Alter

New data indicates the current El Niño is the strongest ever measured, driving a major shift in global weather patterns. Scientists say the event is altering rainfall and temperature patterns across continents, with potential impacts on droughts, floods and harvests worldwide. The finding is drawing wide attention as meteorologists track how the intensified pattern will affect weather in the months ahead.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission can single-handedly approve massive spaceflight projects, including satellite constellations large enough to alter the appearance of the night sky worldwide. Commentators note that despite public outcry over such projects, space law experts say there are few other regulatory avenues to challenge or block them, leaving the FCC with unusually concentrated authority over developments with global consequences.

Researchers warn that shifting climate conditions could change the risks posed by deadly rodent-borne diseases, such as hantavirus and Lassa fever. Warmer temperatures and altered rainfall patterns may expand rodent habitats and bring infected animals into closer contact with people, increasing the chances of outbreaks. The findings add to growing concern that a warming planet will reshape where and how infectious diseases emerge.

Scientists are tracking a massive Kelvin wave — a pulse of unusually warm water moving eastward along the equatorial Pacific — that is now headed toward the California coast. Such waves can raise ocean temperatures, affect marine life, and influence weather patterns, potentially strengthening El Niño conditions and altering rainfall forecasts for the western United States in the months ahead.

New research suggests that rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns could significantly alter where Chinese milk vetch, a legume long grown as green manure in southern China's rice paddies, can thrive. The plant plays an important role in sustaining soil fertility and reducing fertilizer use, so scientists warn that changing climate conditions may force farmers to adjust how and where they cultivate it.