A potentially strong El Niño weather pattern will likely emerge this summer and persist through the rest of the year. The hottest years on record generally occur in years when El Niño is active.
climate change
Posted inNPR
2025 saw relatively fewer natural disasters. Will you get a break on home insurance?
Disaster costs fell in the U.S. in 2025. Still, it was the fourth time in five years that extreme weather inflicted more than $100 billion in annual losses. Industry experts say the growing financial toll will make insurers wary of rushing to cut rates.
Posted inEnvironment, Possibly Podcast
How do researchers know that heat waves affect our health?
Extreme heat can have serious health consequences, but until recently, public health researchers only had imprecise tools to study it. Brown University Professor Allan Just is working to change that.
Posted inNPR
Millions more people are in the path of rising seas than previously thought
Oceans are rising as the climate changes, threatening coastal cities. A new study shows that much more of the world’s population is vulnerable than earlier predictions had estimated.
Posted inNPR
Tax credits for solar panels are available, but the catch is you can’t own them
Rooftop solar installers are steering customers toward leases instead of purchases. Federal tax credits for purchased systems have ended but are still available for leased ones.
Posted inNPR
Trump’s EPA plans to end a key climate pollution regulation
The Environmental Protection Agency is eliminating a Clean Air Act finding from 2009 that is the basis for much of the federal government’s actions to rein in climate change.
Posted inNPR
Trump’s EPA issues record low legal actions against polluters, watchdog group finds
The EPA enforced a record low number of environmental laws and regulations during the first year of President Trump’s second term in office.
Posted inNPR
Energy Star has emerged stronger after Trump’s EPA tried to end it
The Trump administration tried to end or privatize the government Energy Star efficiency program. But now Trump has signed a budget bill that fully funds the program and leaves it even stronger.
Posted inNPR
In the world’s driest desert, Chile freezes its future to protect plants
Tucked away in a remote desert town, a hidden vault safeguards Chile’s most precious natural treasures. From long-forgotten flowers to endangered crops.
Posted inNPR
FEMA is getting rid of thousands of workers in areas recovering from disasters
Thousands of employees whose contracts end this year will lose their jobs, FEMA managers said at personnel meetings this week. The cuts could hobble the nation’s disaster agency.
