MS-ESS3-5
Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.
- Climate
Can wildfires cool the climate?
Severe wildfires are becoming more common. Science is showing that the tiny particles they release into the air can alter Earth’s temperature — sometimes cooling it.
- Earth
Explainer: What are aerosols?
We may not see them, but tiny particles and droplets cloud the air, affecting its properties. Some may be pollutants, others all-natural products.
- Climate
Analyze This: 2020 ties with 2016 for hottest year on record
Last year capped the warmest decade on record. It coincided with a growing increase of warming greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere.
- Climate
Surprising long-haul dust and tar are melting high glaciers
Dust and tar blown onto high mountains, like the Himalayas, boost the melting of snow and ice far more than scientists had realized. Here’s why.
- Computing
Explainer: What is an algorithm?
These step-by-step instructions underlie social media, internet searches and other computer-based activities. But what are they exactly? We explain.
- Climate
The faster trees grow, the younger they die
As climate change spurs forest tree growth, it also shortens trees’ lives. That results in a quicker release of climate-warming carbon back into the atmosphere.
- Health & Medicine
Deadly heat: Expected by century’s end, it’s here already
Instances of hot and humid conditions that threaten human lives are on the rise.
- Earth
Fossil fuels appear to release far more methane than we thought
Ice cores reveal less methane than expected. This suggests today’s fossil fuel industry is responsible for nearly all of the methane emissions from natural sources today.
- Environment
CO2 emissions have nosedived as COVID-19 keeps people home
The COVID-19 pandemic restricted travel that can pollute the air. By April, travel-related daily emissions of greenhouse gases was back to 2006 levels.
- Climate
A rainforest once grew near the South Pole
A forest flourished within 1,000 kilometers of the South Pole. That was a while ago, as in millions of years ago.
- Climate
Climate change drove Australian wildfires to extremes
Australia’s devastating 2019–2020 wildfires were at least 30 percent more likely because of human-caused climate change.
- Climate
How to curb the climate heating by contrails
Contrails are narrow clouds left behind in the sky by jets. They add to climate change. But a new study suggests a way to curb their contribution.
