The overall climate condition in 2024 over China was worse than normal, presenting a warm–wet climate with the highest annual mean temperature and second-highest number of hot days in history

Researchers from the University of Plymouth and Plymouth Marine Laboratory (UK) have suggested that a combination of sewage overflows and coastal winds could be sending billions of airborne microplastic particles into the world’s coastal towns and cities. Their study has for the first time drawn together existing research which has highlighted the presence of microplastics in sewage overspills, and the role of the wind in picking up and transporting sea spray and sea foam into the air and onto land.

Northern Australia's annual monsoon season brings relief to drought-stricken lands and revitalises crops and livestock for farmers. But a study of 150,000 years of climate records shows that the monsoon is likely to intensify, triggering a higher risk of flooding while worsening the impact of droughts in East Asia.

In a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers show that warmer summer temperatures increase tree growth, but less snow on the ground slows this growth significantly—meaning that New England forests’ ability to store carbon in future climate scenarios is likely overestimated. 

Some species of fig trees store calcium carbonate in their trunks – essentially turning themselves (partially) into stone, new research has found. The team of Kenyan, U.S., Austrian, and Swiss scientists found that the trees could draw carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere and store it as calcium carbonate ‘rocks’ in the surrounding soil.