Environmental News Network

Via NASA Plane, Scientists Find New Gamma-ray Emission in Storm Clouds

There’s more to thunderclouds than rain and lightning. Along with visible light emissions, thunderclouds can produce intense bursts of gamma rays, the most energetic form of light, that last for millionths of a second.

Arctic Sea Ice Near Historic Low; Antarctic Ice Continues Decline

Arctic sea ice retreated to near-historic lows in the Northern Hemisphere this summer, likely melting to its minimum extent for the year on Sept.11, 2024, according to researchers at NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

Fuel for Hurricane Milton

As Florida and other southeastern states were reeling from Hurricane Helene’s effects in early October 2024, another tropical threat brewed over the Gulf of Mexico.

Study Finds Mercury Pollution From Human Activities Is Declining

MIT researchers have some good environmental news: Mercury emissions from human activity have been declining over the past two decades, despite global emissions inventories that indicate otherwise.

Researchers Examine the Persistence of Invisible Plastic Pollution

Plastic pollution – tiny bits of plastic, smaller than a grain of sand – is everywhere, a fact of life that applies even to newborn rodents, according to a Rutgers Health study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.