State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

climate change133

  • To the tip of the Andes

    To the tip of the Andes

    In the semi-arid Andes, glaciers store water and control the runoff of mountain rivers. They feed water to big cities such as Lima and Arequipa and irrigate the surrounding lowlands. But as the planet warms, mountain glaciers in the tropics are receding steadily. Despite their paramount importance, we don’t know the scale and the rate…

  • Climate Change Threatens Fragile Ecosystem in the Andes

    Climate Change Threatens Fragile Ecosystem in the Andes

    A new audio slideshow about the páramo ecosystem in the Andes, at risk of becoming drier because of changing climate conditions

  • Losing Our Coral Reefs

    Losing Our Coral Reefs

    Coral reefs, the “rainforests of the sea,” are some of the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems on earth. But tragically, they are in crisis.

  • Time and Technology and the Really Down Deep

    Time and Technology and the Really Down Deep

    Two years before Google Earth was launched, Bill Ryan and Suzanne Carbotte, oceanographers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, began a project to transform the way we look at the ocean. They started collecting reams of data that had been gathered by scientists sailing on research vessels all over the world since the 1980s, one ship…

  • Rhone Glacier Finely Tuned to Climate Changes

    Rhone Glacier Finely Tuned to Climate Changes

    By chiseling hunks of stone from recently exposed bedrock near the edge of the Rhone Glacier, scientists were able to decipher the comings and goings of the ice over the past 11,000 years. That should help predict what will happen to glaciers in the warming world to come.

  • Cities Lead on Climate Problems, and Solutions

    New Report Analyzes Urban Areas Across the World

  • Tree Rings Open Door on 1,100 Years of El Niño

    Tree Rings Open Door on 1,100 Years of El Niño

    Scientists have used tree-ring data from the American Southwest to reconstruct a 1,100-year history of the El Niño cycle that shows that, when the earth warms, the climate acts up. The research may improve scientists’ ability to predict future climate and the effects of global warming.

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/15

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/15

    Climate Scientist Fears His “Wedges” Made It Seem Too Easy, National Geographic, May 17 In their 2004 paper, “Stabilization Wedges: Solving the Climate Problem for the Next 50 Years with Current Technologies,” Princeton physics and engineering professor, Robert Socolow, and his colleague, ecologist Stephen Pacala proposed a theory to check any increase in greenhouse gas…

  • A Focus on the Thinning Northwest Greenland Glaciers

    A Focus on the Thinning Northwest Greenland Glaciers

    Blog by Hakim Abdi, LDEO Satellite measures showing thinning ice on the Northwest Greenland glaciers prompted Operation IceBridge to include annual flights over this region. The area runs along the Baffin Bay coast, which is often covered in fog and low lying clouds forcing delays and reschedules. With the end of our season in sight…

Colorful icons representing nature, sustainable living, and renewable energy with text "Earth Day 2026"

The first Earth Day in 1970 ignited a movement to stop polluting our planet. Today, our scientists and experts are tackling the most pressing challenges to achieve real-world impact. This Earth Day, join us in our commitment to realizing a just and sustainable future for our planet. Visit our Earth Day website for ideas, resources, and inspiration.

  • To the tip of the Andes

    To the tip of the Andes

    In the semi-arid Andes, glaciers store water and control the runoff of mountain rivers. They feed water to big cities such as Lima and Arequipa and irrigate the surrounding lowlands. But as the planet warms, mountain glaciers in the tropics are receding steadily. Despite their paramount importance, we don’t know the scale and the rate…

  • Climate Change Threatens Fragile Ecosystem in the Andes

    Climate Change Threatens Fragile Ecosystem in the Andes

    A new audio slideshow about the páramo ecosystem in the Andes, at risk of becoming drier because of changing climate conditions

  • Losing Our Coral Reefs

    Losing Our Coral Reefs

    Coral reefs, the “rainforests of the sea,” are some of the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems on earth. But tragically, they are in crisis.

  • Time and Technology and the Really Down Deep

    Time and Technology and the Really Down Deep

    Two years before Google Earth was launched, Bill Ryan and Suzanne Carbotte, oceanographers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, began a project to transform the way we look at the ocean. They started collecting reams of data that had been gathered by scientists sailing on research vessels all over the world since the 1980s, one ship…

  • Rhone Glacier Finely Tuned to Climate Changes

    Rhone Glacier Finely Tuned to Climate Changes

    By chiseling hunks of stone from recently exposed bedrock near the edge of the Rhone Glacier, scientists were able to decipher the comings and goings of the ice over the past 11,000 years. That should help predict what will happen to glaciers in the warming world to come.

  • Cities Lead on Climate Problems, and Solutions

    New Report Analyzes Urban Areas Across the World

  • Tree Rings Open Door on 1,100 Years of El Niño

    Tree Rings Open Door on 1,100 Years of El Niño

    Scientists have used tree-ring data from the American Southwest to reconstruct a 1,100-year history of the El Niño cycle that shows that, when the earth warms, the climate acts up. The research may improve scientists’ ability to predict future climate and the effects of global warming.

  • Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/15

    Climate News Roundup: Week of 5/15

    Climate Scientist Fears His “Wedges” Made It Seem Too Easy, National Geographic, May 17 In their 2004 paper, “Stabilization Wedges: Solving the Climate Problem for the Next 50 Years with Current Technologies,” Princeton physics and engineering professor, Robert Socolow, and his colleague, ecologist Stephen Pacala proposed a theory to check any increase in greenhouse gas…

  • A Focus on the Thinning Northwest Greenland Glaciers

    A Focus on the Thinning Northwest Greenland Glaciers

    Blog by Hakim Abdi, LDEO Satellite measures showing thinning ice on the Northwest Greenland glaciers prompted Operation IceBridge to include annual flights over this region. The area runs along the Baffin Bay coast, which is often covered in fog and low lying clouds forcing delays and reschedules. With the end of our season in sight…