global warming

Demonstrators take part in a protest on climate emergency outside the U.N. Climate Change Conference COP25 in Madrid on Friday.

U.N. Climate Summit Goes To Extra Time, But Ends With Major Questions Unresolved

2:39pm December 15, 2019

by Laurel Wamsley

The talks showed deep divisions, as small countries highly vulnerable to rising seas and powerful storms were at odds with wealthy, high-emitting countries like the United States.

A sweet view along one of the many canals of Venice, which in this case are filled with blue jellybeans.

Candy Canals: Architects Craft Gingerbread Replica Of Venice

8:03am December 08, 2019

by Sophia Alvarez Boyd

A competition brought hundreds of architects, designers and engineers together to build a mini version of the Italian city out of Snickers, Mars bars, Jellybeans, cereal, gummy bears and more.

Queue Listen Now

Solar panels at Chile's Quilapilún energy plant are part of a joint venture by Chile and China. China has been investing heavily in renewable energy technology.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Are Still Rising, U.N. Report Says

2:13pm November 26, 2019

by Rebecca Hersher

A United Nations report warns that greenhouse gas emissions from the world's largest economies must drop dramatically in the next decade to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change.

The Trump administration has formally notified the United Nations that it is withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. The move comes as climate change drives more frequent and severe wildfires, hurricanes and other hazards.

U.S. Formally Begins To Leave The Paris Climate Agreement

5:34pm November 04, 2019

by Rebecca Hersher

Under the agreement hammered out in 2015, the first day that countries can reverse the promises they made is Nov. 4, 2019. It will be another year before the American withdrawal is official.

Queue Listen Now

A minke whale breaks the surface near Boothbay Harbor in the Gulf of Maine on Aug. 10, 2018. Researchers say warming in the gulf is driving whales into waters farther north where fewer environmental protections exist.

The Gulf Of Maine Is Warming, And Its Whales Are Disappearing

3:41pm October 06, 2019

Waters off the coast of Maine are warming faster than 99 percent of the world's oceans. That's forcing whales northward in pursuit of prey, threatening some of their already dwindling populations.

Queue Listen Now

Salmon swim upstream in Seattle in 2017. A mass of abnormally warm water off the west coast of the U.S. that year contributed to a federal fishery disaster. Warming oceans and rising sea levels are threatening coastal economies as the world's climate chan

Earth's Oceans Are Getting Hotter And Higher, And It's Accelerating

1:14pm September 25, 2019

by Rebecca Hersher

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has released its latest report on the oceans, and it's not good. The report also notes a relatively new phenomenon in the oceans: marine heat waves.

Queue Listen Now

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announces the company's climate initiative Thursday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Environment

Amazon Makes 'Climate Pledge' As Workers Plan Walkout

4:58pm September 19, 2019

by Alina Selyukh

Amazon's plans include being carbon-neutral by 2040 and buying 100,000 electric delivery vans. It faced outcry from workers, hundreds of whom planned to join the Global Climate Strike on Friday.

A gas flare from the Shell Chemical LP petroleum refinery illuminates the sky on Aug. 21 in Norco, La.

Opinion: Earth Has Survived Extinctions Before, It's Humans Who Are Fragile

8:37am September 07, 2019

by Scott Simon

Earth has experienced cataclysmic life-destroying events before. NPR's Scott Simon reflects on what this means for humans in the midst of climate change.

A man cools off in a fountain in New York's Washington Square Park this summer. Death from all causes doubled during a heat wave in New York City in August 1975, with heart attacks and strokes accounting for a majority of the excess deaths.

Health & Safety

When Temperatures Rise, So Do Health Problems

7:00am August 24, 2019

by Clayton Dalton

Heatstroke tends to get the most attention during extreme heat waves. But other diseases are affected by high temperatures as well.

Scientists are using statistics, history and computer modeling to understand exactly how much hotter the oceans are today than they were before industrialization. Harvard researchers just found a clue in shipping records digitized after World War II.

How Much Hotter Are The Oceans? The Answer Begins With A Bucket

1:18pm August 19, 2019

by Rebecca Hersher

Scientists need to track the history of sea temperatures precisely to model climate change. A newly discovered clue in measurements taken by sailors in the 1930s could have far-reaching implications.

Queue Listen Now