Hawaiian volcano eruption in 2018 was triggered by sustained rainfall

Excessive and sustained rainfall caused the massive eruption of the Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii two years ago by softening the rock, according to a new study. US researchers say the dramatic eruption in 2018, which destroyed hundreds of homes, was due to wet volcanic rock, which breaks easily under pressure. Local rainfall patterns contributed to … Read more

Butterfly charity urges British public to report garden sightings during the coronavirus lockdown

Butterfly charity urges British public to report garden sightings during the coronavirus lockdown to help measure impacts of climate change Butterfly Conservation has been surveying UK moths and butterflies for 50 years The fight against COVID-19 is stopping experts and volunteers from monitoring Those with access to outdoor spaces are asked to report any sightings … Read more

Last year was Europe’s hottest year EVER recorded

Last year was the hottest experienced in Europe since records began, according to a climate report issued by the European Union.  It saw exceptionally warm weather in the months of February, June and July which led to record-breaking temperatures recorded across the continent.  Millions sweltered in the unrelenting heat, with Britain recording a new all-time … Read more

Greta Thunberg launches video of family walking around burning house

Greta Thunberg launches video of family walking around burning house calling for action on climate change Video shows a house burning as a family walk around inside during the morning Video was released by Fridays for Future with LA-based creative agency FF Emissions around the world have plummeted as economies are shutdown  Learn more about … Read more

Trees may absorb less carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than previously thought, new study says

Mature trees could be less effective at removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than previously thought, suggesting Earth may be closer to climate tipping point Scientists in Australia measured the capacity of mature trees to absorb CO2 They found that while the trees absorbed CO2, they didn’t hold on to it The CO2 ended up … Read more

A ‘MEGADROUGHT’ is likely to emerge in the southwest of North America driven by climate change

A ‘MEGADROUGHT’ is likely to emerge in the southwest of North America driven by climate change as dry conditions are some of the worst for 1,200 years, researchers warns The southwest area of North America has been in a drought since 2000 This is deemed the worst one to hit the area in the past … Read more

More than half of all Earth’s ocean life died off 444 million years ago because it ran out of oxygen

A bad time to be alive’: More than half of all Earth’s ocean life died off 444 million years ago because it ran out of oxygen, study shows Researchers studied samples of black shale from the Murzuq Basin in Libya They used this and existing data to build a model of ancient ocean oxygen levels It suggested … Read more

Trump voters are less likely to practice social distancing in pandemic, sociologist claims

A new analysis of nationwide cell phone location data suggests that counties which voted for President Donald Trump in higher proportions are less likely to practice social distancing measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The analysis, by Princeton sociologist Patrick Sharkey for Vox, also found that attitudes toward climate change are ‘one of … Read more

Hungry birds are using their brains to beat climate change

Hungry birds are using their brains to beat climate change by adopting new ways of finding food, scientists say Birds have learnt new strategies for surviving by working around human activity   Researchers noted 3,800 new feeding techniques, including opening sugar  Some birds exhibit problem-­solving abilities that rival those of a primate By Daily Mail Reporter … Read more

Birds are adopting ‘extraordinary behaviours’ to survive the impact of climate change

Climate change is forcing birds to find new and ‘extraordinary’ ways to survive including using bread to bait fish and dropping mussels on rocks to break the shell.  Researchers from McGill University, Montreal studied data on more than 8,600 bird species to look at changes in their feeding and hunting techniques over time. They found … Read more

Britain’s water birds have declined by a QUARTER in 10 years due to climate change

Britain’s water birds have declined by a QUARTER in 10 years as climate change leads to milder winters and endangered ducks and waders become more reliant on protected wetland sites Volunteers survey British wetlands every month to assess population numbers The British Trust for Ornithology has been running the bird survey for 70 years  Its results … Read more

Major UN climate change summit set to take place in Glasgow postponed

Major UN climate change summit which was set to take place in Glasgow in November has been postponed until 2021 amid the coronavirus outbreak Cop26 climate change summit was due to take place in Glasgow in November  UN climate talks thought to be most important since the Paris Agreement in 2015 The summit has been … Read more

It’s not too late to save the Earth’s oceans by 2050, scientists say

The world’s oceans and Earth’s marine life can be saved by 2050, scientists claim, but substantial rebuilding efforts will be required. An international team of researchers say humanity is at a point at which it must choose whether to leave future generations a resilient, vibrant ocean or an ‘irreversibly disrupted’ one. The team’s study lays … Read more