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Keith Kloor

Collide-a-Scape

Question of the Day

June through August of 2023 turned out to be the warmest meteorological summer on record. This map shows just how much warmer or cooler different regions of Earth were at the surface compared to the baseline average from 1951 to 1980. As the map makes clear, almost all of the world was warmer than average. (Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin)

Sizzling Summer of 2023

Hint: Sea surface temperatures are still at record highs (not even close), and El Niño continues to grow.

With Earth's Warmest Summer and August Now in the Record Books, What Will the Rest of 2023 Bring?

Depaving for Climate Change

Asphalt contributes to the urban heat island effect and makes places more prone to flooding. Planners are rethinking its place in cities.

Cities Are Depaving for a Cooler Future

Rafael López-López with one of his slick Holsteins. (Credit: Katherine Rapin)

López and Hosteins

A natural mutation found in Puerto Rican dairy cows might keep them healthier in extreme heat.

Farmers Are Breeding Heat-Resistant Cows

Damage after Hurricane Michael hit Florida in 2018. (Credit: Terry Kelly/Shutterstock)

2018 Damage in Florida from Hurricane Michael 

Stronger wind speeds, rising sea levels and increases in water temperature add up to create stronger hurricanes.

How Is Our Changing Climate Making Hurricanes Stronger?

Detection dog named Niffler (Credit: Holly Cook, K9 Conservationists)

Working detection dog for conservation

Conservation researchers are using working dogs to gather data in the field. Learn what detection dogs do and why they are needed for conservation efforts.

Working Detection Dogs Help Conservation Researchers Sniff Out Data

The first atomic bomb was exploded at the Trinity test site on July 16, 1945 at 5:29:45 a.m. This photo shows the explosion at just .025 milliseconds into the blast. The explosive yield was equivalent to 21,000 tons of TNT. To learn about the connection between atom bombs and global heating, see the story below. (Credit: U.S. Dept. of Defense. Colorization of original black and white photo by Tom Yulsman)

Trinity Atom Bomb Test

That unimaginable amount of energy is why July was the hottest month on record, and why 2023 may rank as warmest year.

Want to Understand This Summer's Heat? Imagine 800,000 Hiroshima Atom Bombs Exploding Every Day

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