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Weather

The Meroe pyramids in northeastern Sudan sit about1,650 feet from the banks of the Nile. Now, the site's royal bath is at risk of damage from record flooding.

Record Flooding Threatens Millennia-Old Pyramids in Sudan

Rising water levels could damage ancient structures at Meroe and Nuri

In one example of redlining, this Home Owners' Loan Corporation map depicts part of Chicago, Illinois and labels neighborhoods as "hazardous" (red) or "best" (green). Borrowers could be denied access to credit if their homes or businesses were located in "hazardous" neighborhoods, typically economically disadvantaged neighborhoods with large minority populations.

How Redlining Made City Neighborhoods Hotter

A growing body of research highlights the connection between systemic discrimination and the local climate

The total emissions released increased as temperatures rose, doubling when temperatures went from 104 degrees to 140 degrees Fahrenheit

On Hot Days, Asphalt Can Release as Much Air Pollution as Cars

During heat waves, pavement can reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit, which unleashes harmful particles into the air

Sediments recovered from the Great Blue Hole, off the coast of Belize, hint at extremely severe storms during the late Classic period in Maya history.

Severe Cyclones May Have Played a Role in the Maya Collapse

Sediment cores from the Great Blue Hole reveal that a series of extreme storms hit the region after 900 A.D.

This global map indicates the temperature differences between now and preindustrial times, where dark blue translates to cooler temperatures.

Scientists Project Precisely How Cold the Last Ice Age Was

Researchers used models and data from fossilized plankton to determine the global average temperature at the time

Dark skies specialist Stephen Hummel of the University of Texas at Austin captured this rare formation at the McDonald Observatory.

How to Spot Elusive ‘Jellyfish Sprites’ Dancing in the Sky During a Thunderstorm

The large red flashes of light only last for milliseconds

In Vacaville, California, the Hennessey Fire ignited on Tuesday afternoon and "nearly doubled in size in a matter of minutes," according to Getty.

In California, More Acres Have Burned in the 2020 Fire Season Than in All of 2019

Over 500,000 acres have burned in California, sparked by dry lightning storms and an extreme heat wave

A visitor walks on the Badwater Basin salt flats on August 18, 2020 in Death Valley National Park, California.

Death Valley Hits a Blistering 130 Degrees, Potentially Setting New Record

If confirmed, this scorcher would be the hottest temperature recorded on Earth since at least 1931

Death Valley National Park saw a record-breaking 130 degrees Fahrenheit on August 16. The measurement might be the hottest temperature recorded on Earth since at least 1913, according to the National Weather Service.

Coalition Calls for Naming Heat Waves Like Hurricanes

The group’s climate and health experts say naming and categorizing extreme heat events could save lives

Post-tropical cyclone Kyle was identified as a tropical storm on August 14 and it has since dissipated.

In a New Record, 11 Named Storms Have Already Formed in the Atlantic

Forecasters now estimate that 2020’s Atlantic hurricane season could see up to 25 named storms

An illustration of high-altitude "shallow lightning" storms on Jupiter

The Forecast on Jupiter Is Cloudy With a Chance of ‘Mushballs’

New research describes the gas giant’s wild weather

A scene of the wreckage left behind by a hurricane that swept through the Florida Keys in 1935.

How Hurricanes Have Shaped the Course of U.S. History

A new book examines the 500-year record of devastating storms affecting the nation’s trajectory

Fires burning in states of Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, and Mato Grosso in Brazil, captured via NASA satellite on August 11, 2019. Researchers are forecasting another active fire season in the region in 2020.

NASA Warns of ‘Active’ Atlantic Hurricane and Amazon Fire Seasons

Forecasts show high risk of fires and hurricanes, in part due to warmer than average sea surface temperatures

A fire in the Yakutia region of Siberia in early June seen from the air. A June heat wave saw temperatures in Verkhoyansk, a town in Yakutia, hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Earth Could Hit Critical Climate Threshold in Next Five Years

Report: 20 percent chance that one of the next five years will see annual global temperatures rise to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels

A heat dome over about 80 percent of the United States is causing days of above-average temperatures.

How the U.S. Got Caught Under a ‘Heat Dome’

The high-pressure system is causing days on end of unusually hot weather across most of the continental U.S.

Lightning flashes over Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2014. On October 31, 2018, the longest lightning bolt ever recorded struck in Brazil, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Record-Breaking Lightning Bolts Spark Excitement

Officials confirmed two ‘megaflash’ lightning bolts in Brazil and Argentina that struck down previous world records

In Australia, pyrocumulonimbus clouds sent somewhere between 300,000 and 900,000 metric tons of smoke into the stratosphere.

New Research

Australia’s Fires Sent Smoke 19 Miles High

The unprecedented plumes of were carried aloft by smoke-filled thunderclouds and exhibited unusual wind patterns

Time lapse of photographs captured by the GOES-East satellite from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on June 16, 2020. The plume is set to reach the southwest United States this week.

Huge Saharan Dust Cloud Could Bring Hazy Skies, Spectacular Sunsets to the United States

The large dust cloud has already obscured skies in the Caribbean and will likely reach Gulf Coast states by the middle of this week

A new cluster of sunspots, visible in the top left part of the image, might indicate a new period of activity for the sun.

The Sun Produced Its Biggest Solar Flare Since 2017

The activity might be a sign of the sun entering into a new period of activity—or not, NASA says

A satellite photo of Tropical Storm Arthur in the Atlantic Ocean on July 2, 2014. Another tropical storm named Arthur threatened the Outer Banks of North Carolina earlier this week.

NOAA Predicts ‘Busy’ Atlantic Hurricane Season for Fifth Year in a Row

Disaster responses are also likely to be complicated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to FEMA and the Red Cross

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