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Large burned trees have been carried by debris flows after wildfire, leaving a tangle of debris, mud and ash.

After the fire: Rain on wildfire burn scars can trigger deadly debris flows – a geologist explains how

Jen Pierce, Boise State University

Four firefighters in a brushy area with flames rising into an orange sky

Human use of fire has produced an era of uncontrolled burning: Welcome to the Pyrocene

Stephen Pyne, Arizona State University

How the oil industry and growing political divides turned climate change into a partisan issue

Joe Árvai, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Trump sits at a meeting about wildfires, with an image of a helicopter dumping water on a wildfire in the background.
Another Arctic blast is here, but how much colder than ‘normal’ is it really?

Richard B. (Ricky) Rood, University of Michigan

A woman wrapped in a thick scarf and ear muffs walks with people with thick gloves and hoods on a clearly chilly day.
Agriculture secretary oversees food production, rural life, and nutrition programs that help millions afford healthy diets

Kathleen Merrigan, Arizona State University

A harvester pipes corn into a truck in a field covered with corn stalks
Neighbors and strangers pulled together to help LA fire survivors – 60 years of research shows these unsung heroes are crucial to disaster response

Tricia Wachtendorf, University of Delaware and James Kendra, University of Delaware

A young man takes a large bucket of water to toss on a fire.
LA fires: Long-term exposure to wildfire smoke is a growing health risk, and not well understood

Luke Montrose, Colorado State University

Two young people hug each other outside a home that is on fire. Dark smoke rises from the home and the sky is orange-gray.
Climate misinformation is rife on social media – and poised to get worse

Jill Hopke, DePaul University

brown flood water covers an intersection with partially flooded brick buildings in the background
How America courted increasingly destructive wildfires − and what that means for protecting homes today

Justin Angle, University of Montana

Homes with fire in the hills behind them.
Extreme heat, flooding, wildfires – Colorado’s formerly incarcerated people on the hazards they faced behind bars

Shawhin Roudbari, University of Colorado Boulder and Shideh Dashti, University of Colorado Boulder

Extreme heat, flooding, wildfires – Colorado’s formerly incarcerated people on the hazards they faced behind bars
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Wildfires

Hundreds of burned homes on a plateau along the Pacific coast

A national, nonpartisan study of the Los Angeles fires could improve planning for future disasters

Najmedin Meshkati, University of Southern California

Firefighting planes are dumping ocean water on the Los Angeles fires − why using saltwater is typically a last resort

Patrick Megonigal, Smithsonian Institution

A plane dumps water onto a burning hillside
Why fast-moving wildfires and those started by human activities are more destructive and harder to contain

Virginia Iglesias, University of Colorado Boulder

A burning home, with the central staircase still standing.
Wildfires can contaminate drinking water systems with harmful chemicals − here’s what Los Angeles needs to know

Andrew J. Whelton, Purdue University

Water bubbles up out of a pipe surrounded by burned landscape. Only the foundation of the house remains.
Wildfire smoke inside homes can create health risks that linger for months − tips for cleaning and staying safe

Colleen E. Reid, University of Colorado Boulder

Cars drive past homes next to a burning hillside in the Los Angeles area.
Read more about extreme weather

Biodiversity + environment

A hillside covered with pine trees, many of them dead and brown

Trees ‘remember’ wetter times − never having known abundant rain could buffer today’s young forests against climate change

Alana Chin, Cal Poly Humboldt ; Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and Marcus Schaub, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL)

Octopuses and their relatives are a new animal welfare frontier − here’s what scientists know about consciousness in these unique creatures

Rachel Blaser, University of San Diego

A large octopus swims past rocks, arms extended
Plants that evolved in Florida over millennia now face extinction and lack protection

Andre A. Naranjo, Florida International University

Pollinator bee on bush
Federal protection for monarch butterflies could help or harm this iconic species, depending on how it’s carried out

William E. Snyder, University of Georgia and Michael Crossley, University of Delaware

Five black, white and yellow striped caterpillars and an orange and black butterfly on a large leaf
Whales can live way longer than scientists had thought, with potential lifespans as much as double previous estimates

Greg Breed, University of Alaska Fairbanks and Peter Corkeron, Griffith University

Right whale mother and calf from above
Read more about environmental issues

Climate change

A partial underwater view of the ocean, with islands in the background

2024’s extreme ocean heat breaks records again, leaving 2 mysteries to solve

Annalisa Bracco, Georgia Institute of Technology

What Trump can do to reverse US climate policy − and what he probably can’t change

Gautam Jain, Columbia University

Donald Trump stands with men in suits while a woman in a hard hat points out something in the distance. construction is underway behind them.
Climate change is making plants less nutritious − that could already be hurting animals that are grazers

Ellen Welti, Smithsonian Institution

A giant panda sits in a tree eating bamboo leaves
Arctic has changed dramatically in just a couple of decades – 2024 report card shows worrying trends in snow, ice, wildfire and more

Twila A. Moon, University of Colorado Boulder; Matthew L. Druckenmiller, University of Colorado Boulder, and Rick Thoman, University of Alaska Fairbanks

A caribou with large antlers sands in colorful tundra with mountains behind it.
Relentless warming is driving the water cycle to new extremes, the 2024 global water report shows

Albert Van Dijk, Australian National University

Two people wade through muddy flood water on a road in Spain, with upended cars in the background
Read more about climate change

Energy + infrastructure

A refinery with a large American flag on the side is lit up at night.

3 ways Trump’s EPA could use the language of science to weaken pollution controls

Eric Nost, University of Guelph

Saltwater flooding is a serious fire threat for EVs and other devices with lithium-ion batteries

Xinyu Huang, University of South Carolina

Cars parked outdoors at an apartment complex, submerged up to their bumpers
Oil and gas communities are a blind spot in America’s climate and economic policies

Noah Kaufman, Columbia University

A pumpjack in Colorado with snow-covered mountains in the distance.
After a delay, New York City is moving ahead with congestion pricing to improve traffic, air quality and public transit

John Rennie Short, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Cars drive under four cameras mounted on a large metal arm over the street
Countries spend huge sums on fossil fuel subsidies – why they’re so hard to eliminate

Bruce Huber, University of Notre Dame

Cars outside a gas station showing $4.19 per gallon.
Read more about energy

Environmental health

Avian flu virus has been found in raw milk − a reminder of how pasteurization protects health

Kerry E. Kaylegian, Penn State

Black and white dairy cows stand and lie in a muddy pasture
Cycling can make seniors healthier and more independent − here’s how to design bikes and networks that meet their needs

Anne Lusk, Boston University

A man and woman ride past townhouses on a two-seat, three-wheeled cycle
Carbon offsets can help bring energy efficiency to low-income Americans − our Nashville data shows it could be a win for everyone

Zdravka Tzankova, Vanderbilt University; Carol Ziegler, Vanderbilt University, and James Muchira, Vanderbilt University

A man installs in a heat pump on an older house.
Should I worry about mold growing in my home?

Nicholas Money, Miami University

A wall with splatters of mold growth
Read more about environmental health

Regulation + lawsuits

Rural America’s economies are often left out by a design flaw in federal funding

Tim O'Brien, Harvard Kennedy School and Tim Freeman, Harvard Kennedy School

A view of downtown Cody, Wyo., and the Cody Heritage Museum.
After wildfires, ranchers face 2-year delay to graze cattle on federal land – is it doing more harm than good?

Jared L. Talley, Boise State University

Four cows graze on tall grasses on a hillside.
Supreme Court could narrow the scope of federal environmental reviews, with less consideration of how projects would contribute to climate change

J.B. Ruhl, Vanderbilt University

Two thick binders full of documents, topped with a gavel
San Francisco is suing the EPA over how specific water pollution permits should be

Robin Kundis Craig, University of Kansas

Aerial photo of beachgoers with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background
Read more about environmental regulation

The roles of government agencies

From watts to warheads: Secretary of energy oversees big science research and the US nuclear arsenal

Valerie Thomas, Georgia Institute of Technology and Margaret E. Kosal, Georgia Institute of Technology

A long silver bomb on a truck bed
How the EPA administrator protects public health, air, water and the environment

Stan Meiburg, Wake Forest University

A worker sprays water on a pile of waste dredged from the adjoining canal
Interior secretary manages vast lands that all Americans share − and can sway the balance between conservation and development

Emily Wakild, Boise State University

A man and two children wearing day parks look across a rocky canyon
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy provides in-house science advice for the president

Kenneth Evans, Rice University

night view of illuminated White House with fountain

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