The Sydney Morning Herald logo
The Sydney Morning Herald logo

Climate crisis

Advertisement
An animation of the change in sea surface temperature departures from average in the tropical Pacific Ocean, from January 1 to June 8, 2026.

El Nino has officially begun, bringing risk of drought, extreme heat and bushfires

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed the existence of the El Nino, expected to grow to historic strength and turbocharge extreme weather.

  • Seth Borenstein and Caitlin Fitzsimmons

Latest

Coral restoration project Ningaloo Reef WA.

A state-first trial was trying to save WA’s prized reefs, until a cyclone threatened months of hard work

Millions of coral eggs and embryos during two separate spawning events – one in Exmouth and the other in Coral Bay – to save the reefs after a mass bleaching event. But Cyclone Narelle threatened to derail the project.

  • Holly Thompson
The NSW government grant covered almost half the cost of the solar panels on this building, which have slashed residents’ electricity bills.

Push to deliver solar to 2.5m apartment dwellers gains traction

Houses are still 10 times more likely to have rooftop solar panels than apartments, but the financial case for solar on strata buildings is better than ever.

  • Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Northern NSW will experience some of the harshest effects of climate change reflecting high exposure to flooding, drought and bushfire, and high reliance on climate-sensitive or outdoor industries.

You’re losing $20k a year because of climate change – and it’s predicted to get worse

As well as the cost of extreme weather and natural disasters, longer-term climatic changes are also a drag on economic productivity, the NSW Net Zero Commission says.

  • Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Angus Taylor, Matt Canavan, Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce.

‘Climate denial on steroids’: How the global anti-climate movement is fracturing right-wing politics at home

Populists are waging a war against climate action around the world, but in Australia the fiercest battle is among the right-wing parties over policy “purity”.

  • Nick O'Malley and Mike Foley
An image from the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite taken on April 5 showing the emergence of  Kelvin waves in the Pacific Ocean - a sign of El Nino.

How the looming El Nino will be amplified by climate conditions

Scientists are poised to declare the emergence of the weather pattern within days. Here’s why.

  • Bianca Hall
Advertisement
Indonesia faces multiple climate change risks, with sea-level rises just one of them, Robert Glasser of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute says.

How lethal humidity threatens to displace millions in our region

Our region’s ground zero is Indonesia, where humidity is already high in wet and dry seasons.

  • Bianca Hall
A surge in iron ore and coal prices during the pandemic, and a big spike in oil and gas prices as the war in Ukraine started, distort the overall picture.

Capitalism trumps climate: Why BHP’s green ambitions turned to empty promises

Was then chief executive Andrew Mackenzie just virtue signalling when he declared in 2019 that the mining giant would lead the capitalist pack on greening the world?

  • Elizabeth Knight
Crowds of visitors at the beach on May 24 in Weymouth, England. An exceptional bank holiday heatwave is bringing record-breaking weather to England with temperatures forecast to climb into the low 30s by Monday.

UK wilts under brutal spring heat as records set to tumble

A “heat dome” is forecast to linger across parts of Europe as the prospects of an El Nino continue to firm.

  • Caitlin Fitzsimmons and Nick O'Malley
CSIRO flagship RV Investigator in Antarctica this summer, with Aurora Australis lighting up the sky.

CSIRO cuts climate research jobs despite budget funding boost

Ninety-two scientists will lose their jobs in the latest round of cuts, which one scientist warns will leave the agency’s capacity to predict climate change “running on a dial-up modem”.

  • Bianca Hall and Mike Foley