While enjoying a dip in the ocean, there’s one thing you definitely don’t want to see: a shark fin in the water. The same thing can be said about a dip in a lake or pond—only the creature you want to avoid happens to be a massive reptile instead. But is the animal who glides along the swampy waters with just its eyes showing a …
The language surrounding climate change is changing right alongside the climate itself. But, it all began with global warming … Climate change was first known to many of us as global warming, a phrase dating to the 1950s that indicates “a longterm rise in Earth’s average atmospheric temperature.” The idea that global warming exists and could be attributed to human behavior, however, was first put forward in 1896 …
Nobody can guess how serious the next hurricane will be, but you can find out what it will be named. An important thing to note is that weather events aren’t eligible for a name until they transform from a tropical depression into a tropical storm. When tropical storms reach a certain velocity, they become cyclones, which North Americans call hurricanes. How are hurricanes named? Then, the name of …
It’s hot again, up in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s that time of year when the sun shines its most unforgiving beams, baking the ground and, indeed, us. It’s the portion of summer known as the hottest time of the year. Or, more delightfully, the dog days. Contrary to common conjecture, the dog days do not take their peculiar name from weather that “isn’t fit for …
The winter solstice lasts for just one moment. It occurs exactly when Earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun. This usually happens around December 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere or June 20 or 21 in the Southern Hemisphere. If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, during the solstice the sun will be at its southernmost point in the sky. The higher in …