The Latest Breaking News from Earth

Extreme weather is by definition rare on our planet. Ferocious storms, searing heatwaves and biting cold snaps illustrate what the climate is capable of at its worst. However, since Earth’s climate is rapidly warming, predominantly due to fossil fuel burning, the range of possible weather conditions, including extremes, is changing.

The UN secretary general Antonio Guterres has made an urgent call for a global action plan to tackle extreme heat. His recent speech in New York came as the average temperature of the Earth’s surface has broken records twice and followed 12 consecutive months as the warmest months ever.

Scientists have analyzed images of the twin asteroids Didymos and Dimorphous taken by NASA's DART mission before it impacted the smaller space rock, revealing their age and origins.

Earth was cooler than usual in the 16th and 17th centuries and scientists are still trying to figure out why. New analysis of sunspot drawings by Kepler, in 1607, may shed some light.