2023 was the hottest year on record — by a long shot

After a year of record-breaking wildfires across Canada and the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth, it likely comes as no surprise that 2023 was the hottest year on record. According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), 2023 was 1.48 C warmer than the pre-industrial average from 1850–1900, beating out 2016’s record … Read more

Volcano in Iceland erupts after weeks of activity, evacuation of town

A volcanic eruption started Monday night on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula, turning the sky orange and prompting the country’s civil defence to be on high alert. The eruption appears to have occurred about four kilometres from the town of Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. Grainy webcam video showed the moment of the eruption as a flash of … Read more

COP28 reaches groundbreaking climate deal in Dubai calling for ‘transitioning away from fossil fuels’

After negotiators worked through the night, a new deal has been reached at COP28 which could signal the world’s desire to move away from fossil fuels over the next few decades in an effort to address climate change. Representatives from nearly 200 countries gathered in a public meeting in Dubai to support the new deal, one day … Read more

30 years ago, astronauts completed the Hubble telescope’s first repair. Here’s how

Thirty years ago, an 11-day space shuttle mission involving seven veteran astronauts performed the first servicing mission to correct the Hubble Space Telescope’s blurred vision. The unprecedented flight involved five spacewalks and would not have been possible without the assistance of the shuttle’s robotic Canadarm. The multi-billion dollar Hubble Space Telescope was a crown jewel … Read more

2023 set to be hottest year on record, UN says

The United Nations weather agency said Thursday that 2023 is all but certain to be the hottest year on record, warning of worrying trends that suggest increasing floods, wildfires, glacier melt and heat waves in the future. The World Meteorological Organization also warned that the average temperature for the year is up some 1.4 degrees C from … Read more

Solar storm expected to bring spectacular northern lights to Prairies

Christmas lights might not be the only thing lighting up these dark December nights, as a solar storm is expected to bring bright northern lights to the Prairies this weekend. Aurora borealis is considered among the greatest natural wonders and scientists say it starts with the sun. “The sun is sort of spewing off protons and electrons as a … Read more

Researchers used Hurricane Larry to prove ocean microplastics can be swept inland as air pollution

As Hurricane Larry lashed Newfoundland in 2021, university students from Halifax headed to a rural area in its track to find out whether the ocean might whip microplastics up into the atmosphere then transport them by air to otherwise pristine communities. The results, you could say, blew their socks off. “It was such, like, an astonishing result that we … Read more

Mini-satellite constructed by N.B. university students set to orbit Earth

A group of New Brunswick university students is one step closer to launching a mini-satellite into space. Satellite Violet is named after New Brunswick’s provincial flower and is about the size of a loaf of bread. It successfully passed the testing phase at the Canadian Space Agency in Montreal and is headed to the International Space Station … Read more