heat waves

A sprawling international study of humpback whales in the northern Pacific has found their population has shrunk significantly since 2012 — despite the once-endangered species' remarkable comeback from the brink of extinction. The new research, published in Royal Society Open Science journal on Wednesday, estimated a roughly 20 per cent drop in the cetacean species' numbers over a decade.But despite that, one of the study's nearly 75 listed authors said the findings are not yet cause for alarm.Thomas Doniol-Valcroze is…

Small wooden tree-mounted boxes for bats are an increasingly common sight in B.C.'s urban parks, often resembling birdhouses except with entrances underneath.After a string of tragedies near bat boxes, B.C. scientists teamed up to investigate.What they learned over four years, they say, has changed how we should be building summertime homes for mother bats and their pups, with the species' survival at stake."For them to to raise that young they need just-right temperatures to do so," explained study co-author Cori Lausen.…

This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.In Bangladesh, roughly 300,000 people have been infected with dengue this year during the country's worst-ever outbreak of the mosquito-transmitted disease. By mid-November, the death toll hit close to 1,500, as hospitals in the densely populated South Asian country struggled to cope with the surge in…

The United Nations weather agency said Thursday that 2023 is all but certain to be the hottest year on record, warning of worrying trends that suggest increasing floods, wildfires, glacier melt and heat waves in the future.The World Meteorological Organization also warned that the average temperature for the year is up some 1.4 degrees C from pre-industrial times — a mere one-tenth of a degree under a target limit for the end of the century as laid out by the Paris climate accord in 2015.The WMO secretary general said the…

NASA will study high-resolution satellite observations of global methane releases captured by emissions tracker GHGSat Inc. in the latest sign governments are looking to curb leaks of the potent greenhouse gas. Scientists at NASA's Earth Science Division will evaluate the data under its commercial small satellite data acquisition program and assess if it can help achieve the agency's wider goals, which include mapping the climate effects from human activity, according to a GHGSat statement Wednesday. The initiative…

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Europe is facing a tough winter, as inflation and energy prices continue to rise. The continent also faces tough decisions following its scorching hot summer Heat waves in Europe broke records, sparked widespread wildfires and even damaged a busy runway at a London airport.Unlike the U.S., European countries don't rely on air conditioning to cope with high temperatures. Fewer than 10% of households in Europe owned air conditioners as of 2016, according to the International Energy Agency."If we were looking at the…

Switzerland's glaciers are melting like never before, an…

Food prices remain stubbornly high as Russia's war in Ukraine drags on, exacerbating existing pressure from supply chain disruptions and climate change.The war has "put a lot of fuel on an already burning fire," said Arif Husain, chief economist at the United Nations World Food Programme.Ukraine is a major producer of commodities such as wheat, corn and sunflower oil. Although exports globally have been restricted due to Russia's invasion, Husain said that the global food crisis is not driven by the availability of food,…

This image, from May 2022, shows solar panels in Worcestershire, England. The recent hot weather in the U.K. has led to a discussion about the optimum conditions for solar power.Mike Kemp | In Pictures | Getty ImagesLast week saw temperatures in the U.K. surge, with highs of over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) recorded for the first time ever.The news out of the U.K. — which experienced a number of significant weather-related disruptions — came as other parts of Europe grappled with a heatwave that caused…