Guardian Environment
US had hottest March on record as nation faced ‘unprecedented’ heat
The continental United States just experienced its hottest March in 132 years of recorded history, according to NOAA data — a milestone that underscores the accelerating pace of climate extremes. The heat was not a brief spike but a sustained, month-long anomaly that set the benchmark against every March on record. With forecasters warning that a powerful El Niño may be developing, the conditions driving this record could intensify further in the months ahead.
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Mongabay
March smashes record as most abnormally hot month for continental US, federal meteorologists say
March 2023 shattered 132 years of temperature records, making it the most abnormally hot month ever recorded across the continental United States, according to federal meteorologists. The milestone signals a troubling trend, with forecasters warning that an emerging El Niño event could push global temperatures even higher in the coming year. The convergence of record domestic heat and a strengthening El Niño has climate scientists bracing for what may come next.
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A More Troubling Picture of Sea Level Rise Is Coming into View
Scientists have identified a critical gap in sea level research, finding that tens of millions of people previously considered safe from coastal flooding now face genuine inundation risk. Across large swaths of the globe, sea levels are higher than prior models assumed, and land subsidence is occurring at a faster rate than recorded. The findings suggest the true scale of the coastal flooding threat has been systematically underestimated.
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Argentina approves Milei’s glacier mining bill amid environmental protests
Argentina's congress has passed a landmark amendment loosening restrictions on mining in glaciers and permafrost zones in the Andes, a key priority for President Javier Milei's deregulation agenda. The bill opens previously protected frozen terrain to extraction of high-value metals including lithium, copper, and silver — resources central to Milei's vision of export-led economic growth. Critics warn the legislation poses irreversible risks to water supplies that millions of Argentines depend on.
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Mass drowning of chicks puts emperor penguins at risk of extinction
Emperor penguins have been officially classified as endangered by the IUCN after record-low Antarctic sea ice caused mass drownings of chicks that had not yet developed waterproof feathers. The species depends on stable coastal sea ice for nine months of the year to raise their young, but accelerating climate-driven ice loss is destroying that foundation. The designation marks a critical escalation in the threat facing one of the world's most recognizable animals.
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