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Hurricane Polo has intensified to rank among the strongest storms ever recorded, with El Niño conditions cited as the driver behind its unusual strength. The storm's rapid strengthening is drawing attention to how warming Pacific waters linked to El Niño can supercharge tropical cyclones, prompting questions about what it signals for the rest of the hurricane season.

The New York Times has published tracking maps following Typhoon Surigae, one of the strongest storms recorded early in the 2021 Pacific typhoon season. The maps chart the typhoon's position and projected movement across the western Pacific. Surigae intensified rapidly over open waters, drawing attention from meteorologists and residents monitoring its potential impact on islands in the region.

The America Times is examining how climate change is increasingly framed as a human rights issue, with rising temperatures, extreme weather and displacement affecting basic rights to housing, food, water and safety. The discussion reflects a growing push by advocates and institutions to treat climate impacts not just as environmental problems but as threats to fundamental human rights worldwide.

California is examining results from projects that place solar panels over irrigation canals, an approach meant to generate clean power while reducing water evaporation. The state is learning how the panels perform in practice and whether covering canals at scale could cut both water loss and emissions, drawing attention to a idea piloted in the Turlock Irrigation District's Project Nexus.

The European Union is moving to restrict the energy and water consumption of data centres, according to Euronews. The measures target the sector's growing resource footprint as demand for computing power expands across Europe. The proposal is drawing attention for its potential impact on tech companies and Europe's wider climate and resource-efficiency goals.

California is preparing for flooding and landslides as forecasters expect a strong El Niño this year, a warming of equatorial Pacific waters that disrupts weather worldwide. After years of coastal erosion — with Pacifica, south of San Francisco, already hit — officials warn the storms the pattern typically brings could prove especially damaging to weakened coastlines and hillsides.

A powerful nor'easter is battering the Northeastern United States, causing coastal flooding and leaving more than 130,000 customers without power. High tides are threatening coastal communities as the storm pushes water onshore, with utilities working to restore service. Outlets including AP and Spectrum News are tracking flooding conditions and outage numbers as the storm continues.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Navy says it seized a US Remus 600 autonomous underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz and has released footage of the captured drone. The incident adds to a series of confrontations between Iranian and American forces in Gulf waters, where repeated seizures of unmanned vessels have raised tensions. The Palestine Chronicle highlighted the seizure and footage as evidence of Iran's assertive posture toward US military assets in the strategic waterway.

NASA's Perseverance rover has uncovered evidence that Jezero Crater on Mars was more complex than previously thought, indicating it was not simply an ancient lake. The finding suggests the crater experienced a richer and more varied geological history, with implications for understanding Mars' past water activity and its potential to have once supported life.

China has carried out a military exercise in the South China Sea, following a confrontation near a disputed shoal. The drill comes amid ongoing tensions between Beijing and rival claimant states, notably the Philippines, over access to contested reefs and waters. The exercise is being read as a demonstration of China's readiness to assert its claims in the region.

European policymakers are searching for new measures to tackle the deteriorating health of the Baltic Sea, one of the world's most polluted bodies of water. The sea suffers from eutrophication, agricultural runoff and other pressures affecting marine life and coastal communities across the region. Attention is turning to what prescription can restore its condition.

Bridgewater argues that the current surge in artificial intelligence capital expenditure can only be justified if enterprise and consumer adoption of AI scales rapidly enough to generate returns. The hedge fund's analysis adds to the debate over whether massive spending on data centres and chips by tech companies will pay off, or whether it resembles an investment bubble.

Researchers subjected water to light roughly 10 billion times brighter than sunlight, expecting faster evaporation, but the water did not evaporate any quicker. The surprising null result challenges assumptions about how extremely intense light interacts with liquid water, and is drawing attention from physicists curious about what limits evaporation under such extreme conditions.

Sudan has rejected an accusation from Ethiopia that it is backing armed groups. Khartoum denies providing any support to armed elements, rejecting the Ethiopian claim outright. The dispute adds to tensions between the two neighbouring countries, which have already clashed over border and water issues, and comes as Sudan remains mired in internal conflict.

Local communities are mounting resistance to the construction of AI data centers in their areas, citing concerns over electricity and water use, noise, and limited local economic benefit. The debate is playing out across multiple regions as companies race to expand computing capacity for artificial intelligence, turning siting decisions into a contested political issue.

A stretch of North Carolina Highway 12 remains closed after ocean water washed over parts of the road, keeping sections impassable to traffic. NC12 is the main route along the Outer Banks, so closures cut off access between communities and force detours for residents and visitors. Officials have not given a timeline for reopening while conditions are assessed.

A sea lion knocked a woman off her paddle board at a California beach, dragging her into the water and tearing at her hair in a startling attack caught on camera. The encounter is drawing attention to unusual aggressive behaviour by sea lions along the California coast, which observers have linked to possible illness or feeding changes in the animals.