This is the summer when, for many, climate change got real. The future looks fiery and dangerous. Hot on the heels of Trump, fake news and the parlous state of the Brexit negotiations, despair is in the air. Now a new scientific report makes the case that even fairly modest future carbon dioxide emissions could set off a cascade of catastrophe, with melting permafrost releasing methane to ratchet up global temperatures enough to drive much of the Amazon to die off, and so on

Two cars powered by hydrogen derived from ammonia will be tested in Brisbane today thanks to a Queensland breakthrough that CSIRO researchers say could turn Australia into a renewable energy superpower. CSIRO principal research scientist Michael Dolan said it was a very exciting day for a project that has been a decade in the making. "We started out with what we thought was a good idea, it is exciting to see it on the cusp of commercial deployment," he said. For the past deca

The world’s climate is changing, and is projected to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The impact of climate change will be particularly felt in agriculture, as rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and increased pests and diseases pose new and bigger risks to the global food system. Simply put, climate change will make food security and poverty reduction even more challenging in the future. Until recently, agriculture has tended to be on the sidelines

The heatwave searing northern Europe was made more than twice as likely by climate change, according to a rapid assessment by scientists. The result is preliminary but they say the signal of climate change is “unambiguous”. Scientists have long predicted that global warming is ramping up the number and intensity of heatwaves, with events even worse than current one set to strike every other year by the 2040s. “The logic that climate change will do this is inescapable – the wo

Wealthy governments have been accused of promoting fossil fuel development in Africa at the expense of clean energy. Analysis showed 60% of public aid for energy projects was spent on fossil fuels, compared with just 18% on renewables. Oil Change International, a clean energy advocacy group that conducted the study, estimated aid to Africa’s energy sector was $59.5bn (£45.3bn) between 2014 and 2016. It found governments that were moving away from fossil fuels at home continue

Water covers more than two thirds of the surface of our planet. Nearly 98 per cent of Earth’s water is found in oceans and other saltwater bodies, while the majority of the remaining freshwater is frozen in ice sheets and glaciers. Readily accessible freshwater – which is found in rivers, lakes, wetlands and aquifers – accounts for less than one per cent of the world’s water supply. But this precious resource supports an enormous diversity of life, and is essential for human

The summer of temperature extremes just keeps going, with record heat waves this month on all four continents that occupy the non-tropical Northern Hemisphere where it is now summer. On Monday, Japan recorded a temperature never before reached on the island nation since reliable records began in the 1800s. https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/23/world/global-heatwaves-climate-change-wxc/index.html?utm_content=2018-07-25T03%3A14%3A03&utm_medium=social&utm_term=link&utm_source=twCNN

Scientists have cautioned that soaring climate temperatures around the globe could put our physical health at risk, such as with the spread of certain infectious diseases or food shortages. Now, a new study sheds light on the possible mental health implications of climate change. The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change on Monday, suggests that when there are abnormally hot temperatures in a month, there also tend to be higher suicide rates for that month, co

A deadly heat wave blistering across Japan has claimed more than 40 lives this month, with little relief in sight as record temperatures are expected to persist until later this week. The country logged its highest-ever temperature at 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41.1°C) in Kumagaya, near Tokyo on Monday afternoon, according to Japan’s Kyodo news agency. Eleven people, mostly senior citizens, died of suspected heatstroke on Saturday alone, the Japan Times reports. The searing heat

Poring over four decades of satellite data, climate scientists have concluded for the first time that humans are pushing seasonal temperatures out of balance—shifting what one researcher called the very “march of the seasons themselves.” Ever-mindful of calculable uncertainty and climate deniers, the authors give “odds of roughly 5 in 1 million” of these changes occurring naturally, without human influence. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-20/climate-change-is-