Weather

Phoenix, Arizona, has experienced a record 100 days in a row over 100 degrees Fahrenheit as of Tuesday. Forecasters say no relief is in sight.

Phoenix Shatters Heat Record With 100 Consecutive Days Above 100 Degrees

Forecasts show no relief from the extreme heat over the next few weeks, which promises to extend the streak far beyond the previous high of 76 days set in 1993

So-called “corn sweat,” the water vapor released by the process of evapotranspiration, can raise humidity in corn-producing areas on the hottest days of summer.

Feeling Sticky This Summer? 'Corn Sweat' Could Be Raising the Humidity

The natural process of plant evapotranspiration is pumping moisture into an already hot and humid atmosphere, especially in the corn-growing areas of the Midwest

A waterspout photographed in the Adriatic Sea near Brac Island, Croatia, like the one implicated in sinking a yacht in Sicily this week. These sudden, violent storms are hard to predict and can occur more often in warmer waters heated by climate change.

A 'Tornadic Waterspout' Likely Sank a Billionaire's Yacht Near Sicily. Here's What That Means

Scientists say the extreme weather phenomenon could grow more common as climate change brings warmer water temperatures and more intense storms to the Mediterranean

The Mount Everest Base Camp, at 17,598 feet high, hosts climbers acclimating to the elevation before they make their ascent.

More Than 200 Dead Bodies Have Been Left Behind on Mount Everest, and Many Mark the Path to the Summit

Mountaineers who perished on the world's highest peak have become landmarks for the living, though recovery crews have made risky expeditions to remove some of the corpses

An aerial photograph of Lahaina's banyan tree taken on August 3, 2024. A wildfire devastated the town in August 2023.

One Year After a Devastating Fire, Lahaina's 151-Year-Old Banyan Tree Is Healing

Arborists didn't know if the historic tree would survive, but they've been working to give it the best possible odds

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As Hurricanes Bear Down and Get Stronger, Can a $34 Billion Plan Save Texas?

A massive project prompted by the wildly destructive Hurricane Ike offers a solutions-based preview of our climate future

Firefighters in Jefferson County, Colorado, are encountering prairie rattlesnakes as they battle the Quarry Fire southwest of Denver.

'We Have a Rattlesnake Problem': Wildland Firefighters in the West Must Also Face a Slithering, Venomous Foe

Nearly 100 large fires are burning in the United States right now, including some in rattlesnake territory

Shade-protecting overhangs known as awnings line a street in New York City in the 1850s.

Six Innovative Ways Humans Have Kept Cool Throughout History

From sleeping porches to coastal escapes, these tips and tricks helped people deal with extreme heat before the advent of air-conditioning

A cyclist in Uttenweiler, Germany, rides toward the rising sun on July 21, 2024, which briefly held the title of the hottest day on record, until it was broken again one day later.

Earth Reached Its Hottest Day on Record Twice in a Row This Week

The global average surface temperature soared to 17.15 degrees Celsius on Monday, or 62.87 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking a short-lived record set on Sunday

Firefighters work to contain the Lake Fire burning in Los Padres National Forest in California. More than 3,900 fires have spread across California this year.

California Faces a Brutal Wildfire Season, With More Land Burned to Date Than in Recent Years

The state's fires have burned more than 11 times as much land so far in 2024 than they had at this point last year, according to the most recent numbers from Cal Fire

The Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan is one of the few animals that spends its entire life at high elevations.

Meet the Rare, 'Beautiful' Birds That Thrive in Snow and Are at Risk Because of Climate Change

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan as threatened under the Endangered Species Act this month

Painted ladies are known for making long migrations over land.

These Stunning Butterflies Flew 2,600 Miles Across the Atlantic Ocean Without Stopping

Researchers combined several lines of evidence to solve the mystery of why a group of painted ladies, which do not live in South America, were found fluttering on a beach in French Guiana

A girl runs through sprinkles of water to cool off on a hot summer day.

See 15 Stunning Scenes of Summer

These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest will remind you of everything you love about the season

In order to build ships strong and technically savvy enough to traverse through some of the most remote and challenging landscapes on Earth, several cruise companies borrowed designs from other parts of the shipping industry.

How a New Line of Expedition Ships Is Turning the Tides on Polar Seas

High-tech features are making treacherous ocean passages feel tame

Purple squares illustrate auroras on Mars, as detected by NASA’s MAVEN orbiter between May 14 and May 20. The brighter the purple, the more auroras present.

Mars Was Hit With a Solar Storm Days After Earth's Aurora Light Show, NASA Says

Studying this event could hold lessons for scientists about how to protect astronauts from radiation on future trips to the Red Planet

Captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, the heliosphere of a young star, LL Orionis, collides with an interstellar medium of dust. A similar event with our own sun, researchers say, might have occurred between two and three million years ago.

A Giant Interstellar Cloud May Have Once Enveloped Earth, Potentially Causing Ice Ages

Astronomers suggest this cold, dense cloud compressed our sun's protective field between two and three million years ago, leaving the Earth exposed to cosmic material

Val Castor, a veteran storm chaser for KWTV in Oklahoma City, saw the huge chunk of ice in a ditch on the side of the road.

Pineapple-Sized Hail Stone Falls in Texas—and It Might Set a New State Record

Veteran storm chaser Val Castor spotted the behemoth ice chunk in a ditch near Vigo Park in the Texas panhandle

Children play in a spray pool in Rio de Los Angeles State Park in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, June 6. A heat wave led to record-setting temperatures across the western U.S. last week.

The Western U.S. Is Sweltering Under a 'Heat Dome.' What Does That Mean?

A stagnant high-pressure system over the region is trapping heat, exacerbating high temperatures and setting records

Flamingos were nearly hunted to extinction for their feathers by the early 1900s. But, thanks in part to conservation and habitat restoration efforts, they're making a comeback in Florida. This flamingo was spotted in Miami Beach in 2018.

More Than a Century Ago, Flamingos Disappeared From Florida. Now, They're Coming Home

Likely transported by Hurricane Idalia last August, more than 100 of the pink birds were counted in a February census in the Sunshine State, where they are considered a native species

Components of Seahenge, or Holme I, were displayed at the British Museum in 2022.

England's Mysterious 'Seahenge' Monument May Have Been Built to Prolong Summer

One researcher thinks the structure was used for ancient rituals during a period of bitter cold

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