Weather tracker: Australia bushfires could be most dangerous since ‘black summer’ 12 December 2025 at 05:00

Weather tracker: Australia bushfires could be most dangerous since ‘black summer’

12 December 2025 at 05:00

Fires are burning across NSW, with Tasmania also facing an emergency, while in the US, Washington state braces for floods

Bushfires have been ravaging Australia, with more than 50 burning throughout New South Wales, destroying homes and causing at least one death. Nine blazes remained out of control on Monday as flames ripped through homes and critical infrastructure. Scorching temperatures – peaking at 41C in Koolewong – combined with fierce, erratic winds to spread the fires rapidly and made them harder to control.

On Sunday night an Australian firefighter was killed after a tree fell on him while he worked on a fire near Bulahdelah, about 150 miles (250km) north of Sydney. The blaze scorched 3,500 hectares (8,600 acres) and destroyed four homes over the weekend. NSW, one of Australia’s most fire-prone regions, is particularly vulnerable because of its hot, dry climate and vast eucalyptus forests, which shed oils that become highly flammable.

Lawsuit Seeks to Stop Oil Exploration in Remote Areas of the Arctic 11 December 2025 at 19:29

Lawsuit Seeks to Stop Oil Exploration in Remote Areas of the Arctic

NYT: Science

By:Karen Zraick

11 December 2025 at 19:29

A federal lawsuit argues that proposed work by ConocoPhillips could threaten delicate ecosystems in the largest tract of public land in the U.S.

A ConocoPhillips oil drilling site on the North Slope of Alaska near the Willow site, another ConocoPhillips oil exploration project.

A dead whale shows up on your beach. What do you do with the 40-ton carcass? 10 December 2025 at 11:00

A dead whale shows up on your beach. What do you do with the 40-ton carcass?

The Guardian

By:Chandra Brown

10 December 2025 at 11:00

A fin whale washed ashore in Anchorage and was left there for months. Then a self-described ‘wacko’ museum director made a plan

When a whale dies, its body descends to the bottom of the deep sea in a transformative phenomenon called a whale fall. A whale’s death jump-starts an explosion of life, enough to feed and sustain a deep-ocean ecosystem for decades.

There are a lot of ways whales can die. Migrating whales lose their way and, unable to find their way back from unfamiliar waters, are stranded. They can starve when prey disappears or fall to predators such as orcas. They become bycatch, tangled in fishing lines and nets. Mass whale deaths have been linked to marine heatwaves and the toxic algae blooms that follow.