A new study argues that cultivating seaweed is being overstated as a climate solution because carbon released through seaweed loss may exceed the amount absorbed by new cultivation.
Why it matters: Governments, researchers and companies considering seaweed for emissions offsets need to account for losses from existing kelp forests rather than counting only carbon captured by new projects.
El Niño is expected to raise sea level along California’s coast by about one foot by mid-October as water moves northward from waters off Mexico and Central America.
Why it matters: The elevated baseline would leave California’s coast facing higher water levels as winter storms approach, increasing the relevance of coastal flood monitoring.
Months of forest and land fires, intensified by a super El Niño and drought, have burned at least 200,000 hectares across Indonesia, with another tracker estimating more than 285,000 hectares so far this year.
Why it matters: The crisis combines an immediate regional health emergency with a climate feedback: dry peat can burn underground, spread persistent smoke and release carbon accumulated over thousands of years. With…
Fires across Sumatra and Kalimantan have burned at least 200,000 hectares and spread unhealthy-to-hazardous haze across national borders.[1][6]
Why now
A strong El Niño has intensified drought, while drained peatlands and degraded forests provide highly flammable fuel.[1][5]
Watch next
Track September rainfall, regional air-quality readings and whether Indonesia declares a national disaster as dry conditions reach their expected peak.[1][5]
A new WMO report finds that worsening wildfires and heatwaves are hindering improvements in air quality around the world.
Why it matters: The findings show that emissions controls on transport and industry may not deliver cleaner air on their own when climate-linked heat and fire introduce new sources of dangerous pollution.
Why it matters: A return below 1.5°C would not reverse all damage incurred during an overshoot, so every fraction of a degree avoided and every year removed from the breach would reduce exposure to long-lasting or i…
Nepal has requested immediate support from the UN climate loss and damage fund after catastrophic floods killed 1,250 people and left an estimated recovery bill of at least US$5 billion.
Why it matters: Nepal’s needs dwarf the fund’s available resources, making the request an early test of whether the international climate-finance system can deliver timely assistance at the scale required after a ma…
Divers and scientists report that soft corals around Jeju are again sagging, collapsing and dying after two years of rising temperatures and harsher weather.
Why it matters: Jeju’s soft corals provide nursery habitat supporting the local marine ecosystem and occupy the northern edge of coral distribution in the East China Sea, making their condition a sensitive indicator…
Nepal has requested immediate support from the UN climate loss and damage fund after floods killed 1,250 people and left an estimated recovery bill of at least US$5 billion.
Why it matters: Nepal’s needs vastly exceed the fund’s available resources, exposing the gap between international climate-finance commitments and the rapid, large-scale assistance vulnerable countries require after…
Nepal sought an urgent payout from the UN loss and damage fund following catastrophic floods and an estimated US$5 billion recovery bill.[1]
Why now
The disaster killed 1,250 people, while climate-linked events such as glacial-lake floods have become more frequent in recent decades.[1]
Watch next
Watch whether the fund convenes before its scheduled December meeting, how much paid financing becomes available, and what climate-finance commitments emerge at COP31 in November.[1]
Forest and peatland fires across Indonesian Borneo have overwhelmed firefighters and generated hazardous haze, with West Kalimantan enduring more than two months without rain amid a powerful El Niño.
Why it matters: The fires have become a cross-border public-health crisis: Indonesia has reported tens of thousands of associated respiratory infections, while Greenpeace estimates that 35 million people nationally…
Divers and scientists say the slumping of soft corals has returned around South Korea’s Jeju island after the phenomenon was first scientifically documented there in 2024.
Why it matters: Jeju’s soft corals serve as nursery habitat and form a foundational part of the marine ecosystem within the UNESCO-listed Jeju Island Biosphere Reserve. Their decline could therefore affect wider mar…
Jeju’s monitored soft-coral communities are exhibiting another slumping event similar to the collapse documented in 2024.[3][6]
Why now
South Korea has experienced a record heatwave and heavy southern rainfall, while prolonged marine heat and changing salinity are being examined as possible triggers.[3][6]
Watch next
Watch September water temperatures, the Oceans Ministry’s damage assessment and quantitative monitoring of coral losses.[3][6]
Why it matters: The proposal could accelerate development across a 23-million-acre Arctic reserve that contains sought-after oil formations but also supports caribou, migratory birds, subsistence activities in Nativ…
Fires burning across Borneo and Sumatra have blanketed parts of Indonesia in thick smog and sent hazardous smoke toward Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.
Why it matters: The emergency has become a regional public-health and education crisis: respiratory problems have increased, air quality reached unhealthy or worse levels across multiple countries, and large numbers…
