Climate science
Arctic could be ice-free by 2058
Arctic icecap melt now so fast and certain researchers can confidently predict when the ocean will become ice-free
June 2013 fifth warmest since 1880 – NOAA data
US drought continues to afflict 46% of country as NOAA record one of the hottest months of June since records started
80% of Malaysian Borneo’s rainforests destroyed by logging
New research shows rainforests on Borneo have been ravaged by logging companies and palm oil plantations
85% of Filipinos say they are feeling effects of climate change
Eight out of ten of Filipinos are being personally impacted by climate change, including extreme weather events and health problems
Sea levels set to rise for centuries
Each degree of global warming may raise world sea levels by more than two metres, a new scientific study concludes
Scientists uncertain over rate of polar ice loss
Glaciologists cannot say for certain whether the Earth’s north and south polar ice is melting faster as the years pass
Greenland’s ‘land ice melt’ likely to drive up global sea levels
Surface melting of the Greenland ice sheet will add more to global sea levels than the island’s glaciers – but even a modest rise could have serious consequences
Wildfires shoot climate warming tar balls into atmosphere
Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists reveal small carbon balls created in wildfires are 10 times as warming as conventional soot
Australia warned to prepare for hotter summers – report
Extreme heat, floods and bushfires which affected Australia earlier in 2013 are likely to become more common as a result of climate change
Global warming could wipe out microbes that ‘make life possible’
Scientists warn tiny microbes known as cyanobacteria are under threat from radically changing temperatures
Africa’s tiny ‘sand dams’ can save millions from drought
Simple, cheap and quick to construct – small walls trapping seasonal rainwater can save Africa’s dryland regions from desertification
Pacific Islands gather to discuss growing climate threat
Fourth Pacific Climate Change Roundtable brings together environment ministers, meteorologists and UN officials to discuss rising sea levels
UN warns decade of climate disruption set to continue
Record breaking extreme weather in 2001-2010 set to continue the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation has warned in a new report
NASA experiment uncovers Arctic climate time bomb
More accurate data on carbon leaking from thawing permafrost uncovers “sleeping climate giant”
Skinny cows and climate change could cost farmers billions
A study predicts wild and domestic cattle will drastically reduce in weight as the climate warms − compromising food security and slashing farmer’s profits
Climate change will force new species onto endangered list
Up to 83% of birds, 66% of amphibians and 70% of corals are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change says the International Union for Conservation of Nature
UN moves closer to establishing drought reduction targets
Influential panel of experts call for world leaders to adopt goals to combat desertification, land degradation and drought
Desert offers clue to species’ climate survival
Research into one of world’s oldest and driest deserts finds species have evolved to cope with the changes
Least Developed Countries climate adaptation fund gets $200m boost
Belgium, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and the USA offer nearly $200 million in climate adaptation investment to the world’s poorest countries
Insurance firms press governments on climate adaptation
Industry think tank warns “quasi-irreversible” shift in ocean temperatures will end business as usual and calls for more adaptation investment