Reference Terms
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Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of harmful substances or energy into the environment, resulting in negative effects on ecosystems, human health, and natural resources. It can occur in many forms, including air pollution from vehicle emissions and industrial activity, water pollution from chemicals and waste, soil contamination, noise pollution, and light pollution. These pollutants may be chemical, physical, or biological in nature and often originate from human activities.
Air pollution, for example, can lead to respiratory problems, cardiovascular disease, and climate change through the accumulation of greenhouse gases. Water pollution can harm aquatic life and contaminate drinking water, while soil pollution affects food safety and agricultural productivity. Pollutants can travel far from their source, impacting environments and communities on a global scale.
Efforts to reduce pollution involve regulations, clean technologies, waste management, and public awareness. Addressing pollution is critical for protecting biodiversity, maintaining ecosystem health, and ensuring the well-being of current and future generations.
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Earth & Climate News
January 17, 2026
Jan. 15, 2026 New research shows tropical forests can recover twice as fast after deforestation when their soils contain enough nitrogen. Scientists followed forest regrowth across Central America for decades and found that nitrogen plays a decisive role in how ...
Jan. 15, 2026 In the rapidly disappearing Atlantic Forest, mosquitoes are adapting to a human-dominated landscape. Scientists found that many species now prefer feeding on people rather than the forest’s diverse wildlife. This behavior dramatically raises the ...
Jan. 14, 2026 For thousands of years, wildfires on Alaska’s North Slope were rare. That changed sharply in the 20th century, when warming temperatures dried soils and fueled the spread of shrubs, setting the stage for intense fires. Peat cores and satellite ...
Jan. 14, 2026 Scientists have identified a newly recognized threat lurking beneath the ocean’s surface: sudden episodes of underwater darkness that can last days or even months. Caused by storms, sediment runoff, algae blooms, and murky water, these “marine ...
Jan. 14, 2026 Earth’s oceans reached their highest heat levels on record in 2025, absorbing vast amounts of excess energy from the atmosphere. This steady buildup has accelerated since the 1990s and is now driving stronger storms, heavier rainfall, and rising ...
Jan. 13, 2026 Honey bees can normally keep their hives perfectly climate-controlled, but extreme heat can overwhelm their defenses. During a scorching Arizona summer, researchers found that high temperatures caused damaging temperature fluctuations inside hives, ...
Jan. 13, 2026 Scientists tracking Earth’s water from space discovered that El Niño and La Niña are synchronizing floods and droughts across continents. When these climate cycles intensify, far-apart regions can become unusually wet or dangerously dry at the ...
Jan. 12, 2026 Plastic pollution is not just in oceans and soil. Scientists have now found enormous amounts of microscopic plastic floating through urban air, far exceeding earlier estimates. Road dust and rainfall play a major role in moving these particles ...
Jan. 12, 2026 Microscopic ocean algae produce a huge share of Earth’s oxygen—but they need iron to do it. New field research shows that when iron is scarce, phytoplankton waste energy and photosynthesis falters. Climate-driven changes may reduce iron delivery ...
Jan. 7, 2026 Scientists have discovered that wildfires release far more air-polluting gases than previously estimated. Many of these hidden emissions can transform into fine particles that are dangerous to breathe. The study shows wildfire pollution rivals ...
Jan. 6, 2026 Earthquakes happen daily, sometimes with devastating consequences, yet predicting them remains out of reach. What scientists can do is map the hidden layers beneath the surface that control how strongly the ground shakes. A new approach speeds up ...
Jan. 6, 2026 When a huge earthquake struck near Kamchatka, the SWOT satellite captured an unprecedented, high-resolution view of the resulting tsunami as it crossed the Pacific. The data revealed the waves were ...
Latest Headlines
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Jan. 17, 2026 Scientists are uncovering a hidden and surprisingly complex earthquake zone beneath Northern California by tracking swarms of tiny earthquakes that are far too weak to feel. These faint tremors are ...
Jan. 16, 2026 Hydrogen cyanide, a toxic chemical, may have helped spark the chemistry that led to life. When frozen, it forms crystals with highly reactive surfaces that can drive unusual chemical reactions, even ...
Jan. 10, 2026 Crystals hidden in Australia’s oldest rocks have revealed new clues about how Earth and the Moon formed. The study suggests Earth’s continents didn’t begin growing until hundreds of millions of ...
Jan. 5, 2026 A meltwater lake that formed in the mid-1990s on Greenland’s 79°N Glacier has been draining in sudden, dramatic bursts through cracks and vertical ice shafts. These events have accelerated in ...
Jan. 5, 2026 CO2 can stimulate plant growth, but only when enough nitrogen is available—and that key ingredient has been seriously miscalculated. A new study finds that natural nitrogen fixation has been ...
Jan. 4, 2026 Overfished coral reefs are producing far less food than they could. Researchers found that letting reef fish populations recover could boost sustainable fish yields by nearly 50%, creating millions ...
Jan. 1, 2026 Scientists are uncovering new clues that a cosmic explosion may have rocked Earth at the end of the last ice age. At major Clovis-era sites, researchers found shocked quartz—evidence of intense ...
Jan. 1, 2026 A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck northern Chile in July 2024—and it wasn’t supposed to be that strong. Unlike Chile’s infamous shallow “megathrust” quakes, this one ruptured deep ...
Dec. 31, 2025 Microplastics in rivers, lakes, and oceans aren’t just drifting debris—they’re constantly leaking invisible clouds of chemicals into the water. New research shows that sunlight drives this ...
Dec. 30, 2025 Scientists have discovered a clever way to turn carrot processing leftovers into a nutritious and surprisingly appealing protein. By growing edible fungi on carrot side streams, researchers produced ...