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America sizzled through some hot nights last month, enough to make history. Federal meteorologists say the Lower 48 states in July set a record for overnight warmth. The average overnight temperature for the continental United States in July was 63.6 degrees, which is the highest in 128 years of recordkeeping. This matters because cooler temperatures overnight are crucial for people, animals and plants to recover from the warmth of daytime heat waves. In the U.S., the nighttime is warming faster than the daytime. Climate scientists say that's a signature of human-caused global warming.
A federal judge has reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that was imposed under former President Barack Obama and then scuttled under former President Donald Trump. Friday’s ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Morris requires government officials to complete a new environmental review of the leasing program before they can resume coal sales. It marks a major setback for the already struggling coal industry. Few leases were sold in recent years as coal demand shrank drastically. But coal from existing leases remains a major contributor of planet-warming emissions. The industry’s opponents had urged Morris to revive the moratorium to ensure coal can’t make a comeback as climate change worsens.
India will miss its renewable energy targets for the end of the year, with experts saying “multiple challenges” including a lack of financial help and taxes on imported components are stalling the clean energy industry. The country has installed just over half of its planned renewable energy capacity, a high level parliamentary report said last week. The Indian government’s ministry of new and renewable energy, which is in charge of meeting the nation’s renewable energy targets, attributed the failure to meet targets to the COVID-19 pandemic. The government now says it hopes to achieve the goal by mid-2023.
Africa’s national parks, home to thousands of wildlife species such as lions, elephants and buffaloes, are increasingly threatened by from below-average rainfall and new infrastructure projects, stressing habitats and the species that rely on them. A prolonged drought in much of the continent’s east, exacerbated by climate change, and large-scale developments, including oil drilling and livestock grazing, are hampering conservation efforts in protected areas, several environmental experts say. The parks not only protect flora and fauna but also act as natural carbon sinks — storing carbon dioxide emitted into the air and reducing the effects of global warming.
FILE — A herd of elephants make their way through the Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, in search of water on Nov. 10, 2019. Africa's national parks, home to thousands of wildlife species such as lions, elephants and buffaloes, are increasingly threatened by below-average rainfall and new infrastructure projects, stressing habitats and the species that rely on them. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - A rainbow forms in the mist at the top of the waterfalls in Murchison Falls National Park, northwest Uganda, on Feb. 22, 2020. Africa’s national parks, home to thousands of wildlife species are increasingly threatened by from below-average rainfall and new infrastructure projects, stressing habitats and the species that rely on them. Climate change and large-scale developments, including oil drilling and livestock grazing, are hampering conservation efforts in protected areas, several environmental experts say. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - A pair of hippopotamuses cool off in the Nile river near the waterfalls in Murchison Falls National Park, northwest Uganda, on Feb. 21, 2020. Africa’s national parks, home to thousands of wildlife species are increasingly threatened by from below-average rainfall and new infrastructure projects, stressing habitats and the species that rely on them. Climate change and large-scale developments, including oil drilling and livestock grazing, are hampering conservation efforts in protected areas, several environmental experts say. (AP Photo, File)
FILE - A lion lies in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, Tuesday, Aug, 25, 2020. Africa's national parks, home to thousands of wildlife species are increasingly threatened by below-average rainfall and new infrastructure projects, stressing habitats and the species that rely on them. (AP Photo/Kevin Anderson, File)
FILE - The annual migration of wildebeest from the Serengeti National park in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara national reserve in Kenya is seen from a drone in the Maasai Mara, July 22, 2020. Africa's national parks, home to thousands of wildlife species are increasingly threatened by below-average rainfall and new infrastructure projects, stressing habitats and the species that rely on them. (AP Photo/Joe Mwihia, File)
One year after a wind-whipped wildfire charred a craggy mountainside above Lone Pine, California, signs of life are slowly returning. Tiny clusters of white and purple wildflowers stand out against blackened trees. Green shoots of Horsetail as thin as yarn strands break from the ground below scorched branches. A fistful of new leaves emerges from within an incinerated stump. It’s the start of a long recovery. It's a cycle that’s being repeated more often across the West as climate change brings drier, hotter seasons and more fires. It can be five years before ground cover fully recovers, and hotter fires are killing more trees.
