Background Articles

Winter drownings become more common on warmer days or when rain has fallen on snow, leaving the ice thinner, weaker, and less stable.

With homes dilapidating, shores eroding and staircases falling off the houses, Point Lay residents are living through some of the most severe consequences of the warming climate in Alaska.

The fatal grizzly attack in West Yellowstone has sparked a debate over the number of bears, with some arguing for delisting and state management to prevent future tragedies.

The Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation is warning spring melt could cause the tailings dam at the abandoned Mount Nansen mine in central Yukon to overflow or breach, which would send a toxic slurry into the environment.

Russian planes seeded clouds to bring down rain on huge wildfires raging in the Siberian region of Yakutia that in one place spread dangerously close to a hydroelectric power plant, authorities said on Monday.

There were no bugs buzzing around the lights in the parking lot.

Fair organizers say they’re concerned about the spread of bird flu.

The Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho is leading efforts to protect vulnerable community members from wildfire smoke indoors by distributing free portable air purifiers and providing education on indoor air quality. A nearby paper mill is a local source of emissions. But now, wildfire smoke is the main pollutant the reservation faces, a near-constant each summer.

Residents of Grindavik have evacuated the town as the threat of a volcanic eruption looms over Iceland.

Since 2020, members of a small group of killer whales have rammed into at least 673 vessels off the coasts of Portugal, Spain and Morocco — causing some to sink. The Spanish and Portuguese governments responded by tasking a group of experts with determining what was causing the whales to strike rudders, which are used to steer ships, and how to stop it.

Alaska Wildlife News is an online magazine published by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Most of Alaska sits atop permafrost. But the ground is thawing, leading to unexpected and sometimes catastrophic outcomes — what scientists have called a “slow disaster.”

Extreme weather, floods, fires and landslides related to climate change are shifting the way Canadian adventure sports enthusiasts approach backcountry — as risks get harder to predict.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is convening a high-level emergency meeting to discuss the wildfire situation in the Northwest Territories. "This is an example of how bad the forest fires have become now in our country where we're seeing unprecedented forest fires ... my thoughts are with the community."

A fire broke out on the nuclear-powered container ship Sevmorput in Murmansk, but information about the incident was scarcely communicated to the public.

The city told owners their buildings should not be occupied until snow is removed if they have a roof at risk of collapse.

Drifting icebergs can conflict with navigation routes and cause hazards for coastal communities and ships. Climate change is creating more ice shelf break-off than ever and scientists are keeping track of drifting patterns as a result.

A three-week evacuation odyssey ended for many Yellowknifers Wednesday, as people began to return home. The barricades outside of the city opened at 11 a.m., and cars began streaming in.

Kenai River flooding began last week when glacier-dammed lakes burst and caused water levels to rapidly rise. Water levels were already high due to recent rainfall.

The release was first detected last month at one of the company’s North Slope drill sites. A report from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, dated Friday, listed the cause of the release as under evaluation and said that future plans included a continuation of “source remediation operations.”