A stingray swims on the ocean floor. Several shark and ray species are threatened with extinction due to overfishing, climate change and habitat loss.

More Countries Agree to Protect the ‘High Seas’ in a Step Toward Wider Ocean Conservation

The High Seas Treaty, which would allow nations to create marine protected areas in international waters, is now expected to take effect in early 2026—without the United States on board

Studying foraminiferan fossils can help us understand how the climate may change in the future.

These Tiny, Beautiful Fossils Detail the History of the Ocean

Bountiful remains of foraminifera reveal how organisms responded to climate disturbances of the past

Noctilucent clouds over the Baltic Sea, as seen from Germany in 2019. Typically seen in polar regions, the clouds are increasingly appearing at mid- and low latitudes.

NASA Wants Your Help to Study These Rare, High-Altitude Clouds That Appear to Glow at Sunrise and Sunset

Noctilucent clouds usually form close to the poles, but in recent decades, they’re being spotted closer to the Equator

A research team measured ammonia concentrations from a colony of 60,000 Adélie penguins.

Penguin Poop Helps Drive Cloud Formation Over Antarctica, According to a New Study

The ammonia from Adélie penguin guano reacts with sulfur-containing gases in the atmosphere to aid in forming clouds, which scientists say may be significant to regulating the climate

Clownfish seem to become shorter during heat waves, according to the new study.

Clownfish Shrink Down Their Bodies to Survive Ocean Heat Waves, New Study Suggests

The adaptation appears to help the fish cope with high temperatures, since individuals and breeding pairs that shrank improved their survival odds

This volleyball-looking device is one of the glass flasks that Charles D. Keeling and others used to transport samples of atmosphere from Mauna Loa and beyond to a laboratory for precise analysis.

This Simple but Ingenious Instrument Helped the World Measure Carbon Dioxide Levels in the Atmosphere

Scientist Charles Keeling’s invention had a profound effect on scientists’ understanding of the severity of the climate change crisis

New research is revealing how climate change is impacting our eyes.

Climate Change Is Threatening Eye Health in Disturbing Ways

Cataracts, pinkeye and other ocular disorders are linked to heat, air pollution and higher UV exposure

Houston is the fastest-sinking of the 28 most populated U.S. cities, according to a new study that examined the urban areas through satellite observations. The Texas city got most of its water from the ground in the 1950s to ’70s, which led to subsidence.

The Land Beneath the Biggest U.S. Cities Is Sinking, Finds New Analysis of Satellite Data

Largely due to groundwater pumping and shifting of land after the last ice age, major urban areas are subsiding, which could destabilize buildings or worsen flooding

In the early morning hours in Hanoi, people walk and jog around Hoan Kiem Lake's one-mile loop, while others partake in activities like traditional Vietnamese fan dancing, tai chi and even tango lessons.

To Truly Experience These Five Cities, Wake Before Sunrise

Everyone focuses on a destination’s nightlife, but perhaps we should be more concerned with what its early morning hours have to offer

Most babesiosis infections are caused by blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks.

A Potentially Life-Threatening Disease Caused by Ticks Is Expanding to New Parts of America

Babesiosis typically occurs in the Northeast and the Upper Midwest, but new research suggests rare cases are emerging in the mid-Atlantic region including Delaware, Maryland and Virginia

For 25 of the 26 years the American Lung Association has reported State of the Air, Los Angeles—pictured here in smog—has been declared the city with the worst ozone pollution in the United States.

Nearly Half of Americans Still Live With High Levels of Air Pollution, Posing Serious Health Risks, Report Finds

The most recent State of the Air report by the American Lung Association found that more than 150 million Americans breathe air with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution

Bleached coral on the Great Barrier Reef

The Worst Bleaching Event on Record Is Hitting Most of the World’s Coral Reefs

Scientists are alarmed by the ongoing crisis, with deteriorating conditions harming marine life in the tropics and beyond

Microscopic images of the bacteria and mycelium scaffolds. The circles indicate the likely presence of S. pasteurii bacteria.

New, ‘Living’ Building Material Made From Fungi and Bacteria Could Pave the Way to Self-Healing Structures

Researchers are developing the biomaterial as a more environmentally friendly alternative to concrete, but any wide-scale use is still far away

Pope Francis greets crowds in St. Peter's Square in 2014.

Five Ways Pope Francis, Religious Leader Who Pushed to Modernize the Catholic Church, Was a Man of Firsts

The pontiff, who died on Easter Monday at age 88, strived to make the church more inclusive. But critics believed his reforms either went too far or not far enough

LaBrea Letson, 8, sells lemonade made with bottled water outside her grandmother’s home near the derailment site. A van passing by tests the air for hazardous chemicals.

See 26 Captivating Images From the World Press Photo Contest

In stark black-and-white and stunning color, this year’s winning photographs capture global events on a human scale

People gather on Kaanapali Beach, a popular tourist destination near Lahaina, Hawaii, in August 2024.

Destinations Hit by Natural Disasters Need Tourists Back—but Maybe Not in the Same Way as Before

Places like Maui and Asheville, North Carolina, rebuilding after wildfires and hurricanes, are doing so with a mind to sustainable tourism

Biomass will monitor the Earth's tropical forests over the next five years.

A New Satellite Will Map the Carbon Content of Rainforests From Space, and It’s Set to Launch This Month

The European Space Agency’s new probe, Biomass, will spend five years orbiting the planet and gathering radar imagery of forests across multiple continents

In 2022, Just Stop Oil protesters threw tomato soup onto the glass protecting Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers.

Climate Activists Say They Will Stop Throwing Soup and Halt Disruptive Protest Tactics

Members of Just Stop Oil made headlines for their controversial demonstrations involving valuable artworks and artifacts. Now, they say they’ve achieved their initial goal

Photographs of the Rhône glacier and the attempts to save it

Art Meets Science

Art Exhibition Immortalizes Switzerland’s Rhône Glacier, Predicted to Disappear by 2050

Ohan Breiding’s “Belly of a Glacier” combines experimental film and photography to reflect on a moment of loss—and to fight against it

An 1896 illustration of Coffea stenophylla in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, which noted the species’ “superior flavor” and market potential.

How a Forgotten Bean Could Save Coffee From Extinction

One leading botanist is scouring remote corners of the earth to find new species that could keep our mugs full

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