Weather Maps by Weather Underground©

Question of the Day
Where did this saying “The Devil is beating his wife” come from?

Weather News provided by BBC News Science & Environment©

• Ancient bone may prove legendary war elephant crossing of Alps
  It would be the first hard evidence that elephants were used in battle by General Hannibal.
• What is the dart frog toxin allegedly used to kill Alexei Navalny?
  The toxin, epibatidine, can be found in frogs in the wild in South America or manufactured in a lab.
• Supersized dump fire risk report kept from public
  Oxfordshire fire and rescue service says releasing its waste site report could put safety at risk.
• Are wetter winters and frequent flooding here to stay?
  Many places across the UK have experienced their wettest January in more than 100 years.
• Businesses face extinction unless they protect nature, major report warns
  Experts call for urgent action by businesses to restore the natural systems that keep them running.
• UK's £8bn research fund faces 'hard decisions' as it pauses new grants
  UKRI boss Ian Chapman said it had been told by the government to "focus and do fewer things better".
• UK launches plan to tackle 'forever chemicals' amid growing concerns
  Increasing testing for PFAS is part of the UK's first ever national plan for tackling the substances.
• Street where residents are terrified of flooding to be bulldozed
  Homes on a street at severe risk of flooding will be bought by a local council.
• Treasures found on HS2 route stored in secret warehouse
  Archaeological finds from the planned HS2 train line have been shown exclusively to the BBC.
• Sunken Thames barges create new island for birds
  The National Trust describes the Northey Island project as "a bold marine engineering feat".
• UK homes to get £15bn for solar and green tech to cut energy bills
  The government has announced the details of its long-awaited Warm Homes Plan which promises to cut energy bills.
• Global temperatures dipped in 2025 but more heat records on way, scientists warn
  The last three years were Earth's hottest on record, as humanity's carbon emissions continue to heat the planet.
• Rare Iron Age war trumpet and boar standard found
  The discoveries are "extraordinarily rare", say the archaeologists who helped find them.
• How Christmas trees are getting a new lease of life
  Some businesses are helping to recycle and reuse trees in a bid to reduce landfill and emissions.
• 'This is our future,' climate adviser warns as 2025 to break heat records
  The Met Office says that 2025 is likely to be the UK's hottest year since records began.
• Government rolls back nature protections to boost housing
  Critics say government changes to a flagship biodiversity policy could stall nature recovery.
• Landmark deal to cut global shipping emissions in tatters after US pressure
  President Trump intervened in the talks calling the deal a "green scam".
• Nasa's mega Moon rocket arrives at launch pad for Artemis II mission
  Final preparations now get underway for the first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years.
• When does the Nasa Moon mission launch and who are the Artemis II crew?
  The first crewed Moon mission in 50 years could launch in February, ahead of a future lunar landing.
• SpaceX pulls off Starship rocket launch in much-needed comeback
  The Starship rocket is critical to the company's hopes of one day carrying people to the Moon and Mars.
• Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 astronaut, dies aged 97
  The commander of Apollo 13 famously rescued his men from near certain death in space.
• Nasa Apollo missions: Stories of the last Moon men
  Of the 24 Nasa astronauts who travelled to the Moon in the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s, just five remain.
• Nasa to put nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2030 - US media
  The reactor would provide power for humans on the Moon but there are questions about feasibility.
• Soviet-era spacecraft 'likely' to have re-entered Earth's atmosphere
  The spacecraft, which launched in 1972 on a mission to Venus, circled Earth for over five decades.
• The truth about life on other planets - and what it means for humans
  Could discoveries of alien life ever change the human psyche in how we view ourselves and each other?
• Astronauts Butch and Suni finally back on Earth
  Dolphins circled their capsule after it landed off the coast of Florida.
• Why scientists are counting tiny marine creatures, from Space
  Differences in seawater colour could reveal how tiny Antarctic creatures are faring in a warming world.
• Asteroid contains building blocks of life, say scientists
  Bennu contains minerals and thousands of organic molecules, including the chemical components that make up DNA.
• SpaceX Starship test fails after Texas launch
  Officials at Elon Musk's company said the upper stage was lost, minutes after it launched.
• Rocket launch challenges Elon Musk's space dominance
  Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's space company blasts its first rocket into orbit in a challenge to Elon Musk.
• Future of space travel: Could robots really replace human astronauts?
  Advances in technology raise questions about the need to send people to space - and the risks and cost
• New study on moons of Uranus raises chance of life
  The planet Uranus and its five biggest moons may not be the sterile worlds scientists have long thought.
• Trump eyes Venezuela visit – but obstacles to his oil plan remain
  The US president wants American energy firms to start extracting the crude but they are reluctant.
• MPs fear data centre boom could derail Miliband's net zero plans
  A senior Labour MP says emission from data centres "have been highlighted as a key area of concern".
• Are wetter winters and frequent flooding here to stay?
  Many places across the UK have experienced their wettest January in more than 100 years.
• More solar farms on the way after record renewables auction
  The results have been welcomed by climate and clean energy groups but could face opposition from local communities.
• Businesses face extinction unless they protect nature, major report warns
  Experts call for urgent action by businesses to restore the natural systems that keep them running.
• Street where residents are terrified of flooding to be bulldozed
  Homes on a street at severe risk of flooding will be bought by a local council.
• Polar bears on Norwegian islands fatter and healthier despite ice loss, scientists say
  Scientists think that Svalbard bears have adapted to recent ice loss by eating more land-based prey.
• Nasa's mega Moon rocket arrives at launch pad for Artemis II mission
  Final preparations now get underway for the first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years.
• Intriguing finds could solve mystery of women in medieval cemetery
  There is growing evidence that the women were part of an early female religious community.
• UK company sends factory with 1,000C furnace into space
  A factory in space has been switched on and has reached temperatures of about 1,000C.
• Bats are seeking sanctuary in churches - but they're making an unholy mess
  A new study estimates that about half of all churches in England have bats living in them.
• 'It's harder to be a parent than a space shuttle commander', trailblazing Nasa pilot tells BBC
  The BBC speaks to astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command a Nasa spacecraft.
• The science of soulmates: Is there someone out there exactly right for you?
  For many, the idea of soulmates still shapes how love is understood.
• The debate about whether the NHS should use magic mushrooms to treat depression
  Many clinical trials to test the use of psychedelic medicines for conditions such as depression have been underway since 2022 - with surprising results
• COP30: Trump and many leaders are skipping it, so does the summit still have a point?
  The US president is notably absent from these UN climate talks, as are other world leaders, all of which prompts questions about the purpose of COP today.
• Britain's energy bills problem - and why firms are paid huge sums to stop producing power
  Could the government's radical plan to change the way the UK distributes electricity really bring down bills - or just lead to a postcode lottery?
• These robots can clean, exercise - and care for you in old age. Would you trust them to?
  It sounds like something from a sci-fi film - but some scientists believe this clever new tech could help alleviate strains on the UK care system
• BBC Inside Science
  What would it really take to build a city on the moon?
• BBC Inside Science
  New research on how forever chemicals get into our environment.
• BBC Inside Science
  GPS is vulnerable to interference, so how can we make navigating at sea safer?
• BBC Inside Science
  50 years since Concorde’s first commercial flight, is aviation going supersonic again?

National Geographic©

• Chemical Exposure Linked to Billions in Health Care Costs
  Chemicals that mimic estrogen and other hormones are costing the EU $175 billion per year in health care, according to new research.
• As Smog Thins in L.A., Dramatic Evidence of Kids' Healthier Lungs
  New study shows Los Angeles-area kids have fewer breathing problems now than they did in the 1990s.
• Lack of Snow Leaves California's 'Water Tower' Running Low
  Rising temperatures and declining snowpack in the mountains mean that the drought across the western U.S. is about to get even worse.
• Arctic Ship Breaks Free of Ice for Historic Expedition
  A Norwegian research vessel will spend six months on the sea ice to study the changing Arctic.
• How Geothermal Could Cleanly Power the Planet: Indonesia's Tale
  The Earth's heat could power homes and businesses worldwide, but it's barely been tapped. Indonesia is trying to change that.
• Dramatic New Video Shows Volcano Forming an Island
  A fast growing island off Japan is seen in new video from the Japanese Coast Guard.
• Corn for Home Heat: A Green Idea That Never Quite Popped
  Some enterprising Americans burn kernels to keep warm in winter, but there's a reason the green heating concept hasn't taken off.
• What You Don't Know About History's Most Famous Scientists
  In the 11th and 12th centuries, Muslim scientists were way ahead of contemporaries in Christian Europe.
• New Theory Behind Dozens of Craters Found in Siberia
  Scientists say melting pingos, and not methane hydrates, are likely to blame for the dramatic craters.
• Miami's Choice: Bigger Ships or Coral Reefs?
  Dredging in Biscayne Bay inflicts heavy damage on North America's only coral reef tract.
• Quirky Winds Fuel Brazil's Devastating Drought, Amazon's Flooding
  With severe water shortages in Brazil's cities and destructive floods in the Amazon, the boom-and-bust phenomenon may be South America's new normal.
• 'Shark Lady' Eugenie Clark, Famed Marine Biologist, Has Died
  Eugenie Clark, a marine biologist and ichthyologist, who died on Wednesday, helped the public understand and appreciate the much maligned shark.
• Canadian First Nations Seek to Protect Forest Homeland
  By winning protection for their boreal forest, indigenous Canadians help slow global warming.
• Panama Canal: Superhighway for Invasive Species?
  The Panama Canal is being widened. That means bigger ships and more cargo for Gulf and East Coast ports-and more alien species too.
• 'This Is Really Extreme Science': Adrift in the Arctic Ice With a Shipload of Norwegians
  Our correspondent reports from a Norwegian research ship that's drifting inside the Arctic ice cap, gathering data needed to predict its future.
• Two Reasons Why Obama's Keystone Veto Won't Decide Pipeline
  The never-ending saga of the Keystone XL pipeline gets new twists with potential problems in Nebraska and South Dakota.
• New U.S. Dietary Recommendations First to Consider Environmental Impact
  "Linking health, dietary guidance, and the environment will promote human health," new guidelines say.
• Ancient Fellowship of Fishermen, Dolphins at Risk in Myanmar
  Fishing gangs on the Irrawaddy River use electricity to illegally increase their catch.
• Nearly 200 Whales Stranded on New Zealand Beach
  Nearly 200 pilot whales are stranded on a New Zealand beach, prompting a massive rescue effort.
• 100 Years Later, Antarctic Explorers' Huts Look Frozen in Time
  Whiskey and all, the wooden dwellings of early explorers now look as they did during the first treks to the continent, thanks to a decade-long restoration effort.
• New Study Shows Plastic in Oceans Is on the Rise
  The amount of trash flowing into the world's oceans is worse than thought—eight million tons a year, says new study.
• Mysterious Sea Lion Die-Off Strikes Again on California Coast
  Tiny sea lion pups are washing up on beaches in unusually high numbers—for the third winter in a row.
• Fighting Over Herring—the Little Fish That Feeds Multitudes
  Pacific herring stocks are shadows of their former abundance. But the Canadian government wants to reopen fishing off British Columbia.
• To Save Coral Reefs, First Save the Mangroves
  Coral reefs are in danger of bleaching in open water, but in the sheltering roots of mangroves, some have found a home.
• National Academy: There’s a Good and a Bad Way to “Geoengineer” the Planet
  We should be figuring out how to pull CO₂ back out of the atmosphere, says a National Research Council report. But we should be wary of launching a planet-cooling chemical sunshade.