Stories by Andrea Thompson

How does astronomical summer differ from meteorological summer? And how is climate change affecting how long summer lasts?

The face of summer is transforming, as people today face more frequent, longer-lasting and hotter heat waves than they did several decades ago

A heat dome is sending temperatures soaring across the U.S. Midwest and East

Orcas have once again attacked and sunk a boat near the Strait of Gibraltar, a behavior that has scientists stumped

From Gaza to India to the Philippines, climate change exacerbated often record-breaking extreme heat over the past month

Ancient tree rings show that the summer of 2023 was the hottest in the past 2,000 years because of human-caused climate change

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck near Lebanon, N.J., at 10:23 A.M. EDT. Shaking was felt over a broad area, including parts of New York State, Pennsylvania and Connecticut

From cloud coverage to clear skies, here’s up-to-date weather conditions expected along the path of April 8’s total solar eclipse

More than one million acres are burning in Texas after freezes, dry weather and winds

Jen Golbeck, “dog mom” to a group of golden retrievers called the Golden Ratio on social media, talks about the science of the bond between humans and their dogs and all the ways that the canines benefit people

The year 2023 is officially the hottest on record, edging close to the mark of 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. But that doesn’t mean that the goals of the Paris climate accord are out of reach

Dogs are good for you, science says. 

In 2023 climate news was a mixed bag: we saw unrelenting heat but also glimmers of hope of progress toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions

From fish that dance to “see” to frogs disguised as poop to boat-attacking killer whales, Scientific American rounds up our favorite odd animals of 2023

The choices we make in how we adapt to climate change can sometimes come back to bite us

The planet just saw the hottest span of 12 months in human history because of climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels

A heat dome that baked parts of South America in late September was made much more likely and at least 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter by climate change

September shattered a record for the highest temperature anomaly of any month and could help push 2023 to be the first year to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial temperatures

Record-breaking rains caused major flash flooding in New York City, reminiscent of Hurricane Ida and a sign of what climate change will increasingly bring

The U.S. has already seen a record number of disasters costing at least $1 billion in 2023, which underscores how unprepared the nation is to withstand climate-driven catastrophe

Nearly every person on the planet saw high temperatures that were made at least twice as likely by climate change this summer

Abundant warm ocean waters caused Hurricane Idalia to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane before striking the Gulf Coast of Florida and bringing significant impacts

Hurricane Hilary is set to cause torrential rains and flooding in the desert Southwest. It could even potentially bring California its first direct hit from a tropical storm since 1939

Dry conditions and strong winds set the stage for the disastrous wildfires that tore through the historic town of Lahaina and other areas of Hawaii