Demand for air conditioning will only grow as temperatures rise, sending energy consumption soaring. But there are some interesting ways to deal with the issue, finds Graham Lawton
Category: climatology
How plants sense heat during the day
For a decade, scientists have believed that plants sensed temperature mainly through specialized proteins, and mainly at night when the air is cool. New research suggests that during the day, another signal takes over. Sugar, produced in sunlight, helps plants detect heat and decide when to grow.
The study shows that plants rely on multiple heat-sensing systems, and that sugar plays a central and previously unrecognized role in daytime temperature response. The findings, published in Nature Communications, reshape a long-standing view of how plants interact with their environment and could influence future strategies for climate-resilient agriculture.
“Our textbooks say that proteins like phytochrome B and early flowering 3 (ELF3) are the main thermosensors in plants,” the senior author said. “But those models are based on nighttime data. We wanted to know what’s happening during the day, when light and temperature are both high because these are the conditions most plants actually experience.”
EVs Getting Cleaner More Quickly Than Expected in Europe: Study
As the push for sustainable transportation intensifies globally, a new study from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) reveals that battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) in Europe are becoming significantly cleaner at a pace faster than previously anticipated. This development comes as the continent’s electricity mix transitions toward more renewable sources, providing a profound climate advantage over traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
Key Findings of the Study
Released on Wednesday, the ICCT study highlights that BEVs sold in Europe today produce 73 percent fewer life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to ICE vehicles. This figure marks a noteworthy 24-percent improvement from the organization’s prior estimates in 2021, emphasizing the rapid progress of BEVs as Europe enhances its renewable energy initiatives.
Frozen, but not sealed: Arctic Ocean remained open to life during ice ages, study suggests
For years, scientists have debated whether a giant thick ice shelf once covered the entire Arctic Ocean during the coldest ice ages. Now, a new study published in Science Advances challenges this idea as the research team found no evidence for the presence of a massive ~1km ice shelf. Instead, the Arctic Ocean appears to have been covered by seasonal sea ice—leaving open water and life-sustaining conditions even during the harshest periods of cold periods during the last 750,000 years.
The paper is titled “Seasonal sea ice characterized the glacial Arctic–Atlantic gateway over the past 750,000 years.”
This discovery gives insights crucial for our understanding of how the Arctic has responded to climate change in the past—and how it might behave in the future.
Scientists use lightning to make ammonia out of thin air
University of Sydney researchers have harnessed human-made lightning to develop a more efficient method of generating ammonia—one of the world’s most important chemicals. Ammonia is also the main ingredient of fertilizers that account for almost half of all global food production.
The research was published in Angewandte Chemie International edition.
The team have successfully developed a more straightforward method to produce ammonia (NH3) in gas form. Previous efforts by other laboratories produced ammonia in a solution (ammonium, NH4+), which requires more energy and processes to transform it into the final gas product.
Climate satellite MethaneSAT backed by Bezos and Google fails in space after just 1 year
MethaneSAT was designed as a sort of check against commercial climate measurements in order to help policymakers independently verify industry emissions reports. “MethaneSAT is specifically designed to catalyze methane reductions by creating unprecedented transparency,” the mission’s website states.
EDF lists 10 mission partners credited with bringing the $88 million satellite to fruition, including BAE Systems, Harvard University, the New Zealand Space Agency, Bezos Earth Fund, Google and more. Though MethaneSAT is now out of service, mission operators say they’re still committed to turning the data they were able to collect into actionable results.
“We will continue to process data that we have retrieved from the satellite and will be releasing additional scenes of global oil and gas production region-scale emissions over the coming months,” EDT officials said. “To solve the climate challenge requires bold action and risk-taking and this satellite was at the leading edge of science, technology and advocacy. ”
Grok in Tesla’s Leaked / Tesla Expands Robotaxi Invites / Surprising EV Sales Data
Questions to inspire discussion.
🏭 Q: How much LFP cell production capacity does Tesla have in Nevada? A: Tesla’s Nevada facility has equipment for 7–8 GWh of LFP cell production across two production lines, potentially for EVe and grid storage cells.
Tesla Business and Sales.
📊 Q: What are the expectations for Tesla’s Q2 PND report? A: Troy Teslike estimates 356,000 deliveries, while analyst consensus is 385,000, but PND reports are becoming less significant for Tesla’s business model.
💰 Q: What’s crucial for Tesla to become a multi-trillion dollar company? A: Unsupervised FSD rollout and Optimus sales at scale are key, not just increased car or megapack sales.
🇨🇳 Q: How are Tesla’s China sales performing? A: Latest week sales were 20,684 units, down 4.9% QoQ and 11% YoY, but year-to-date figures show Tesla China is closing the gap, down only 4.6% YoY.
Volcano Alert: Experts Predict Eruptions in France Imminent!
Though the last volcanic eruption in Puy-de-Dôme dates back to ancient times, there could be new occurrences in the future within the Central Massif. It is indeed true that a layer of lava lies beneath the region and is expected to eventually resurface.
In France, Puy de Dôme is not only known as a department but primarily as a volcano approximately 11,000 years old, with its last eruption occurring in 5,760 BC. Since then, no lava has flowed within France. However, this might not be a permanent situation, according to Guillaume Boudoire, a volcanologist at the Laboratory of Magmas and Volcanoes at Clermont Auvergne University. Interviewed by the Journal Du Net in an article published in April 2025, Boudoire spoke about a very likely “volcanic reactivation” in the Central Massif.
While the expert is certain of this reactivation, it’s crucial to note that forecasting future eruptions is extremely challenging. However, volcanic activity tends to follow cycles, alternating between active and dormant phases. The activity in the Central Massif is not extinguished but merely slumbering, having been dormant for 7,000 years.