Environment

The greenhouse effect was discovered more than 150 years ago and the first scientific paper linking carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere with climate change was published in 1896.... Read more

A rare blanket of heavy snow fell on parts of northeastern Turkey on Friday as the rest of the country sweltered in searing summer heat with firefighters battling wildfires, local media reported.... Read more

A new fire broke out on Friday near the Greek capital, Athens, as the country was put on high alert for wildfires due to increased temperatures and strong winds.... Read more

For years, scientists have debated whether a giant thick ice shelf once covered the entire Arctic Ocean during the coldest ice ages. Now, a new study published in Science Advances challenges this idea as the research team found no evidence for the presence of a massive ~1km ice shelf. Instead,... Read more

A polar air mass has brought record low temperatures to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, causing at least 15 deaths and forcing governments to restrict gas supplies and activate emergency shelters.... Read more

Firefighters early Friday gained control over a major wildfire in the western Turkish province of Izmir but two others continued to ravage forests there, a minister said.... Read more

The snow and ice accumulated last winter by Switzerland's glaciers has already melted away, a monitoring service said, with Friday marking the alarming second-earliest arrival on record of the tipping point known as glacier loss day.... Read more

A wildfire on the island of Crete that forced the evacuation of 5,000 tourists and locals is "retreating," Greek firefighters told AFP on Friday, but a new blaze fanned by strong winds is spreading east of the capital, Athens.... Read more

Rising rural populations, drought and climate change are making water scarcity a problem in country townships—with more efficient handling of sewage system wastewater part of the solution.... Read more

The peer-reviewed study, "The Earth4All scenarios: Human well-being on a finite planet towards 2100," uses a system dynamics-based modeling approach to explore two future scenarios: Too Little Too Late, and the Giant Leap. The model presented in the paper provides the scientific basis for the analysis and policy recommendations of... Read more

The German Government has approved an agreement with the Netherlands. It enables the cross-border extraction of natural gas in the German North Sea and concludes a lengthy political process at several governance levels. However, the agreement could be subsequently challenged by a pending court judgment. A newly published IDOS study... Read more

Electric cars are increasingly common due to their potential environmental benefits, but a new study suggests that high levels of pollutants may cluster around fast-charging stations.... Read more

Too little rain, too little water in the landscape—so simple, so serious. Even if the drought is obvious because freshwaters carry less water, plants wither and the soil becomes brittle and cracked, the drying out itself is a complex process in which the spatial context plays an important role.... Read more

Scientists have found evidence that the Asian continent was free of permafrost all the way to its northerly coast with the Arctic Ocean when Earth's average temperature was 4.5˚C warmer than today, suggesting that the whole Northern Hemisphere would have also been free of permafrost at the time.... Read more

Climate change has made extreme weather events such as bushfires and floods more frequent and more likely in recent years, and the trend is expected to continue. These events have led to human and animal deaths, harmed physical and mental health, and damaged properties and infrastructure.... Read more