Nearly half of the major cities in China are sinking, a new study finds. Subsidence exacerbates flooding related to sea level rise from climate change. Parts of Shanghai have subsided up to 9 feet in the last century. Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
An empty room is pictured in a concrete house in Matam, Senegal. Many families don't have electricity nor the means to own a fan or air conditioning to help quell the intense heat at night, temperatures can stay around 35 degree Celsius throughout the night. John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The grass pea — Lathyrus sativus — is hardy and drought resistant. It tastes like a sugar snap pea, although if that's all you were to eat its natural toxin could make you sick. But breeders might be able to address that issue. Sadasiba Behera/Getty Images hide caption
Atypically heavy rains in the United Arab Emirates on Monday and Tuesday caused flooding, flight cancellations and school closures. Vehicles were abandoned on highways like this one in Dubai. Francois Nel/Getty Images hide caption
Wildfire smoke covered huge swaths of the U.S. in 2023, including places like New York City, where it has historically been uncommon. New research shows the health costs of breathing in wildfire smoke can be high. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images hide caption
A set of four tubes known as the "river outlet works," pictured on Nov. 2, 2022, could soon be the only way for water to make it through Glen Canyon Dam. Recently-discovered damage to those tubes has raised questions about their role going forward. Alex Hager/KUNC hide caption
Record levels of heat in the ocean are causing a worldwide mass bleaching event on coral reefs, as seen here on the Great Barrier Reef. Scientists are working on creating more heat-resistant coral to help restore reefs. Veronique Mocellin /AIMS hide caption
A man tries to work on his stalled SUV in standing water in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday. Jon Gambrell/AP hide caption
A motorcyclist and car drivers drive through a flooded road caused by heavy rain in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, April 15, 2024. Muhammad Sajjad/AP hide caption
Scientists Carly Biedul, Coordinator at The Great Salt Lake Institute, Bonnie Baxter, Director at The Great Salt Lake Institute, and Heidi Hoven, Senior Manager at the Gillmor Sanctuary and Audubon Rockies, showed us around a bird sanctuary where many species of birds and insects the the birds feed on are affected by the recession of The Great Salt Lake. Lindsay D'Addato for NPR hide caption
A man works in a Florida agricultural field on a hot, humid day in July 2023, one of the hottest months ever recorded in the state. There are no federal heat regulations. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
President of the European Court of Human Rights Síofra O'Leary, center, speaks Tuesday, April 9, 2024 in Strasbourg, eastern France. Jean-Francois Badias/AP hide caption
People demonstrate outside the European Court of Human Rights Tuesday, April 9, 2024 in Strasbourg, eastern France. Jean-Francois Badias/AP hide caption
A volunteer distributes drinking water next to a bus stand on a hot summer day in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, March 21, 2024. Mahesh Kumar A./AP hide caption
Yu Darvish #11 of the San Diego Padres throws a pitch during the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park on April 2, 2024 in San Diego, California. Brandon Sloter/Getty Images hide caption
A mother humpback whale and calf are seen on the coast of Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, Brazil on August 22, 2023. Carl de Souza/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A woman and her child stand in front of a landscape denuded by gold mining in the southern Peruvian jungle in the Madre de Dios region. This picture is from 2015. Today, there's an effort to plant saplings to revive the forest. Ernesto Benavides/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
During spawning corals release their eggs and sperm, filling the water like confetti, which combine to create the next generation of reef builders. Marie Roman/AIMS hide caption
Science writer David Baron witnesses his first total solar eclipse in Aruba, 1998. He says seeing one is "like you've left the solar system and are looking back from some other world." Paul Myers hide caption
Sea levels in Guyana are rising several times faster than the global average. High tides sometimes spill over the seawall that is meant to protect the coastline. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption
The EPA has completed a nationwide rule designed to accelerate the transition to clean trucks. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
The country's two biggest reservoirs are on the Colorado River. Water levels at Lake Powell have dropped steeply during the two-decade megadrought. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
Chevron operates a major refinery in Richmond, Calif., a community with high childhood asthma rates. It also owns the city's dominant news site, putting its own spin on events, and runs similar websites in Texas and Ecuador. Tracy J. Lee for NPR hide caption
The coal power plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming, owned by Rocky Mountain Power, is scheduled to be decommissioned next year. Kirk Siegler/NPR hide caption