The most important and shocking climate stories of 2024

A polar bear (Ursus maritimus) stands on melting sea ice at sunset near Harbour Islands in Canada. This year, Earth sent clear signals that its climate is warming and tipping into unknown territory. From a deadly sea of mud that flooded Spain to major hurricanes that smashed one after another into Florida’s coast, extreme weather marked 2024. Climate scientists repeatedly warned policymakers that unless countries slash carbon emissions immediately , the planet will enter an even more uncontrollable phase of warming and climate chaos. But this year wasn’t all doom and gloom, because researchers also came up with mitigation strategies to prevent the worst effects of climate change . For example, scientists suggested dehydrating the stratosphere , the layer of Earth’s atmosphere that sits between 7.5 and 31 miles (12 to 50 kilometers) above the planet’s surface. Scientists think the stratosphere acts like a sponge and prevents heat from escaping into space, so dehydrating it should, theoretically at least, help cool the globe. From surprising new sources of global warming to a “regime shift” in Antarctica that could spell trouble for the world’s oceans, here are our picks for the top climate change stories of 2024. AI found climate change is making Earth wobble and spin more slowly (Image credit: NASA Goddard/NOAA/DSCOVER) This summer, based on artificial intelligence (AI) data, researchers warned that climate change could alter Earth’s spin and lengthen our days. Rapidly melting ice in the polar regions means water is accumulating in the ocean, particularly around the equator, causing the planet to bulge around the middle. This could slow Earth’s spin as more weight is distributed farther from the planet’s center — similar to how a spinning figure skater can slow down by stretching their arms out. Water accumulating near the equator is also moving Earth’s […]

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