Climate crisis intensifies with species facing extinction, extreme weather threats, and policy reversals as Pacific gray whales decline, El Niño strengthens, and US environmental rankings slip amid energy policy shifts.
Key Points
Pacific gray whales face 'catastrophic' die-off as climate change disrupts their food supply, with conservationists urging the Trump administration to relist the species under the Endangered Species Act due to their 'very, very serious trouble' status.
A historic El Niño phenomenon is strengthening and models show overwhelming probability it will rank among the largest recorded since 1950, potentially supercharging extreme weather events globally.
Lake Powell, the US's second-largest reservoir, plunges toward unprecedented low levels as the western water crisis deepens, with experts warning the critical system is careening toward a breaking point amid regional warming and drying.
Trump administration has directly spent $2.7 billion in taxpayer money to kill clean energy initiatives and keep coal alive, facing criticism that policy changes will force higher energy bills on working Americans.
US environmental performance slips to 27th place in Yale University's biennial climate progress scorecard, while European nations Estonia, Luxembourg, and UK top rankings for tackling pollution and environmental issues.
New York state sues 3M, DuPont, and other companies over 'forever chemicals' (PFAS) in consumer goods, alleging corporations hid environmental and health risks for decades even as they began phasing them out.
Fast-spreading wildfire in southern Spain kills at least 12 people with 23 missing, including four British nationals, highlighting climate-fueled extreme fire dangers in Mediterranean regions.
Wyoming tightens wastewater regulations after Meta datacenter contractor flushed contaminated water, though officials confirmed drinking water supplies were not affected and Meta pledged to be a 'good neighbor.'
US Department of Energy study reveals the agency underestimated potential danger from a possible plutonium leak at Los Alamos lab, with research showing an accident could cause more fatalities than previously estimated.
Bird flu H5N1 poses emerging pandemic threat for 2026 if the virus makes the jump to humans, potentially leading to consequences worse than COVID-19 according to recent threat assessments.