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Earth science

The small village of Blatten in the Swiss Alps was destroyed by a landslide after part of a glacier collapsed last week.

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science

Jun 2, 2025

How Switzerland’s Birch glacier collapsed

By Robin Millard

There are strong theories on the causes, and to what degree it is linked to climate change — but these are yet to be confirmed by scientific analysis.

Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / Longform

May 26, 2025

Do Japan’s trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?

By Eric Margolis

Trees have long occupied a sacred place in Japanese culture. In the fast pace of the 21st century, however, they’re increasingly losing out to progress.

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / Longform

Apr 28, 2025

If the ‘Big One’ hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami

By Alex K.T. Martin

Last year the government issued its first “megaquake” advisory. Ever since, those living in the areas it’s expected to hit have been preparing for the worst.

Bleached and dead coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef, located 270 kilometers north of the city of Cairns, Australia, on April 5, 2024

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science

Mar 17, 2025

From oil spills to new species: How tech reveals the ocean

By Sara Hussein

New technologies are helping to reveal hidden oil spills, speed up the discovery of new species and uncover the impact of light pollution.

The A23a iceberg is seen in the waters of the Southern Ocean off Antarctica on Jan. 14.

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science

Jan 25, 2025

Mega-iceberg drifts toward Antarctic penguin island

The gigantic wall of ice is moving slowly from Antarctica on a potential collision course with a crucial wildlife breeding ground in the South Atlantic.

Debris from Hurricane Helene on a roadside as residents evacuate before the arrival of Hurricane Milton on Oct. 7 in St. Pete Beach, Florida.

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science

Nov 30, 2024

Atlantic hurricane season ends, leaving scientists to ponder the future

By Lauren Rosenthal

The Atlantic spawned 11 hurricanes this season, above the annual average of seven. Also above average was the number of major hurricanes.

A damaged road in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 6, after a major earthquake struck the area on New Year's Day

ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / OUR PLANET

Oct 6, 2024

Important tool or alarmism? Japan experts split on megaquake advisories.

By Kathleen Benoza

Supporters say the advisories are about reducing risk, but critics see a system that isn’t based on science and one in which the cons outweigh the pros.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan’s landscape that they often go unnoticed.

Why Japan’s utility poles won’t be disappearing anytime soon

By Alex K.T. Martin

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