The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a La Niña watch on Thursday morning, indicating that the current strong El Niño may be headed for the exits.
Why it matters: If the tropical equatorial Pacific Ocean shifts into its cooler La Niña phase, a cascade of extreme weather and climate impacts could be touched off worldwide.
New data shows that the Earth reached a potentially ominous temperature milestone last month.
Why it matters: January 2024 marked the first time that the global average surface temperature anomaly exceeded 1.5°C during a 12-month period, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
The American West is the place to go if you want to spot some UFOs — especially (no surprise) Lincoln County, Nevada, home to the fabled Area 51, a top-secret U.S. Air Force base.
Why it matters: Discussion and reports of UFOs — or the more modern term, UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomenon) — have been going more mainstream in recent years amid a push for answers from lawmakers and others.
The Environmental Protection Agency just tightened standards for tiny, pervasive soot particles from construction sites, smokestacks, tailpipes, wildfires and other sources.
Why it matters: This form of air pollution is dangerous. It's linked to asthma, irregular heartbeats, bronchitis, even premature death in people with heart or lung disease, per the EPA.
Heavy rainfall and mountain snow from a "dangerous" atmospheric river slamming Southern California that brought a rare "high risk" of potentially deadly flooding in Los Angeles County this week is set to linger until at least Thursday.
The big picture: The storm that rapidly intensified Sunday off California's coast has resulted in at least four deaths and disrupted travel across the state. City of Los Angeles crews have responded to 383 mudslides, and there have been multiple road closures and water rescues across the state due to flooding.
