Rainfall is probably the most common natural weather event on this planet. But it is not that common when it comes to the ice sheets of Greenland, where temperatures seldom cross the freezing point. But on August 14, 2021, something unprecedented happened. The Summit of Greenland, which is the highest point of its ice sheets, received rain for the first time in recorded history.

IPCC’s* sixth assessment report (AR6) has bad news for the future. The warming beyond 1.5°C or 2°C will be breached much earlier. Average global temperatures will continue to rise and could increase by 5.7 °C by the end of this century compared to 1850–1900.Consequently, the land surface will continue to warm more than the ocean surface. The Arctic will continue to warm more than global surface temperature. Extreme changes become larger with every addition to global warming.

Scientists have discovered viruses nearly 15,000 years old in two ice samples from the Tibetan Plateau. The study conducted by the team from Ohio State University has been published in Journal microbiome. The researchers analyzed ice cores taken in 2015 from the Guliya ice cap in western China. Most of those viruses are unlike any viruses that have been catalogued to date, says the study. 

The National Geographic magazine has recognised the ‘Southern Ocean’ as the world’s fifth ocean on June 8, 2021. The change in name was in alignment with the National Geographic Society’s initiative to conserve the world’s oceans. The magazine has usually followed the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) on marine names, it said in an article notifying the change. The IHO had recognised ‘Southern Ocean’ as a distinct body of water surrounding Antarctica in 1937...

The Arctic is warming three times faster than the global average, says a new report by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). The report is based on 40 years of observations, between 1979 and 2019. The report says that there has been an increase in extremely high temperatures and a decline in extreme cold events due to climate change. 

Global warming is causing hot places to become even hotter. Hence, animals in desert areas will feel more thirsty than ever before. Is the weather in your place warmer than it was last year? Think about it and colour the picture.

Hailstorms are common in India during the pre-monsoon season but a rise in their frequency is worrisome.

Scientists have mapped how increasing temperatures will impact the population and distribution of the disease spreading mosquitoes in the world

In August 2019, a funeral was held for the last patch of ice atop the Ok volcano in western Iceland. The ice patch belonged to Okjökull.