Climate

World News

Federal forecasters say El Nino is waning, after contributing to a record heat year

4:55pm May 09, 2024

by Lauren Sommer

Federal forecasters say the El Nino climate pattern is on its way out, after a year where it helped break global heat records. So what does that mean for this coming year?

A woman takes refuge during Greece's July 2023 heat wave. El Niño helped drive global temperatures to new heights, making it the hottest year on record.

Environment

El Niño is on the way out after a record-breaking year of heat

10:37am May 09, 2024

by Lauren Sommer

El Niño helped drive global average temperatures to new records over the last year. Forecasters say it's waning, but that 2024 may still be one for the record books.

Tina Riley moved to Idaho recently in search of a new career working in the clean energy transition.

Oil industry could help the Biden administration tap 'invisible' green energy

5:39pm May 08, 2024

by Kirk Siegler

The White House wants a twenty-fold increase in geothermal energy production to fight climate change and it's counting on the oil and gas industry for help.

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Sperm whales have lengthy exchanges, made up of clicks, which scientists have found is more complex than previously thought.

What are sperm whales saying? Researchers find a complex 'alphabet'

4:07pm May 08, 2024

by Lauren Sommer

Researchers say sperm whales have a complex communication system, an example of how new technology is opening up the mysterious world of animal language.

BYD electric cars wait to be loaded onto a ship at a port in Yantai, China, on April 18. China has rapidly become a major auto exporter, but tariffs have kept cheap Chinese EVs out of the U.S. market — so far.

Economy

China makes cheap electric vehicles. Why can't American shoppers buy them?

5:42am May 06, 2024

by Camila Domonoske

American drivers want cheap EVs. Chinese automakers are building them. But you can't buy them in the U.S., thanks to tariffs in the name of U.S. jobs and national security. Two car shoppers weigh in.

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Residents evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains, in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Saturday, May 4, 2024.

World News

Floods in southern Brazil kill at least 75 people over 7 days

2:05am May 06, 2024

by The Associated Press

Massive floods in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state have killed at least 75 people over the last seven days, and another 103 were reported missing, local authorities said Sunday.

Ithaca residents called for officials to take action on climate change at a rally on Earth Day 2024.

After adopting its own Green New Deal, a college town sets a new target

5:00am May 04, 2024

by Rebecca Redelmeier

Ithaca, N.Y., will require that 50% of the money spent on its energy transition and on major infrastructure projects is directed toward those residents most at risk from climate change.

A man swims from a submerged church compound, after the River Tana broke its banks following heavy rains at Mororo, border of Tana River and Garissa counties, northeastern Kenya, April 28. Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people, according to the United Nations.

As Kenya's flood toll rises, Human Rights Watch says officials must step up efforts

6:17pm May 02, 2024

by The Associated Press

Human Rights Watch accuses Kenyan authorities of not responding adequately to ongoing floods that have killed more than 170 people since the start of the rainy season.

National

No greeting the meat: Florida bans selling or manufacturing lab-grown meat

5:09pm May 02, 2024

by Lynn Hatter

Florida has banned and criminalize the production and sale of cell-cultivated meat — meat that's been grown from animal cells in a production facility — across the state.

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An aerial view of Colombia's Regadera Reservoir in Usme, near Bogotá, April 16. Colombia's capital of Bogotá imposed water rations due to a severe drought aggravated by the El Niño.

El Niño weather is leading to droughts and power cuts in South America

5:00am May 01, 2024

by Manuel Rueda

A drought has upended life in several South American cities, leading to water rationing and power cuts as well as forest fires.

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