https://phys.org/earth-news/ en-us Earth science research, climate change, and global warming. The latest news and updates from Phys.org A catastrophic flood in Nepal that left thousands missing began with a collapse of ice and rock high in the mountains—a warning that disaster planning must prepare for chains of hazards, not isolated events, experts say. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nepal-disaster-exposes-cascading-threats.html Environment Fri, 11 Sep 2026 22:00:05 EDT news708348879 Loose fibers from functional clothing, discarded PET bottles or abandoned packaging: When such plastic materials enter the environment, they often persist there for a long time. UV radiation, precipitation and ozone cause them to become brittle—and over time, mechanical forces break them down into increasingly smaller particles. Swirled up by the wind, they are carried farther through the atmosphere. Until now, it was unclear how much microplastic ends up back in Swiss soil and water bodies through this process. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-microplastics-fall-rural-switzerland-adding.html Earth Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 17:00:01 EDT news708347009 When will the glacier in your valley disappear? Will the glacier you visited as a child still exist in 2050? And how much difference would limiting global warming make? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-glacier-website-users-explore-worldwide.html Earth Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 16:00:02 EDT news708346743 A vast sheet of volcanic rock in the Andes has preserved clues to a buried landscape that existed 22 million years ago, according to a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-giant-volcanic-blanket-reveals-hidden.html Earth Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 14:00:12 EDT news708336009 With Western wildfires increasing in size, duration and intensity, millions of Americans are now exposed to wildfire smoke each year. In California, 2020 and 2021 were particularly challenging, with a 10-fold increase in fires compared with any time in the state's history. Northern Nevada is positioned to receive much of the smoke from California wildfires, and Reno residents experienced months of smoke-shrouded skies during this time. Now, a new study gives us a deeper look into the potentially hazardous chemicals lurking in this smoke. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-wildfire-impacts-reno-air-quality.html Environment Fri, 11 Sep 2026 14:00:05 EDT news708345181 For the first time, important features of the Antarctic coastal zone have been mapped at high resolution around the continent by training an artificial intelligence tool to accurately recognize grounded icebergs in satellite radar images. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-antarctic-wide-grounded-icebergs-reveals.html Earth Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:40:02 EDT news708340082 Northern India experiences some of the world's worst winter air pollution, with dangerous episodes often prompting emergency control efforts. In major cities like Delhi, the Air Quality Index has reached levels above 999—over 30 times the World Health Organization's safety limit. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-seasonal-northern-india-months-severe.html Earth Sciences Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:20:04 EDT news708340021 The massive and deadly floods on the Nepal–Tibet border are a stark reminder of why the world needs to constantly update its understanding of the fragile ecosystem in the Himalayas. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nepal-himalayas-future-disasters.html Environment Fri, 11 Sep 2026 11:00:08 EDT news708340502 Our oceans are in trouble, and new research from Flinders University shows how changes in diatoms (microalgae) could further undermine the foundation of aquatic food webs—as well as vital deep-sea carbon capture or sequestration. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ocean-acidification-disrupt-diatoms-carbon.html Environment Fri, 11 Sep 2026 09:05:45 EDT news708336308 Industrialized countries send millions of metric tonnes of used clothing, electronic equipment and other products to the Global South, along with the environmental and health costs tied to producing, consuming and disposing of those goods. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-western-consumption-global-south-environmental.html Environment Fri, 11 Sep 2026 07:20:01 EDT news708326461 A revolution in forecasting natural disasters is underway, say researchers in Switzerland who are training AI models using vast troves of NASA climate data to produce potentially lifesaving data at lightning speed. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-eye-ai-revolution-natural-disaster.html Environment Fri, 11 Sep 2026 03:53:40 EDT news708317582 The southern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is known as the Copperbelt because of its rich deposits of copper and other minerals. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-drc-cobalt-exports-unreported-uranium.html Earth Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 23:20:04 EDT news708262256 Switching to a more sustainable diet could halve food-related emissions in cities such as Amsterdam, while in cities such as Dhaka and Delhi, the focus should be more on making food production more sustainable as they widen food access. A new database by Leiden researchers shows that different cities need different approaches to achieve a more sustainable food system. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-global-database-reveals-cities-food.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 19:40:04 EDT news708272342 As extreme heat becomes more frequent and severe, many people are turning to informal adaptation strategies—rigging up plastic sheeting overhead for shade, sharing water at a community tap and creating neighborhood cooling areas. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-qa-overlooked-networks-resilience-communities.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:40:04 EDT news708277621 Historical records of the deadliest storms and heat waves may be a poor indicator of the scale and impact future weather disasters could have, scientists at King's College London warn. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-future-catastrophic-weather-worse-history.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:20:01 EDT news708252174 Dozens of glacial lakes have formed across northern India in the last three decades, while existing lakes have expanded rapidly, highlighting the need to monitor a landscape reshaped by climate change. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-himalayan-glacial-lakes-downstream.html Earth Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:30:01 EDT news708277862 The historic droughts of 2023 and 2024 in the Amazon reduced river flows and altered the region's rainfall composition. Daily monitoring in Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, revealed these changes through the use of isotopes, which act as a kind of water "fingerprint." This method demonstrated how El Niño and warming in the North Atlantic affected the origin of moisture and precipitation dynamics. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-isotopes-reveal-early-drought-central.html Earth Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:30:01 EDT news708274981 If you want to drum up support for environmental action, putting climate change front and center may not always be the best strategy. A new study by Aya Takagi and Ryosuke Nakadai of Yokohama National University suggests that support for policies that emphasize biodiversity conservation, including conservation measures that also contribute to climate goals, may be less divided along cultural lines than measures explicitly associated with climate change. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-focus-biodiversity-divisive-path-climate.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:40:01 EDT news708258481 Some 550 million years ago, Earth looked very different than it does today. The Southern Hemisphere was dominated by an enormous single continent known as Gondwana. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-gondwana-supercontinent-kickstart-life-earth.html Earth Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:20:10 EDT news708256883 A University of the Basque Country-EHU research group has determined the causes of a 255 m (837 feet) crustal uplift of the Atlantic slope and a 167 m (548 feet) uplift of the Mediterranean slope, as well as the development of rivers in these areas. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-river-erosion-uneven-crustal-uplift.html Earth Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:20:09 EDT news708256621 Peatlands store large amounts of carbon. However, when they are drained, they can become substantial sources of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO₂). https://phys.org/news/2026-09-rewetting-peatlands-curb-driven-emissions.html Earth Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 13:20:05 EDT news708254702 Vaping isn't just annoying to passersby who have to walk through clouds of vapor but may be actively harmful to the environment, a new study says. Discarded nicotine vapes contain extremely high levels of lead and other heavy metals in their remaining cache of e-liquid, researchers report in the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-disposable-vapes-pose-hidden-environmental.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:20:02 EDT news708247894 In early 2017 and 2023, California experienced two catastrophic and record-breaking floods that caused billions of dollars in damage, triggered mudslides and forced thousands of people to evacuate. Why this happened left scientists scratching their heads. Both disasters struck during La Niña conditions, which normally bring drier-than-normal weather to California. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-atmospheric-events-world-triggered-devastating.html Earth Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 11:50:01 EDT news708256790 New research from The Earthshot Prize and the University of Exeter's Green Futures Solutions team, published today, reveals 51 environmental solutions that can trigger rapid, transformative change to repair our planet within the next five years. After a northern summer of extreme heat and fire, and as the world prepares for an unprecedented El Niño, the research provides a new, unifying agenda for positive action. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-pathways-environmental-solutions-positive.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 11:20:04 EDT news708245701 Extreme heat has become more common—both research and lived experience document this—but when it arrives is a different question. A new study finds that, rather than occurring only during warm seasons, extreme heat events have become more frequent in the months before and after, too. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-dangerous-days-summer-regional-fall.html Earth Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 11:00:12 EDT news708166866 Europe's climate monitor said Thursday that August was the hottest month ever recorded around the world and warned of worse to come as an unprecedented El Niño pattern grows stronger. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-august-hottest-month-globally-huge.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 10:30:01 EDT news708252852 In November 2025, NASA and its European partners launched the Sentinel-6B satellite to improve hurricane forecasts, help protect infrastructure and benefit commercial industries, including shipping. The satellite is now flying 30 seconds behind its predecessor, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich. Both satellites are providing precise sea level height measurements during what oceanographers expect to be a historic El Niño, a naturally occurring oceanic phenomenon in which warmer-than-usual Pacific waters shift global weather patterns. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-satellites-hurricanes-el-nio.html Earth Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:40:08 EDT news708239522 A QUT investigation of the composition of microplastic types in three Brisbane creeks found that Bulimba Creek had a high load of hazardous microplastics. The work is published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bulimba-creek-tops-brisbane-waterways.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:20:01 EDT news708238981 As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this summer, national parks are experiencing record-breaking visitation, with people flocking to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the great outdoors. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-yosemite-visitor-surge-revives-dating.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 07:00:04 EDT news708235142 New research shows that warming-induced emissions—greenhouse gas emissions from natural sources driven by rising temperatures—could amplify global warming by approximately 20%–30% and add an estimated 0.2°C–0.4°C of warming this century on top of anthropogenic warming under different scenarios. These major additional drivers of warming are largely unaccounted for in current climate projections and policies. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-unaccounted-climate-feedback-loops-amplify.html Environment Thu, 10 Sep 2026 05:00:03 EDT news708090421