Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Climate Change

Trending Today

Wet Weather Causes Shortage of Pumpkins (and Pie)

Intense summer rains cut pumpkin yields in half

The wings of the Arctic fritillary butterfly have decreased in size since 1996.

Age of Humans

Greenland’s Butterflies Are Shrinking as Temperatures Rise

In the high Arctic, hotter summer weather may be taxing insect metabolism

Cool Finds

Why Scientists Are Gathering Seeds From Roadside Sunflowers

Climate changes threatens commercial sunflower production, where plants are grown for their oil

New Research

Climate Change Is Turning 500-Year Floods Into 24-Year Ones

Rising sea levels and an increase in large storms will continue to threaten the Atlantic coast

New Research

King Crabs Are About to Take Over Antarctica

As oceans warm, Antarctica braces for an invasion of shell-cracking crabs

Queen bumblebee, Bombus balteatus, foraging for nectar on the alpine wildflower Polemonium viscosum.

New Research

Bee Tongues Are Getting Shorter as Temperatures Warm

In Colorado, alpine bumblebee tongues are shrinking in response to shifting wildflower populations

New Research

Americans Dump Twice as Much Trash as Previously Thought

The Environmental Protection Agency’s 2012 estimate was more than 50 percent off

So far, nine states have tried to pass laws that encourage a "teach the controversy" approach to climate change.

Age of Humans

See Where Climate Science Conflict Has Invaded U.S. Classrooms

Conservative politicians are introducing bills that promote teaching climate science as controversial

Reproduction of early English vessels at Jamestown, Virginia.

Age of Humans

Rising Seas Threaten to Swallow These Ten Global Wonders

Climate change-induced increases in sea level are forcing archaeologists and communities to get creative and make tough calls

The cello plays notes that correspond to changing temperatures in the equatorial zone.

Age of Humans

This Song Is Composed From 133 Years of Climate Change Data

Daniel Crawford, a senior at the University of Minnesota, has written music for a string quartet that traces rising temperatures since the 1880s

New Research

The Arctic Now Has a Big Mosquito Problem

The bugs are growing bigger and living longer thanks to climate change

New Research

Microbiologists Keep Finding Giant Viruses in Melting Permafrost

Researchers find several new species in a single soil sample.

New Research

Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Just Hit a 500-Year Low

The last time California was this dry, European explorers hadn’t yet reached San Diego

Canada

Quebec Might Become The New Napa Thanks To Climate Change

In a few years, Qubecois pinot noir might be among the best in the world

A polar bear gnawing a caribou antler

New Research

Melting Ice Might not Spell Doom for Polar Bears

Snow geese, their eggs and caribou may offer enough calories for the polar bears to survive long ice-free seasons

New Research

How Climate Change is Messing with Bees

New and ongoing research points to issues with bee ranges and the early emergence of flowers

Cool Finds

Here’s What Our Future World Might Look Like

A warmer planet would favor fast-growing tropical trees and oceans full of algae but a lack of biodiversity

Ice patches that normally persist through the summer are melting in Yellowstone National Park.

Cool Finds

Melting Ice in Yellowstone is Revealing Ancient Artifacts Faster Than Researchers Can Handle

The tools, spears and even baskets from ancient Native Americans are emerging faster than archeologists can collect them

An autumn day at Denali.

Age of Humans

Seven Ways Alaska Is Seeing Climate Change In Action

From raging fires to migrating villages, the Frozen North offers some of the most compelling signs of rapid warming

Page 68 of 99