Topics tagged with 'Science'
How climate change is muting nature’s symphony
4 Aug 2022
When Jeff Wells, vice president for boreal conservation at the Audubon Society, first encountered the call of the common loon on a pond near Mt. Vernon, Maine — about an hour and a half north of Portland — he thought he may have heard a ghoul. “I leaped out of bed and ran into my parents’ bedroom, like, ‘What is that?’” he told Grist, describing a melancholy wail that has made loons famous far beyond the birding community.
Scientists say it’s ‘fatally foolish’ to not study catastrophic climate outcomes
3 Aug 2022
As global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, some climate scientists say it’s time to start paying more attention to the most extreme, worst-case outcomes, including the potential for widespread extinctions, mass climate migration and the disintegration of social and political systems.
Offshore wind’s turbulent future
2 Aug 2022
When it’s completed, Norway’s Hywind Tampen will be the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm. Compared with most wind farms—even other offshore wind farms—the Hywind Tampen is unusual: the 88-megawatt operation is located farther out to sea than almost any other wind farm to date. Floating 140 kilometers offshore, the turbines will sit in water between 260 and 300 meters deep.
How is the jet stream connected to simultaneous heat waves across the globe?
1 Aug 2022
The deadly heat waves that have fueled blazes and caused transport disruptions in Europe, the U.S. and China this month have one thing in common: a peculiar shape in the jet stream dubbed “wavenumber 5.”
How forests lost 8,000 years of stored carbon in a few generations
29 Jul 2022
"Plant a tree" seems to be the go-to answer to climate change concerns these days. Booking a rental car online recently, I was asked to check a box to plant a tree to offset my car's anticipated carbon dioxide emissions.
Soot from rockets has 500 times the climate impact as soot from airplanes
28 Jul 2022
Air pollutants released by rocket launches, re-entry, and space debris have a disproportionate effect on global warming, according to a new study. They also have the potential to undo some of the recovery of the ozone layer achieved by the Montreal Protocol, the 1987 treaty regulating ozone-depleting substances that is considered one of the most successful examples of international environmental action in history.
The world’s top 10 “carbon bombs” and what they mean for climate change
28 Jul 2022
Much has been done by countless people, organizations, businesses and leaders to stave off the effects of climate change. Over decades, concerned individuals have changed their diets, switched to renewable energy, taken organized action and invested money in a desperate bid to save future generations from the hardships of living in a world heated beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Supervolcano study indicates carbon dioxide emissions key to avoid climate change
28 Jul 2022
A new study has linked the volume and speed of carbon dioxide emissions from supervolcanoes to past environmental crises. According to the researchers, the findings are instrumental in understanding how to prevent future climate disasters.
US to plant a billion trees
27 Jul 2022
The Biden administration says the government will plant more than one billion trees across millions of acres of burned and dead woodlands in the U.S. West, as officials struggle to counter the increasing toll on the nation's forests from wildfires, insects and other manifestations of climate change.
When does planting trees make sense?
27 Jul 2022
Trees can be powerful allies in the fight against global heating because they can trap CO2 and lock it away. But planting billions more of them won't be enough to save the climate.
The case for paying carbon taxes on unsustainable food
26 Jul 2022
Minimizing the risk of living on an unlivable planet requires significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through various means, like shifting to renewable energy and electrifying sectors that rely on fossil fuels.
Why is it so hard to get people to care about climate change? A neuroscientist and a psychologist shed light
22 Jul 2022
Portugal, France, Spain and Greece are on fire - and, recently, so was the UK. Record 40C heat fuelled dozens of blazes around the country, and saw the busiest day for London's firefighters since the Second World War.
Growing crops in darkness could save land and advance sustainable agricultural
21 Jul 2022
Like something out of a science fiction film, researchers have managed to grow plants in complete darkness, potentially paving a path for food production that’s decoupled from the land.
How secretive methane leaks are driving climate change
20 Jul 2022
There is an open secret in the oil and gas industry and it is feeding the climate crisis.
Are cities ready for extreme heat?
19 Jul 2022
The first chapter of Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future takes my breath away. Not just because I can almost feel the heat and humidity dripping off the pages, but because I know that—although the story is fictional—similar scenes are already playing out in real life.
Millions more at risk from dangerous summer temperatures if climate goals aren't met
15 Jul 2022
Health-threatening heatwaves will become more intense due to climate change, putting millions more people at risk from dangerous summer temperatures, new research has revealed.
Forests are becoming less resilient because of climate change
14 Jul 2022
Climate change has been linked with a widespread decline in the ability of many of the world’s forests to bounce back after events such as drought and logging.
Rich nations caused climate harm to poorer ones, study says
13 Jul 2022
Scientists, officials and activists have long called out the inequity in national histories on greenhouse gas emissions with rich nations benefiting and poor ones hurting from global warming, and now a study published Tuesday aims to calculate just how much economic impact large emitters have caused to other nations.
Species extinction threatens the livelihoods of billions: new report
12 Jul 2022
With billions of people depending on wild flora and fauna for food, medicine, and energy, a million species are at risk of extinction due to the combined impacts of climate change, other forms of pollution, overexploitation, and deforestation, warns a new report backed by the United Nations.
Scientists puzzled by soaring global methane levels
12 Jul 2022
Methane concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere are soaring—and the exact causes of the "frightening" increase are puzzling scientists
How climate change is making extreme weather a regular occurrence
12 Jul 2022
Torrential rains in Japan, record-breaking heatwaves in Europe, and recurring droughts in the western US. For the second year in a row the start of summer in the northern hemisphere has been marked by extreme weather. To what extent is global warming to blame?
New study identifies rapidly emerging threats to oceans
11 Jul 2022
A globe-spanning study outlines new, potentially unexpected threats to ocean ecosystems and vulnerable coastal communities within the next five to 10 years that will come on top of the already harmful effects of overfishing, pollution and global warming.
Best by the rest…
8 Jul 2022
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in the local media: Offshore oil and gas exploration goes ahead despite bans; indigenous forests’ carbon sequestration superpowers; and is romanticising New Zealand’s colonial past hindering our climate response?
Waikato student wins scholarship to study Antarctic carbon release hotspots
7 Jul 2022
A Waikato student has won a $20,000 scholarship to study possible carbon dioxide release hotspots in the Southern Ocean.
How much is a mangrove forest worth? In some places, $850,000 per hectare
7 Jul 2022
While proponents of environmental restoration often talk about ecological benefits, people controlling the purse strings think in dollars and cents.
Climate change forcing nature reserves to adapt, warns new report
7 Jul 2022
Projects to help wildlife adapt to habitats affected by climate change will become more commonplace, warned a new report.
Methane emissions reach new highs despite pandemic—four times more sensitive to climate change than first thought
7 Jul 2022
Eliminating emissions of CO₂ is high up the environmental agenda—but the world should not lose sight of the threat from methane. There has been a disturbing recent surge in atmospheric methane, which is more than 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas over the course of a century than CO₂.
Restoring nature is not a silver bullet for global warming, we must cut emissions outright
5 Jul 2022
Restoring degraded environments, such as by planting trees, is often touted as a solution to the climate crisis. But our new research shows this, while important, is no substitute for preventing fossil fuel emissions to limit global warming.
How AI can have a positive and negative impact on climate: study
4 Jul 2022
A study published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change sought to understand the potential impact of artificial intelligence on climate change.
Technofixes are the elite's attempt to sidestep blame for the climate crisis
4 Jul 2022
Science has a resistance to ill-founded assertions embedded deep in its bones. Carl Sagan called this “baloney detection.” But in the face of climate change, arguably our largest science-related crisis, these baloney detection capabilities haven’t kept our leaders honest.
The benefits of growing brocolli beneath solar panels
1 Jul 2022
Despite being “yucky” according to some picky eaters, broccoli is well-suited to grow alongside solar panels, according to a new study.
Climate impact of food-miles up to 7 times higher than previously thought: study
30 Jun 2022
Fresh research suggests transport accounts for one-fifth of total food-system emissions, with fresh fruit and vegetables amongst the most carbon-intensive.
Tropical cyclones now ‘13% less frequent’ due to climate change
29 Jun 2022
Tropical cyclones are complex phenomena, which only form under specific atmospheric and oceanic conditions. Research suggests that, as the climate warms, changing conditions are making tropical cyclones less frequent. However, a lack of long-term cyclone data makes this trend difficult to quantify.
Seaweed startup raises $7 million to reduce ruminant methane emissions
29 Jun 2022
US startup Symbrosia* has raised $7 million in new funding as it makes progress on its seaweed feed additive that reduces methane emissions from livestock.
NZ not doing enough to prevent deaths from extreme weather worsened by climate change
28 Jun 2022
Negative health consequences from extreme weather in New Zealand could increase because of climate change and the country needs to do more to prevent and manage these threats, researchers say.
Climate change affecting children even before birth
28 Jun 2022
Climate change affects everyone, but studies have shown infants and children to be most vulnerable.
London could feel as hot as Barcelona by 2050
28 Jun 2022
A major climate change study has found that London's weather could feel more like Barcelona's by 2050. Even though this might sound like a dream at first to Londoners, the change could turn into a nightmare as it would be accompanied by stretches of severe drought as well as heavier downpours in the wet months, potentially challenging many aspects of life in the city.
Sun Cable clears new hurdle for world’s biggest solar and battery project
27 Jun 2022
Sun Cable’s Australia-Asia PowerLink, the massive solar and battery project backed by Australia’s two richest men, Andrew Forrest and Mike Cannon-Brookes, has cleared another important hurdle with a ringing endorsement of its economic merits from Infrastructure Australia
Climate damage caused by space tourism needs urgent mitigation: study
27 Jun 2022
A formidable space tourism industry may have a greater climate effect than the aviation industry and undo repair to the protective ozone layer if left unregulated, according to a new study led by UCL Earth’s Future.
Economists assume the desire for wealth is insatiable. What if they’re wrong?
23 Jun 2022
The majority of people surveyed in 33 countries around the world say their lifestyle dreams could be fulfilled with a finite—and often relatively modest—amount of money. The findings call into question a founding principle of economics, and suggest unexpected opportunities for achieving sustainable societies.
Warming climate upends Arctic mining town
23 Jun 2022
Tor Selnes owes his life to a lamp. He miraculously survived a fatal avalanche that shed light on the vulnerability of Svalbard, a region warming faster than anywhere else, to human-caused climate change.
Mysterious climate behaviour during Earth’s most severe mass extinction event explained
22 Jun 2022
Media Release - The end-Permian mass extinction is the most severe mass extinction event ever recorded, during which ~80% of marine species went extinct.
How climate change is knocking natural events wildly out of sync
22 Jun 2022
Climate change is throwing off the timing of key events in the natural world, from the flowering of plants to the migrations of birds and mammals. Now, ecologists are warning that this could spiral out of control and cause whole ecosystems to break down.
Emissions from agriculture threatens health and climate: US study
22 Jun 2022
A new US study analyses the cost of reactive nitrogen emissions from fertilized agriculture and their risks to populations and climate.
What 18 independent studies all concluded about the use of hydrogen for heating
22 Jun 2022
A total of 18 independent studies produced since 2019 — including by the IPCC, IEA and McKinsey — have ruled out hydrogen playing a major role in the heating of buildings, according to a list compiled by renowned energy expert Jan Rosenow.
Ibrahim Thiaw appointed interim UN Climate Change head
22 Jun 2022
The head of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification will head UN Climate Change from 17 July and until a permanent replacement to Patrica Espinosa is found.
‘Food miles’ have larger climate impact than thought, study suggests
21 Jun 2022
Global “food miles” emissions are higher than previously thought – accounting for nearly one-fifth of total food-system emissions – new research suggests.
Could space bubbles fight climate change?
21 Jun 2022
Architect Carlo Ratti is among a group of MIT researchers exploring the feasibility of fighting climate change with a conglomeration of "space bubbles" that would float above the Earth to reflect the sun's rays.
Methane emissions throughout supply chain underestimated: study
21 Jun 2022
Researchers at the Imperial College London have discovered that biogas and biomethane leak up to twice as much methane as previously thought, despite being more climate-friendly.
Is moss a climate change superhero in disugise?
21 Jun 2022
Ask most gardeners what they think of moss and the chances are you will get a string of expletives in return.
Auckland Council opens $1m Climate and Emergency Readiness Fund
4 Feb 2026
Community groups across Tāmaki Makaurau are being invited to apply for a new $1 million Climate and Emergency Readiness Fund, designed to support locally led action on climate change, disaster preparedness and climate adaptation.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Air NZ inks deal for its first internationally verified carbon credits
9 Oct 2025
By Liz Kivi | Air New Zealand has committed to buying 8000 tonnes of carbon removals by 2030, in partnership with local native forest investment platform My Native Forest.
World fight against invasive species comes to Auckland
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: University of Auckland | From countering invasive pink salmon in Norway to controlling feral cats in the Cayman Islands, knowledge on eradicating invasive species will be shared by international experts in New Zealand.
Govt launches strategy backing wood-based heat sector
23 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Forestry biomass could replace as much as 40% of fossil fuel-generated process heat by 2050, but access to supply, regulatory settings and business cases for converting to wood-based heat sources are required, the Government says in a series of documents released yesterday.
EU weighing options to support industry in carbon market overhaul
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The European Commission is looking at various ways to support industries in an upcoming overhaul of the EU carbon market to prevent them moving to areas with lower pollution standards, the head of the Commission’s climate department said late on Wednesday.
IPBES: Four key takeaways on how nature loss threatens the global economy
Wed 11 Feb 2026
The “undervaluing” of nature by businesses is fuelling its decline and putting the global economy at risk, according to a major new report.
Minister’s letters: Mildly positive or just virtue signalling?
5 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market was buoyed slightly yesterday, after letters between the Government and the Climate Change Commission were proactively released.
LNG plan risks fossil fuel dependency: Environment Commissioner
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | Importing liquefied natural gas risks creating a “new path dependency on fossil fuel” unless LNG is ring-fenced for use only in the electricity system and only during extended periods of hydro-electricity water shortages, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
RMA’s successors hinge on two untested bets
17 Dec 2025
Two ideas sit at the heart of the Government’s replacement for the Resource Management Act: regulatory relief and spatial planning.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Govt looks to Commission for ways to shore up carbon price
4 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government has asked the Climate Change Commission to look at lower auction volumes and an increase in the auction floor price as options to revive the Emissions Trading Scheme, as carbon prices remain weak.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
$8.9m research project to map future ocean change around Aotearoa
Tue 10 Feb 2026
The major research project aims to better understand how warming oceans are driving extreme weather events around New Zealand, from heavy rainfall to tropical cyclones.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
'Damning' report challenges forestry’s role in Tairāwhiti as sector rejects conclusions
4 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New independent analysis commissioned by Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti challenges long-standing claims that industrial forestry underpins the Tairāwhiti economy.
Australian ministers met Japanese gas companies 20 times amid fossil fuel lobbying push
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Australian government ministers met Japanese gas company executives more than 20 times in the last term of parliament as Labor encouraged investment in the fossil fuel industry.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
US is canceling almost $30 billion in Biden-era energy loans
27 Jan 2026
The Trump administration said it’s canceling almost $30 billion of financing from the Energy Department’s green bank after reviewing transactions approved under former President Biden.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
Mon 9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Govt slammed for weakening methane target
15 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams The Government has pushed through legislation under urgency to almost halve New Zealand’s 2050 methane target – a move Opposition parties say disregards scientific advice, breaks the country’s hard-won political consensus on climate action, and shifts the burden of higher warming and higher future costs onto the next generation.
COP30 microcosm of difficult geopolitics, says Vanuatu's Climate Minister
15 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Despite ‘intransigent’ states blocking multilateralism and a disappointing official outcome, Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu says he left the COP30 climate summit feeling more positive than after previous UN climate conferences.
Hydrogen emissions are ‘supercharging’ the warming impact of methane
19 Dec 2025
The warming impact of hydrogen has been “overlooked” in projections of climate change, according to authors of the latest “global hydrogen budget”.
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Greenpeace set to take UK Government to court over deep-sea mining licences
5 Feb 2026
Environmental NGO Greenpeace has kick-started a legal challenge against the UK Government’s decision to approve the transfer of two seabed exploration licences to a newly-formed mining company with US links.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Ministers celebrate fast-track milestone amid criticism
Tue 10 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government is marking the first anniversary of its fast-track approvals regime, saying it is helping “build New Zealand’s future”, despite continued criticism from environmental groups, opposition parties, and industry voices following several controversial project decisions.
Court rejects challenge to Minister and Commission over climate targets
28 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Supreme Court has rejected Lawyers for Climate Action’s bid to challenge the Climate Change Commission and former Climate Minister James Shaw over climate targets, ending a long-running case which had been working its way through the courts since 2021.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
A turning point for our ocean: why the High Seas Treaty matters for the Pacific
Tue 10 Feb 2026
Media release: UNDP | The global ratification of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty marks a decisive moment in international cooperation and ocean governance. Referred to as the High Seas Treaty, the agreement establishes a legally binding framework to protect marine biodiversity in areas of the ocean that lie beyond national jurisdiction.
Out of Paris, but will the US formally quit the UN climate regime?
30 Jan 2026
The Trump administration has decided to withdraw the US from the broader UN climate convention, raising questions about the legality of the move and what it means in practice.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Major health risks linked to plastics emissions set to soar by 2040
28 Jan 2026
The adverse health consequences stemming from the global plastics system are projected to more than double by 2040, driven by greenhouse gases, air pollutants and toxic chemicals released throughout its lifecycle.
Rushed resource management reform bills unworkable: Environmental Defence Society
Wed 11 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Environmental Defence Society says significant amendments are needed to the government’s Natural Environment and Planning Bills, warning the proposed reforms risk weakening environmental limits, public participation, and regulatory certainty.
Three Greenpeace activists removed by police from Fonterra
17 Dec 2025
Media release | Three Greenpeace activists were removed by police from Fonterra’s downtown Auckland offices, following a protest on Monday at the Shareholders’ Fund meeting over the corporation’s role in the contamination of rural communities’ drinking water.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
Mon 9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
Australia's renewables boom delivers coveted power price payoff
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Australia's wholesale electricity prices fell to the lowest in four years in 2025, bucking the rising price trends seen elsewhere and validating claims that renewables-heavy power system overhauls can help lower consumer power costs.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
Mon 9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
China maximises battery recycling to shore up critical mineral supplies
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Beijing is bracing for a tsunami of spent EV batteries by taking steps to boost recycling – a strategy that could also cut its reliance on imports of clean energy minerals.
Vanuatu introduces draft UN resolution on ICJ demanding full climate compensation
Wed 11 Feb 2026
Media release: Vanuatu Government | Vanuatu has introduced the zero draft of a United Nations General Assembly resolution to endorse the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on the obligations of states in respect of climate change, delivered on 23 July 2025.
Kaicycle celebrates ten years of collective climate action in Pōneke
14 Nov 2025
Media release: Kaicycle | Since 2015, Kaicycle has grown from a humble pilot project growing kai and collecting compost on bicycles into the thriving urban farm and composting hub that Wellingtonians know and love.
Heatwaves, downpours and droughts – Auckland on track for more extreme weather
1 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New projections show Auckland will face more heatwaves, heavier downpours, worsening droughts and growing coastal threats as climate extremes intensify, according to a new report from Earth Sciences New Zealand.
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity
4 Feb 2026
The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 45,000 hectares (174 square miles) of Argentina’s forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
World's first 20 MW offshore wind turbine powers grid in China
Tue 10 Feb 2026
The world's most powerful offshore wind turbine has begun feeding electricity into the grid off the coast of southeast China, marking a major technological leap in the country's wind power industry.
