climate change

Plaintiffs, lawyers and activists gather outside South Korea's constitutional court in Seoul ahead of a public hearing for a climate lawsuit on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.

World News

South Koreans sue government over climate change, saying policy violates human rights

10:39am April 24, 2024

by Anthony Kuhn

Plaintiffs including 17-month-old boy nicknamed Woodpecker bring landmark climate litigation in South Korea, the first in Asia to get a public hearing.

A new version of the popular board game Catan, which hits shelves this summer, introduces energy production and pollution into the gameplay.

How do you build without over polluting? That's the challenge of new Catan board game

5:30am April 22, 2024

by Nathan Rott

A new version of the popular board game Catan aims to make players wrestle with a 21st-century problem: How do you develop and expand without overly polluting the planet?

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Andrew Song and Luke Iseman of Make Sunsets ready for a launch. Iseman says they hope to someday cool the earth on a larger scale.

Startups want to geoengineer a cooler planet. With few rules, experts see big risks

2:05pm April 21, 2024

by Julia Simon

In a parking lot and on San Francisco Bay, NPR witnesses two different tests for solar geoengineering to tackle climate change. With much science unsettled, experts say regulations aren't keeping up.

Environment

With freshwater mussels threatened by habitat loss and climate change, researchers look for ways to protect them

4:49pm April 19, 2024

by Paul Garber

They provide essential water-quality functions and have great names like Atlantic pigtoe, Appalachian elktoe and Carolina heelsplitter. Freshwater mussels are among the most endangered groups of animals in the world — but in North Carolina, there's an effort to save them.

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An empty room is pictured in a concrete house in Matam, Senegal. Many families don't have electricity nor the means to own a fan or air conditioning to help quell the intense heat at night, temperatures can stay around 35 degree Celsius throughout the night.

Lethal heat in West Africa is driven by human-caused climate change

11:57am April 18, 2024

by Emmanuel Akinwotu

The recent deadly heat in West Africa is driven by human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels, particularly in the wealthy Northern Hemisphere, according to an international report.

Record levels of heat in the ocean are causing a worldwide mass bleaching event on coral reefs, as seen here on the Great Barrier Reef. Scientists are working on creating more heat-resistant coral to help restore reefs.

Environment

Coral reefs can't keep up with climate change. So scientists are speeding up evolution

5:00am April 17, 2024

Climate change is heating oceans faster than the world's coral reefs can handle. So scientists are breeding corals that can withstand hotter temperatures – but only to a point.

A man works in a Florida agricultural field on a hot, humid day in July 2023, one of the hottest months ever recorded in the state. There are no federal heat regulations.

Florida blocks heat protections for workers right before summer

4:32pm April 12, 2024

by Alejandra Borunda

Miami-Dade County had proposed rules that would give workers breaks, water, and shade when it's too hot. But a new state law prevents cities and counties from doing that.

President of the European Court of Human Rights Síofra O'Leary, center, speaks Tuesday, April 9, 2024 in Strasbourg, eastern France.

World News

European court rules on cases seeking to force countries to meet climate goals

6:53am April 09, 2024

by The Associated Press

Europe's highest human rights court ruled Tuesday that its member nations have an obligation to protect their citizens from the ill effects of climate change.

From left: didn't stop, can't stop, won't stop

How much money do you need to earn to buy a house these days? Find out in the quiz

9:30am April 05, 2024

by Holly J. Morris

This week, the April 8 total solar eclipse inspired Barbie-level coverage mania at NPR. But it turns out other things happened too! Were you paying attention?

Activists from Extinction Rebellion, left and center, protest during a performance of An Enemy of the People on Broadway, starring Jeremy Strong, right.

'We want to help': Why climate activists are trying something new

5:12am April 05, 2024

by Chloe Veltman

A recent disruption at An Enemy of the People on Broadway by Extinction Rebellion shows a new approach to climate change activism.