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This weekly round-up brings you key climate news from the past seven days, including a new report uncovering the full environmental impact of data centers as AI booms and the Trump administration’s decision to dismantle a decade-old, deep-ocean observation network. — 1. UN Report Exposes Unfathomable Footprint of Data Centers as AI Booms Artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding at breakneck speed, used by hundreds of millions of users and processing billions of queries each day.

If treated as a country, data centers could rank sixth globally for electricity consumption by 2030. They would also require an amount of water equivalent to the annual needs of 1.3 billion people. — By Martina Igini Artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding at breakneck speed, used by hundreds of millions of users and processing billions of queries each day. AI is now one of the most significant drivers of that data center growth. But this growth comes at an unfathomable environmental

The world needs climate strategies with fast returns. Soil restoration might be the answer, writes Rico Rau, Policy Analyst at Save Soil — By Rico Rau For three decades, the climate debate and climate policy have been defined by the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on our planet and its climate. For long-term global temperature regulation, a transition away from fossil fuels and emissions they produce is, of course, necessary and unavoidable. However, as the stakes rise as we coll

Heat and salt threaten to end a tradition dating back hundreds of years. Farmers and scientists are fighting back. — By Regina Lam Away from the skyscraper clusters of Hong Kong’s business districts sits the weathered northern fishing village of Lau Fau Shan (Floating Mountain). Chan Kwok Leung, known as “Brother Leung”, is a 58-year-old, sixth-generation oyster farmer. As a child he shucked oysters with his father during winters on the shore of Deep Bay where his village sits, on th

Under a deal disclosed in March, the Interior Department agreed to reimburse TotalEnergies $928 million, the sum the multinational paid the Biden administration for leases in federal waters to build offshore wind farms off New York and North Carolina. — Seven Democratic-led US states are suing the Trump administration over its $1 billion deal with a French oil giant to end an offshore wind project. Under the deal announced in March, the Interior Department would reimburse TotalEnergies

Biologically inspired designs transform nature’s 3.8 billion years of evolutionary research into human breakthroughs. Yet, as species vanish and children spend 50% less time outdoors, we risk severing the pipeline that turns natural curiosity into sustainable innovation. Protecting biodiversity and restoring youth access to the living world aren’t just environmental goals; they are essential to safeguarding humanity’s future ingenuity. — Japanese engineer Eiji Nakatsu drew inspiration from

In a statement, the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) encouraged scientists, researchers and educators to continue using its datasets in proposals, publications, and presentations. “Continued engagement demonstrates the scientific impact and wide-ranging applications enabled by the OOI and its data, underscoring its importance as a resource for the oceanographic community,” it said. — The Trump administration is dismantling a decade-old, deep-ocean observation network that s

“When people feel that decisions are being made about them, without them, they eventually stop believing in the systems that claim to speak for them,” writes Rich Wilson, Co-Founder of the Global Citizens Assembly. — By Rich Wilson We all know that politics is broken. More than half the world now reports little or no trust in their government. Yet, most leaders respond by acknowledging the crisis in words, while doing very little to address it. Key decisions that shape everyday life,

The World Meteorological Organization is now forecasting an 80% likelihood of an El Niño event developing between now and August. — A weather pattern fueled by warming ocean waters and typically associated with increased global temperatures and erratic weather patterns could arrive as early as this month, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned. The UN agency is now forecasting an 80% likelihood of an El Niño event developing between now and August, with a 90% likelihood

Fewer than 1,000 Sumatran elephants remain in the wild. Every injury, every untreated wound, every avoidable death reduces that number even further. This is why, when a wild elephant was spotted in North Sumatra limping and in distress, a team mobilized without hesitation.  — By Leif Cocks That team is the Wildlife Ambulance, a mobile veterinary service that has become one of the most important forces standing between Critically Endangered Sumatran elephants and their extinction. P

For decades, the historic Black neighborhood of Ivy City in Northeast Washington, DC, has been treated as an industrial sacrifice zone, leaving its residents to battle severe environmental pollution alongside intense redevelopment pressures. As new investment pours into the area, grassroots resistance led by local organizers is fighting to ensure that community healing and environmental justice take priority over corporate gentrification. — By Kaitlyn Sullivan Fresh paint and spackle c

This weekly round-up brings you key climate news from the past seven days, including NOAA’s hurricane season predictions and an unusually early, deadly heatwave scorching Europe. — 1. ‘Absolutely Astonishing’: Unusually Early, Deadly Heatwave Scorches Western Europe Several western European countries are baking under record-breaking heat this week that is highly unusual this time of year. The heatwave is the result of a phenomenon known as a heat dome –

The World Meteorological Organization says there is a 91% chance that global average temperatures will exceed 1.5C above the 1850-1900 average levels for at least one year between 2026 and 2030. — The Earth is on track to keep warming at or near record levels in the five years as chances of keeping global temperatures below the Paris Agreement 1.5C goal fade. The latest edition of an annual report on the state of the climate by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) pred

Fashion’s climate ambitions are accelerating at pace. Net-zero targets, decarbonization roadmaps, and sustainability pledges have become standard markers of industry leadership and a respectable brand identity. But beneath this forward momentum, a more uncomfortable reality is emerging, one that is less about what the industry promises, and more about how those promises are being delivered.  — By Sakshi Gupta As fashion brands push for rapid emission reductions across their supply

“The UK was built for a climate that no longer exists today and will be increasingly distant in years to come,” the Climate Change Committee, the UK’s independent climate change adviser, said in a new major report. — British homes will need air conditioning to survive predicted levels of global warming, a major report has warned. An estimated 4 million homes in the country now have air conditioning, double the figure from three years ago, the Guardian recently reporte

Unlike the visible devastation of hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes, extreme heat leaves no trace behind, making it a silent deadly threat, deadlier than all these extreme weather events combined. Countries where heat was never a problem are suddenly confronted with rising illnesses and casualties, with authorities struggling to keep count as people often misjudges and underplays the risks. As an unusually early heatwave scorches Europe this week, Earth.Org takes a look at how extreme heat affec

Heat is one of the clearest signs of the climate crisis, with every heatwave in the world now stronger and more likely to happen because of human-caused climate change.  — Several western European countries are baking under record-breaking heat this week that is highly unusual this time of year. The heatwave is the result of a phenomenon known as a heat dome – where warm air from Northern Africa is trapped under a high-pressure system over Western Europe, lingering for days. It works li

From carbon trading to biodiversity offsetting, more and more environmental policy sees nature as a commodity that can be valued and traded. This trend is referred to as the commodification of nature, a very contentious topic in the environmental debate, which begs the question: does putting a price tag on ecosystems actually help protect them, or does it just fast-track their destruction? — Commodification refers to the expansion of market trade into areas that were previously excluded fr

Meanwhile, the US agency forecast a below-average season in the Atlantic basin as El Niño typically suppresses hurricane development there. — The central and eastern Pacific is likely to see above-average hurricane activity this year owing to the development of El Niño conditions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said last week. The US agency released its Atlantic and eastern and central Pacific hurricane season outlooks on Thursday, predicting a 55% chance of

A devastating event along the west coast of North America in 2013 wiped out nearly all of the area’s sunflower sea stars, with devastating consequences for kelp forests. A consortium of public and private organizations have been using aquacultural techniques to grow sea stars in laboratory settings, with the expectation that these efforts will lead to the eventual recovery of healthy kelp ecosystems and concomitant biodiversity. — Troubling reports of sea star wasting disease along the Wes