Effects of Climate Change Stories

  • A whale's eye view of Antarctica

    April 14, 2017

    Whales are awe-inspiring and often elusive creatures. Their distribution and critical feeding areas are currently poorly understood, and as climate change and krill fishing increase, our time to learn more about these giant mammals is running out. However, with the help of Dr. Ari Friedlaender, a whale ecologist and National Geographic Explorer, WWF is using whale tagging to discover a wealth of new information.

    The fluke of a humpback whale diving to feed
  • Arctic ice in trouble

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2017
    The receding sea ice at the North Pole threatens arctic species
    Ship moving through Arctic sea ice
  • Reducing the impact of commuting

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2017
    The average American spends 52 minutes a day commuting. And it pumps tons of carbon dioxide—literally—into the atmosphere every year. But there are quite a few ways to lighten commuting's toll.
    Traffic Magazine Summer2017
  • Can we help wildlife adapt by crowdsourcing human responses to climate change?

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2017
    Climate Crowd, an online platform for crowdsourcing data, helps us learn how rural and indigenous communities around the world are responding to climate change, among other things.
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  • Walrus habitat on the edge

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2017
    In what has become the new normal over the past 10 years, residents of the Inupiat village of Point Lay on the coast of the Chukchi Sea in Alaska have had new neighbors each fall.
    Walrus
  • A Changing Arctic

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2017
    What climate change and receding sea ices mean for the people, wildlife, economy, and politics of the far North.
    Standing on snow in the Arctic
  • President Trump rolls back progress made on crucial climate change policy

    March 28, 2017

    President  Trump and his administration announced they would take measures to roll back crucial climate change policies.

    wind farm in United States
  • Going beyond Earth Hour

    Now that you've joined hundreds of millions of people around the world in switching of your lights for one designated hour, continue to show your solidarity for climate action. Try to tackle one, two, or even all nine of the items on this list.

    bicycles on a rack
  • US should continue to lead the way on climate change action

    March 06, 2017

    Congress and the new Administration must continue to make action on climate change a priority, both at home and abroad. Here's how they should do so.

    US Capitol Building and Washington Monument
  • WWF digs a safe home for endangered freshwater seals

    January 24, 2017

    An endangered population of freshwater seals in Finland recently received a lifeline from volunteers in the form of human-made snowbanks.

    A pregnant Saimaa ringed seal
  • 2016 declared the hottest year on record

    January 18, 2017

    Earth’s surface temperatures in 2016 shattered all previous record highs since modern record keeping began in 1880. Much of the warming is attributed to climate change. 

    sea in in Ilulissat, Greenland
  • US government releases a new plan to protect polar bears

    January 09, 2017

    The Polar Bear Conservation Management Plan, which focuses on actions for the two U.S. subpopulations in Alaska, stresses the importance of climate change mitigation in curbing the loss of the polar bear’s sea ice habitat.

    Polar bear with two cubs
  • A new way to predict and prevent the end of coral reefs

    January 05, 2017

    For the first time, researchers have created models to predict when, where, and to what extent coral bleaching will occur in reefs around the world at a finer scale than ever before.

    coral bleaching
  • Report warns of unprecedented struggles in a warming Arctic

    December 13, 2016

    The Arctic is seeing unprecedented declines in sea ice and snow cover triggered by abnormally warm temperatures, according to a new report, the Arctic Report Card, released by the US government.

    Melting ice along the Bering Strait
  • Why do polar bears have white fur? And nine other polar bear facts

    Who doesn't love the big, burly white bears of the north? Polar bears—at the top of the food chain and vital to the health of the Arctic marine environment—are important to the cultures and economies of Arctic peoples. 

     

    Polar bear with two cubs
  • Where do snow leopards live? And nine other snow leopard facts

    Snow leopards scale the great, steep slopes of mountains in Central Asia with ease, blending into the landscape. But these endangered cats face many threats including habitat loss, reduced prey and retaliatory killings. WWF works to reduce human-leopard conflict and protect the fragile snow leopard habitat.

    Snow Leopard
  • James Redford on the power of telling stories to create positive change

    WWF Magazine: Fall 2016
    James Redford remembers a solitary walk in a snowstorm in Timpanogos Canyon, Utah, as the moment his love for nature “shifted into place and never left.”
    A dry canyon in the American southwest
  • Meet WWF's Chief Scientist Dr. Rebecca Shaw

    WWF’s Chief Scientist Dr. Rebecca Shaw is a brilliant thought leader who has been researching and leading interdisciplinary approaches to conservation and climate change for more than 30 years.

    Rebecca Shaw
  • Eyes on the water in Belize

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2016
    In Palencia Village, a loose coalition of people is finding new ways to make a living from nature while protecting their long-held way of life
    Mariko Wallen snorkeling to evaluate staghorn and elkhorn corals at Laughing Bird Caye National Park
  • How big is the Arctic Ocean? And eight other Arctic facts

    The Arctic Ocean is about 5.4 million square miles—about 1.5 times as big as the US—but it is the world’s smallest ocean. Learn more about the Arctic and what WWF is doing to help protect it.

    Polar bear and cub
  • Fishers in Mozambique feel the impact of climate change

    December 21, 2015

    Fishers in Mozambique have noticed changes in catch size and ocean currents as a result of a changing climate. WWF and partners are working to restore and protect the natural resources on which local fishing and farming communities depend.

    boys in a boat
  • How climate change relates to oceans

    The interaction between climate and oceans is altering, and the exchange is intensifying. As the climate responds to decades of increasing carbon emissions, the store of energy and heat from the atmosphere builds up in the ocean. If we reach a tipping point, we will likely see more extreme weather events, changing ocean currents, rising sea levels and temperatures, and melting of sea ice and ice sheets.

    sunset over ocean
  • Animals Affected by Climate Change

    WWF Magazine: Fall 2015
    Exploring how climate change could impact species around the world
    Cheetah and cub
  • Deforestation in Peru

    WWF Magazine: Fall 2015
    How indigenous communities, government agencies, nonprofits and businesses work together to stop the clearing of forests
    Rain drenched village in Peru