Old Data Supports Global Warming Link to Hurricanes
February 28, 2007Researchers say they have found an intimate link between rising sea surface temperatures associated with global warming and increased Atlantic hurricane activity. (LiveScience.com)
La Nina Brewing, More Hurricanes Possible
February 28, 2007Forecasters warned that a La Nina weather pattern � the nasty flip side of El Nino � is brewing, bringing with it the threat of more hurricanes for the Atlantic. (LiveScience.com)
Residents of Erupting Stromboli Told to Avoid Coast
February 28, 2007Residents and tourists have been told to move away from the coast of an Italian volcanic island in case its spectacular eruptions cause tidal waves, emergency services said. (Reuters)
Scientists: Geyser Event was a Burp
February 28, 2007Scientists have classified a spout of steam earlier this month at Yellowstone National Park's Steamboat geyser as a "forceful minor eruption." (Associated Press)
Scientists Wary of Lake Superior Warming
February 27, 2007In Lake Superior, temperatures are rising almost twice as fast as air temperatures -- more than 4 degrees for the average surface temperature, with effects on plants, marine life, and weather. (Associated Press)
Winter 'Second Warmest on Record'
February 27, 2007The UK has experienced its second warmest winter on record, with a mean temperature of 5.47 degrees Celsius (41.8 degrees Fahrenheit), provisional Met Office figures show. (Reuters)
Warming May Kill Brazil Species, Studies Find
February 27, 2007A number of animal and plant species in Brazil could die out as rising world temperatures cause more droughts, disease and rainstorms in areas like the Pantanal wetlands and Amazon rainforest, according to new research. (Reuters)
New Study of Polar Secrets in Global Warming Fight
February 26, 2007The International Polar Year kicks off this week and will involve 50,000 people from 63 nations in 228 projects looking at and under polar ice, in the sea and in the atmosphere, all part of the biggest coordinated polar study in half a century. (Reuters)
Antarctic Ice Melt Reveals Exotic Creatures
February 26, 2007Spindly orange sea stars, fan-finned ice fish and herds of roving sea cucumbers are among the exotic creatures spied off the Antarctic coast in an area formerly covered by ice, scientists reported. (Reuters)
Severe Winter Storm Hammers Midwest, East Coast
February 25, 2007A severe winter storm dumped snow and freezing rain across the Midwest and mid-Atlantic United States, stranding air travelers from Boston to Chicago and causing several traffic deaths. (Reuters)
Arkansas Town Copes With Tornado Damage
February 25, 2007Dozens of homes and businesses looked like they were shredded by "high explosives," the Arkansas lieutenant governor said as he surveyed the damage a day after a powerful storm injured 40 people. (Associated Press)
Global Warming Alarm: Doomsday for Australia
February 25, 2007A recent report finds Sydney could slide into a near permanent state of drought, as deadly bushfires increase markedly and temperatures rise 10 or 15 degrees Fahrenheit over the next few decades. (ABC)
Indonesia Drops Balls Into Mud Volcano
February 25, 2007Indonesian engineers temporarily halted an attempt to plug a fissure that has been gushing mud for nine months, after a steel cable hoisting cement balls into the crater broke, officials said. (Associated Press)
Mozambique Hit by More Flooding After Cyclone Rain
February 25, 2007Heavy rains from a cyclone sparked more flooding in Mozambique, worsening a humanitarian crisis that has already killed 45 people and forced 140,000 from their homes. (Reuters)
Coastal Brits Fret About Climate Change
February 24, 2007The UK government has decided that coastal areas like Happisburgh, England, experiencing the erosive effects of global warming, are no longer worth defending. (Associated Press)
Arctic Team Studies Global Warming, Inuit Culture
February 24, 2007A team of seven explorers is about to embark on a 1,200-mile journey across Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic to discuss the effects of global warming on Inuit cultures, and will use the Internet to communicate with interested observers around the world. (National Public Radio)
Ground Rises Near Ancient Italian Volcano
February 23, 2007The ground on the western edges of Naples, Italy, is rising, spurring worries of a possible volcanic eruption, but scientists now think they know exactly what is causing the uplift and may be able to better predict any potential eruption. (LiveScience.com)
Lightning Strikes from the Mouths of Volcanoes
February 22, 2007A new study reveals the first direct observations of volcanic lightning, a well-known but poorly understood phenomenon. (LiveScience.com)
Cyclone Makes Landfall in Mozambique
February 22, 2007Cyclone Favio swept ashore in central Mozambique with sustained winds of 125 mph, bringing heavy rain and new misery to tens of thousands of people already forced from their homes by flooding. (Associated Press)
Australia Declares El Nino Weather Pattern Over
February 21, 2007Australian forecasters said that the El Nino weather pattern blamed for the worst drought in a century had ended, and expressed cautious optimism much-needed rain was on the way. (Agence France-Presse)
River Run-off Threatens Great Barrier Reef
February 21, 2007Satellite images of Australia's Great Barrier Reef show that sediment from river run-off is threatening the reef at a greater rate than previously realized, Australia's peak scientific body said. (Reuters)
Australia's Coast Hit by Tsunamis
February 21, 2007Australia's coastline has felt the impact of almost 50 tsunamis in the past 150 years, according to the first catalogue of all such events. (Australian Broadcasting Corp.)
Outback Dust May Slow Climate Change: Scientists
February 21, 2007Scientists believe dust from Australia's drought-stricken regions may help to slow climate change by providing iron for microscopic marine plants to grow and, in turn, absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. (Australian Broadcasting Corp.)
Indonesia to Use Concrete Balls to Plug 'Mud Volcano'
February 20, 2007Hundreds of concrete balls will be dropped into a "mud volcano" although experts warned it is unlikely to stop a massive mud flow which has swallowed villages and left 15,000 people homeless. (Agence France-Presse)
2006 Was China's Hottest Year in a Half-Century
February 20, 2007The year 2006 was China's hottest in half a century, with more than a third of climate observation stations on the Tibet plateau registering all-time high temperatures. (Agence France-Presse)
Light Shed on Southern Ocean Climate Change Link
February 20, 2007A scientific voyage has found the East Australian Current and the Southern Ocean may be more important to climate change than originally thought. (Australian Broadcasting Corp.)
Robo-Sub Takes Antarctic Plunge
February 20, 2007A voyage to Antarctica's icy depths by the United Kingdom's first deep-sea remote operated vehicle has revealed a rich array of marine life and geological features that may shed light on the region's past and future. (BBC)
Study: Yellowstone Air Quality Improves
February 20, 2007Levels of carbon monoxide and certain particulate at West Yellowstone and Old Faithful continue to improve, and the air quality is good, a study by the National Park Service concluded. (Associated Press)
Jakarta Flood Losses Rise to Nearly One Billion Dollars
February 20, 2007Devastating floods in the Indonesian capital earlier this month have caused nearly one billion dollars worth of damage and losses. (Agence France-Presse)
Acid Oceans Threatening Marine Food Chain
February 19, 2007The world's oceans are turning acidic due to the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and scientists say the effects on marine life will be catastrophic in coming decades. (National Geographic News)
Wind Shifts Devastate Ocean Life
February 18, 2007The delicate interplay between the oceans and atmosphere is changing with catastrophic consequences, making "dead zones" off the U.S. west coast much more common, wiping out populations of marine life. (BBC)
Five Science Satellites Blast Off on Rocket
February 17, 2007Five science satellites blasted off on a single rocket on a mission to figure out the source of powerful geomagnetic sub-storms and aurora in the Earth's atmosphere. (Associated Press)
Report: January Hottest on Record
February 16, 2007Spurred on by unusually warm Siberia, Canada, northern Asia and Europe, the world's land areas were 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in January - the warmest ever - according to the U.S. National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina. (Associated Press)
Mountain Glacier Could Vanish
February 16, 2007The Peruvian Qori Kalis glacier in the Andes could vanish in just five years, a climatologist from Ohio State University says, and may provide the clearest evidence yet of global climate change. (BBC)
Monster Tornado Could Strike Cities
February 16, 2007There's no reason monster tornadoes couldn't hit large cities, killing thousands and causing widespread damage, say meteorologists in a new study that uses the latest tornado-chasing data to simulate the effects of a tornado outburst in Chicago. (Discovery.com)
Scientists Find Lakes Under Antarctica
February 15, 2007Beneath the snow and ice of Antarctica, scientists have discovered a network of lakes that fill and empty with rapidly flowing water - a finding that may improve understanding of the interaction between global warming and melting ice. (Associated Press)
Sea Level Rise Could Hit Poor Countries Hard, Study Finds
February 14, 2007Even a small rise in the world's sea levels, predicted as a result of global warming, could make environmental refugees of some 56 million people in developing countries, a World Bank economist said. (Reuters)
Study: Burying Greenhouse Gas Could Work
February 14, 2007Injecting carbon dioxide into wet, porous rocks deep underground may be a good way to reduce emissions of this major greenhouse gas because the rocks trap the gas better than previously thought, a new study claims. (LiveScience.com)
Rising Seas Threaten Britain's Best-Loved Beaches
February 13, 2007Some of Britain's best-loved beaches and coastline, from Golden Cap in Dorset to Formby Sands in Lancashire, are under threat from erosion and flooding, the National Trust said. (Reuters)
New Orleans Tornado Kills One, Injures 19
February 13, 2007One person was killed and at least 19 people were injured when a tornado swept through New Orleans neighborhoods still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. (Reuters)
Sea Creatures to Be Tracked Electronically
February 12, 2007Researchers are planning a worldwide effort to track the movement of sea creatures tagged with tiny electronic devices that will also record ocean conditions, including temperature and salinity. (Associated Press)
The Fate of Greenland's Glaciers
February 12, 2007Two of Greenland's largest glaciers that flow to lower elevations and the ocean are waxing and waning rapidly, researchers reported last week, suggesting that the effects of global warming on sea levels may be difficult to predict. (The Washington Post)
Village May Set New York State Record for Snowfall
February 11, 2007The village of Redfield, New York, gets a lot of snowfall during the winter, but last week's total � more than 11 feet, unofficially � might be an all-time 7-day record for the state. (Associated Press)
Warming Threatens Double Trouble in Peru
February 11, 2007The ice atop Cordillera Blanca, the largest glacier chain in the tropics, is melting fast because of rising temperatures, and scientists say it is endangering future water supplies to the arid coast where most Peruvians live. (Associated Press)
Tokyo Gets Snowless Winter
February 11, 2007Tokyo has set a record for its longest snow-less winter amid growing worldwide concerns about global warming, according to meteorologists. (Agence France-Presse)
Japan Uses Satellites to Track Disasters
February 11, 2007Japan launched a satellite-based alert system that will instantly send warnings of tsunamis and updates on volcanic activity to help speed evacuations, an emergency official said. (Associated Press)
Jakarta Residents Survey Flood Damage
February 10, 2007The death toll from massive flooding in Indonesia rose to 80, as some 140,000 people returned to their sodden homes in the capital to clear away piles of mud and rancid debris. (Associated Press)
Greenhouse Gas Ocean Burial Can Start
February 9, 2007International rules allowing burial of greenhouse gases beneath the seabed enter into force on Feb. 10 in what will be a step toward fighting global warming, if storage costs are cut and leaks can be averted. (Reuters)
Work Starts on Arctic Seed Vault
February 9, 2007Deep inside the Arctic Circle work is about to begin on a giant frozen Noah's Ark for food crops to provide a last bastion in the battle against global warming. (Reuters)
Last Year Earth's Fifth Warmest Year
February 9, 2007NASA climatologists have found that 2006 was the fifth warmest year in the past century. (USA Today)
Global Warming to Require More Robust Disaster Monitoring
February 8, 2007Global warming will require more robust monitoring of hurricanes, typhoons and other disasters, mirroring systems in place to watch for tsunamis, a top U.N. official said. (Reuters)
El Nino Weakened, But Outlook Cloudy Beyond May
February 8, 2007The weather anomaly El Nino is weakening, but the outlook beyond May is cloudy, according to a monthly report by the U.S. Climate Prediction Center. (Reuters)
'Green' Concrete Could Reduce Carbon Dioxide
February 7, 2007Five to 10 percent of the world's total carbon dioxide comes from manufacturing cement, but a new understanding about the fundamental properties of nano-sized particles could reduce this impact. (Discovery.com)
Carbon Dioxide Can Be Stored in Aquifers for Years: Study
February 7, 2007Injecting carbon dioxide emissions from electric power plants into deep underground aquifers may be a suitable long-term disposal method for the greenhouse gas, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said. (Reuters)
Debate Storms on Possible Warming-Hurricane Link
February 7, 2007While a U.N. report last week left little doubt that scientists think humans are heating the planet, it did nothing to settle the question of whether they are partly responsible for more intense hurricanes. (Reuters)
Global Warming to Hit Poor Worst, Says U.N.
February 6, 2007The world's poor, who are the least responsible for global warming, will suffer the most from climate change, the U.N. told environment ministers from around the world. (Reuters)
East Coast Towns Wary of Atlantic Tsunami
February 5, 2007While tsunamis are primarily considered a threat on the Pacific Coast, emergency officials are paying closer attention to the potential for killer waves on the Atlantic Coast since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people in 11 countries. (Associated Press)
El Nino All Washed Up, Forecasters Say
February 5, 2007El Ni�o has �collapsed,� say scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center, and if it has any effect on North America's winter and spring weather, it will be negligible. (San Diego Union Tribune)
29 Dead in Indonesian Flood; 340,000 Flee
February 5, 2007Horse-drawn carts rescued residents from flood-stricken districts in the Indonesian capital after flooding burst riverbanks, killing at least 29 people and forcing some 340,000 to flee their homes in recent days. (Associated Press)
Florida Tornado Cleanup Efforts Continue
February 4, 2007Cleanup efforts are continuing in Central Florida, following at least three tornadoes with winds up to 165 mph that killed at least 20 people and damaged or destroyed 1500 homes. (Associated Press)
Experts Warns of Major Quake in Western Canada
February 3, 2007Seismologists warned that a "catastrophic" earthquake could strike the southwestern coast of British Columbia soon. (Agence France-Presse)
Global Warming Man-Made, Will Continue
February 2, 2007International scientists and officials hailed a report saying that global warming is "very likely" caused by man, and that hotter temperatures and rises in sea level "would continue for centuries" no matter how much humans control their pollution. (Associated Press)
Mega-Hurricanes Fueled by River Plumes
February 1, 2007The tepid waters of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers may be goading modest hurricanes into super storms in South America, says a researcher studying the balmy river water at sea. (Discovery.com)
Global Warming Linked to Stronger Hurricanes
February 1, 2007Global warming has made stronger hurricanes, including those in the Atlantic such as Katrina, an authoritative panel on climate change has concluded for the first time. (LiveScience.com)
Flood Maps May Have Out-of-Date Data
February 1, 2007Maps used to calculate flood danger in the U.S. rely on data that are decades out of date, according to a report that calls for a new national program to remap land levels. (Associated Press)
Canada, U.S. Launch Satellite Mapping of North America
February 1, 2007Canada and the United States have launched a satellite mapping project of North America to better monitor biodiversity and climate change in the region, Natural Resources Canada said. (Agence France-Presse)
Sea Level Rises Underestimated: Scientist
February 1, 2007A new study published in the journal Science found climate models had underestimated the rate of sea level rises, caused mostly by greenhouse gas emissions. (Australian Broadcasting Corp.)
Engineers: 122 Levees at Risk of Failing
February 1, 2007One hundred twenty-two levees from Maryland to California are at risk of failing, according to a list released by the Army Corps of Engineers. (Associated Press)
Cool Water Surges Could Affect Fish Stocks: Report
February 1, 2007Surges of cool waters from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean became stronger off Morocco in the 20th century, apparently because of global warming that could affect fish stocks, a study showed. (Reuters)
China Warns of Disasters from Warming
February 1, 2007Chinese scientists have warned that rising temperatures on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau will melt glaciers, dry up major Chinese rivers and trigger more droughts, sandstorms and desertification, state media reported. (Reuters)