Impacts
A year after Hurricane Helene, North Carolina communities that exhausted their budgets on storm cleanup and recovery are still waiting for FEMA reimbursement.
Storm surge is the No. 1 cause of deaths and damage during a hurricane, yet detailed storm surge forecasts are difficult to create. AI could turn that around.
The Inuit of the far north helped solve the mystery of a doomed 19th-century expedition. Now Canada needs them to strengthen its claim to this newly contested region.

Early retirement withdrawals for hardship have tripled since 2020, as disasters strike and insurance fails, leaving workers on their own in old age.

Early retirement withdrawals for hardship have tripled since 2020, as disasters strike and insurance fails, leaving workers on their own in old age.

Global sea levels are climbing at record speeds due to melting glaciers and ocean expansion from climate change, posing a growing flood risk to major coastal cities worldwide, researchers report.

A new international report shows that climate change made this year’s devastating Los Angeles wildfires twice as likely and 25 times larger, as warming, drought, and vegetation growth combined to create explosive fire conditions worldwide.

Los Angeles officials have declared eight Pacific Palisades properties — among them a mansion featured in HBO’s Succession — public nuisances after owners failed to clear toxic debris from the Palisades fire.

Climate change and poverty are increasingly intertwined, with hundreds of millions of people enduring multiple simultaneous hazards such as extreme heat, flooding, drought, and air pollution.

Paintings, poems and science are on display at the Museum of the North in Fairbanks, illustrating the shared impact when carbon is released from the permafrost.
Carter Vigh, 9, died in 2023 after an asthma attack that was made worse by wildfire smoke. His mother. Amber, and the B.C. Lung Foundation collaborated through the Carter’s Project initiative to teach kids about the kids of poor air quality and how to protect themselves.

The north Pacific Ocean has recorded its hottest summer on record, with sea surface temperatures soaring far above previous highs. Scientists say the extreme marine heatwave may be linked to reduced air pollution from shipping and industry — and could even influence Europe’s winter weather.

President Trump has said he wants to eventually shift the burden of disaster relief and recovery onto states. It’s already happening.
In general, people are moving to safer homes after disasters, but the vast majority are selling, meaning someone else is now taking on that risk. Buyout programs can help.

Advocates are questioning why so many applicants from the flood-ravaged Texas county have not received federal disaster help. Nonprofits are trying to fill in the gaps.

Twenty-five years ago, a landmark paper warned that the world’s coral reefs could vanish by 2050. Now, halfway to that projected date (and amid ever more frequent coral bleaching events), that grim prediction feels increasingly close to reality.

New research shows that Greenland is slowly “shrinking” and shifting northwest as melting ice reduces pressure on the land beneath it, causing the island’s bedrock to twist, stretch, and rise.

Scientists are using drones and photogrammetry to track how climate change is affecting whales’ health, growth, and reproduction. By analyzing aerial images, researchers can spot pregnancy trends and size changes in right whales and orcas, providing critical early insights into population declines.

FOLLOW US:
SUBSCRIBE:
Journalism that drives the discussion
Copyright © 2017 Environmental Health Sciences. All rights reserved.