mid-afternoon temperatures hitting 86 degrees Fahrenheit, the Meteorological Institute in Warsaw said. (AFP)

Ice Cold Temperatures Form Rare Cloud Formation in Antarctica
August 2 — Some of the coldest temperatures on Earth brought a rare display of polar stratospheric clouds to the skies last week at Mawson station in Antarctica, scientists said. (Associated Press)

South Africans Shriver through Icy Winter
August 2 — South Africans are facing one of their harshest winters in years, with at least four deaths blamed on flooding from heavy rain that has caused travel delays, while Johannesburg saw flurries for the first time in at least eight years, the national weather service said. (Associated Press)

1883 Volcano Eruption's Legacy is a Cooler Planet
August 2 — Thanks to a spectacular explosion of the Krakatoa volcano in the late 19th century, global warming and sea-level rise over the last century have not been quite as severe as they might have been otherwise, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and elsewhere say. (San Francisco Chronicle)

New Group Aims to Solve Aspen Mystery
August 2 — Aspens send out suckers to create "clone" trees, but in many Western states that process is not working, and a group has formed in southeastern Idaho to find out why the trees are disappearing. (Associated Press)

Experts: Tsunami Warning System So-So
August 2 — A tsunami warning system is now in place for Indian Ocean countries, but experts said there is still room for improvement in methods to convey the alerts to coastal communities. (Associated Press)

Sirens Part of Indonesian Warning System
August 1 — The Indonesian government will install 500 sirens on cellular phone towers this year as part of a tsunami warning system for coastal residents, a senior official said. (Associated Press)

Chandeleur Islands Not Rebuilding
August 1 — Last year's hurricanes did so much damage to barrier islands in Breton Sound, Louisiana, they may disappear altogether in the not so distant future, scientists say. (Associated Press)

Small-Scale Logging Leads to Clear-cutting in Brazilian Amazon
August 1 — A recent NASA-funded study of the Amazon rain forest in Brazil shows that 16 percent of the rain forests that had been selectively logged were completely clear-cut within one year and that 32 percent of logged areas were completely cleared within four years. (ForestNewsWatch.com)

July Heat Wave Could Set National Record
August 1 — Dozens of new all-time high records have been set in recent weeks across the United States, and weather officials said today the month could become the warmest since official record-keeping began in 1895. (LiveScience.com)

Global Warming Likely Causing More Heat Waves
August 1 — Global warming has loaded the dice in favor of heat waves and may be to blame for the scorching weather across much of the United States and Europe this summer, according to several of the world's leading climate scientists. (National Geographic Online)

Forecast of the Future: Severe Weather to be Predicted within Moments
August 1 — A new forecasting technique using multiple Doppler weather radars to track water vapor could produce forecasts of severe weather just moments before it pours. (LiveScience.com)

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