China’s desertification is causing trouble across Asia
As grassland turns to desert, dust is blown into the atmosphere and across oceans.
Primary Results
Beijing’s ‘sandstorm’ was actually a dust storm – and that’s much worse
It was tiny dust that turned the sky orange.
China and Mongolia are battling to control massive dust storms
Some in China are blaming Mongolia for the dust storms they are experiencing. But what are the real causes?
From lunar nights to Martian dust storms: why batteries struggle in space
As plans for Moon bases gather pace across the globe, battery science may decide whether humans can live beyond Earth.
Declining soil health is a global concern – here’s how AI could help
Knowing where best to scale up soil health solutions will help protect people, businesses and ecosystems from extreme events.
We simulated how a modern dust bowl would impact global food supplies and the result is devastating
The original Dust Bowl crashed US wheat production. Today, it would reduce global stocks by a third.
A social species? Newly discovered fossils show early dinosaurs lived in herds
The complex social behaviour in early dinosaurs observed in a new study lines up with other fossil evidence that dinosaurs were more bird-like than crocodilian-like.
Drought, water shortages and crop failures: how does the medieval warm period compare with today?
Monks wrote chronicles about the devastating heat of the 13th century, and detail what happened.
What it would have been like to experience the dinosaur‑killing asteroid armageddon: a blow‑by‑blow account
A week after the asteroid impact, rotting vegetation, smoke and sulphur create a stinky planet. Plant and animal survivors succumb to the corrosive acid rain.
The Caspian Sea has lost an area nearly the size of Sicily: human activities are a major reason why
The Caspian Sea is becoming warmer and shallower, with damaging economic and environmental effects.