Background Articles

Arctic communities and scientists report a crisis from increasing plastic waste, which contaminates traditional food sources and threatens the health of Alaska Native populations.

Due to a mild winter and warmer year, this wildfire season is looking to be worse, not better, than the last

Washington State declares a statewide drought emergency due to significantly low snowpack levels, with expectations of less than 75% of the normal water supply.

A whopping 132.6 inches of snow -- more than 11 feet -- fell on the city this winter, as of the latest measurement Friday.

Federal regulators have significantly reduced the Western Arctic caribou harvest limit for local subsistence hunters from five animals per day to 15 per year, with only one cow allowed, due to the herd's continued decline and low cow survival rates. Non-local hunting is banned until the herd recovers.

Eider populations along the Norwegian coast have declined by up to 80%, with a nationwide decrease of 35-40%, and the reasons remain unknown.

Russia's objection to U.S. claims off Alaska highlights tensions in maritime relations and underscores the U.S. disadvantage in territorial disputes due to its non-ratification of the Law of the Sea treaty.

Ahead of Wednesday’s anticipated severe weather, county officials are making some important announcements.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has issued an updated damage report from Tuesday and Wednesday’s severe weather. According to MEMA, one person in Grenada County died. Six were injured, two of which were in Scott County. Details regarding where the other four injuries took place have not been released...

Juneau implements a new daily limit of five large cruise ships to manage record-breaking tourism and address local concerns about traffic and quality of life.

It funds maps, sirens and education. "Losing this program, really, at the end of the day could mean deaths in Alaska," says a state official.

The years-long debate is taking on increasing urgency as subsistence harvesting bans continue and the policy responses under consideration threaten to impose steep costs on the industry.

The $100 million Pretty Rocks Bridge will cross the site of a landslide that has closed the road at Mile 45 since 2021.

Canada's record wildfires contribute significantly to global non-tropical tree cover loss, with implications for climate change and biodiversity.

Canada and Alaska have agreed to a seven-year fishing moratorium on Yukon River chinook salmon to aid the species' recovery, following years of declining numbers.

Canada's mild winter has caused the longest recent delay in opening the Arctic ice road, essential for diamond mine access and goods transport, highlighting climate change impacts on infrastructure.

Alaska researchers are developing a method to detect landslide-triggered tsunamis, aiming to provide early warnings for such unpredictable events.

Sea ice loss, warming waters and the northward expansion of fish species like pollock are all contributing to a pattern in the Bering Strait region known as “borealization.” That means the Arctic ecosystem is becoming more like the boreal region to the south.

Emergency measures are in place in Kotzebue after a failure in the Swan Lake Loop left 74 households without water, prompting local and state officials to declare an emergency and take action to provide services and repair infrastructure.

Alaska's new Sustainable Energy Action Plan aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions and promote renewable energy, excluding oil industry cuts.