The amount of rain that falls affects our environment in various ways, from river flow to the availability of freshwater, but it can also shape the diversity and distribution of ecosystems within different regions of the globe.

A new long-term study of Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) on Cousin Island has revealed that rainfall during the breeding season can affect “divorce” rates between the birds, highlighting the complex effects climate change can have on animal reproduction and conservation.

The study, conducted on a closed Seychelles warbler population, uncovered major findings on how rainfall and other environmental factors can negatively affect the stability of pair bonds in birds, a press release from Macquarie University said.

“This instability can occur because of the effects rainfall patterns have on the ecological environment of the warblers, where rainfall influences food availability, and nest/habitat conditions, all of which can affect the health of the birds before and during the breeding season and affect their ability to produce offspring,” A. A. Bentlage, a researcher in the School of Biological Sciences at Australia’s Macquarie University, told EcoWatch in an email.

Seychelles warbler pairs tend to stay together in favorable weather. Charli Davies

For species like the Seychelles warbler, who are socially monogamous, “divorce” refers to the breaking up of a pair bond when both individuals are still living. The mating strategy of pair bonding, observed in various species, has often been associated with lower reproductive success, or the number of offspring they produced as a pair.

Social monogamy implies that birds form a pair bond and spend many years — even lifetimes — with the same partner. Birds in these partnerships typically live and raise their young together, but they are not always sexually monogamous.

The relationship between divorce and environmental factors — especially fluctuations in climate — is still poorly understood.

“We analyzed 16 years of data from a longitudinal dataset to examine the influence of rainfall on the prevalence of divorce and the possible underlying mechanisms. First, we performed climate window analyses to identify the temporal windows of rainfall that best predict reproductive success and divorce. Then, we tested the effects of these temporal windows of rainfall on reproductive success and divorce and the influence of reproductive success on divorce while controlling for covariates using generalized linear mixed models,” Bentlage told EcoWatch.

The study, “Rainfall is associated with divorce in the socially monogamous Seychelles warbler,” was published in the Journal of Animal Ecology.

“We… found a complex, non-linear relationship between rainfall patterns and divorce rates, with divorce being more likely during years of both low and high rainfall,” said Frigg Speelman, a member of the science and engineering faculty at Macquarie University, in the press release. “This relationship was notably influenced by an extreme climatic event — the 1997 El Niño-induced rainfall spike.”

The researchers found a correlation between the extreme rainfall associated with the 1997 El Niño event and divorce rates of the Seychelles warbler. However, when they excluded this exceptional event from their analysis, it became clearer that there was indeed a negative relationship between rainfall amounts and the birds’ divorce rates.

The study did not find any direct link between the reproductive success of the birds and divorce likelihood, however, which suggested that there may be other factors influencing partnership stability.

Bentlage said rainfall extremes have a significant effect on the food sources and habitats of the Seychelles warbler.

“Extreme rainfall can greatly affect the ecological environment of our study population. For example, low rainfall significantly diminishes food availability by disrupting the development of insects that often lay their eggs in water, and heavy rainfall can destroy habitats/nests and make maintaining optimal body temperatures difficult for birds. Therefore, both rainfall extremes can impact the birds’ health and make raising offspring difficult,” Bentlage told EcoWatch.

The researchers found that the highest divorce rates occurred in years with extremely high or low rainfall occurring during breeding season, possibly affecting how the birds viewed their partners.

“Whereas divorce in many species is often correlated with poor reproductive success, our study found no evidence for this in the Seychelles warbler, suggesting that other, more complex factors may be involved. For example, the aforementioned rainfall effects may cause an increase in stress for the birds, increasing the instability of their partnerships as they associate the stressful period – that was caused by extreme weather – with their partner. Thus, extreme rainfall could misinform these birds about the quality of their partner, causing them to reconsider their choice of partner and separate,” Bentlage said.

The study builds on mounting evidence demonstrating how environmental factors — especially those associated with climate change — can have a direct effect on the reproductive strategies and social dynamics of wildlife.

The Seychelles warbler is a native species of the Seychelles islands. The rare birds are already facing a number of conservation challenges, which make the study particularly relevant. The findings of the research suggest the species could experience further stress to population stability and reproductive success due to environmental changes.

“As climate change intensifies, it is critical to understand how fluctuations in environmental conditions, such as rainfall, affect the stability of socially monogamous species,” Speelman said in the press release. “This research not only enhances our understanding of animal behavior in the face of climate variability but also provides valuable insights that could inform conservation efforts for species vulnerable to the effects of climate change.”

What other environmental changes and stressors are Seychelles warblers facing due to climate change?

“The Seychelles warblers are a great conservation success story as they were once on the brink of extinction, with just 26 individuals left in the world. After Cousin Island and the surrounding sea became a nature reserve in the 1960s/70s the population bounced back to stable numbers. Thus, they are doing quite well at the moment. Nevertheless, as a result of climate change, extreme rainfall events are predicted to become more prevalent and alongside them, other stressors such as extreme winds may also become more of an issue. Wind can influence territory quality on Cousin because wind-driven onshore salt spray negatively affects vegetation. Thus, habitat destruction that influences territory quality/food abundance may become more prevalent in a changing world,” Bentlage told EcoWatch.

Bentlage said the research team does not know how divorce driven by rainfall extremes will impact Seychelles warblers in the long-term, but once that is understood it could help improve future conservation efforts.

“We do not yet understand whether rainfall-driven divorce in the Seychelles warbler is adaptive, maladaptive, or has no effect on short/long-term reproductive fitness. As we discuss in our paper, it is essential to investigate the fitness consequences of divorce in the context of these extreme environmental effects to understand to what extent plasticity in breeding behavior may enable socially monogamous species to adapt to a rapidly changing world,” Bentlage explained. “Once that is understood, combined with our current knowledge of the negative effects of extreme rainfall on reproductive success, our findings can greatly inform population modeling and monitoring, such as using environmental indicators as early warning signals for potential declines in population stability. Also, for some species, such knowledge may even inform habitat management and conservation approaches that have specific climate change adaptations in mind. For example, efforts could be made to protect habitats or create refuges that provide optimal conditions during poor climatic periods.”

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Under the most recent climate projections, 6.3 million properties in England are located in areas that are at risk of flooding, the new National Assessment of Flood Risk (NaFRA) has found.

Properties at risk of flooding from rivers, sea or surface waters could increase to eight million — one in four properties — by 2050.

“We have spent the last few years transforming our understanding of flood and coastal erosion risk in England, drawing on the best available data from the Environment Agency and local authorities, as well as improved modelling and technological advances,” said Julie Foley, flood risk strategy director at the Environment Agency, in a press release from the agency. “Providing the nation with the best available information on flood and coastal erosion risk is vital to ensuring that policy makers, practitioners and communities are ready to adapt to flooding and coastal change.”

Alongside the flood risk report, the Environment Agency published a new National Coastal Erosion Risk Map (NCERM), the first update since 2017.

The combination provides a current national picture of England’s prevailing and future risk of coastal erosion using evidence from the National Network of Regional Coastal Monitoring Programmes.

“These updated assessments provide a clearer understanding of flood risk around the country and the data will be used by the government, Environment Agency and local communities to plan for and improve flood resilience in areas at risk,” the Environment Agency said.

Roughly 4.6 million of the at-risk properties are in areas susceptible to flooding from surface water. These areas are inundated with so much rainwater that it overwhelms drainage systems, causing surface water runoff, or flash flooding.

That number reflects a 43 percent increase from the previous assessment. The changes are almost completely due to improvements to data, modeling and technology use.

Approximately 2.4 million properties in the country are located in areas with flood risk from rivers as well as the sea. The total number of at-risk properties has not increased, but there has been an 88 percent jump in properties at the highest risk level — those that are in areas with a more than one in 30 likelihood of flooding during any given year.

Meanwhile, the government has slashed flood protection plans by 40 percent recently, with 25 percent of major projects having been dropped, reported The Guardian.

“The risk from floods and coastal erosion is growing, yet the government’s plan for dealing with increasingly extreme weather is completely inadequate. Labour agrees that the previous government’s policies ‘have left Britain badly exposed.’ Now it needs to fix this by strengthening the national adaptation programme, in consultation with the communities most impacted by the climate crisis,” said Alison Dilworth, a campaigner with Friends of the Earth, as The Guardian reported.

The updated report reveals how the risk of coastal erosion has been changing across England’s shorelines. Up to the year 2055, 3,500 properties are projected to be in places at risk of coastal erosion. This number is expected to increase to roughly 10,100 properties by 2050.

“More detailed flood and coastal risk information, which takes climate change into account, is essential for local authorities to be able to plan effectively, to protect their local communities and to start to build resilient infrastructure for the future,” said Hannah Bartram, chief executive officer of the Association of Directors for Environment Planning and Transport, in the press release.

To assist communities and decision-makers with understanding how the new information could help them, in early 2025 detailed local maps will be made available and the updated data from NaFRA and NCERM will be published.

The Environment Agency’s digital services will also be updated early next year, including “Check the long term flood risk for an area in England.”

The agency will also update its Flood Map for Planning in the spring. This map is used by developers and planners to find data to assist them with flood risk for a planning application.

“We welcome the collaborative effort the Environment Agency has taken to working with coastal authorities and coastal partners around the country to develop the new National Coastal Erosion Risk Map. It uses 10 years of evidence on coastal processes from the National Network of Regional Coastal Monitoring Programmes,” said Stewart Rowe, Coastal Group Network chair, in the press release. “The updated coastal erosion risk information will be critical to the implementation of the Shoreline Management Plans that set out our long-term approach to managing flood and coastal erosion risk around the coast.”

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What is being called the worst storm in nearly a century — a cyclone packing 140 miles-per-hour winds — has killed from “several hundred” to possibly thousands in Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean.

The island’s residents described “apocalyptic scenes” caused by Cyclone Chido, which decimated areas where people lived in shacks with sheet-metal roofs, leaving survivors without access to food or basic services, reported BBC News.

“We’ve had no water for three days now,” said a resident of Mayotte’s capital city, Mamoudzou.

Rescue workers were sifting through the debris in search of survivors. Twenty deaths have been confirmed, but according to the local prefect, the number of fatalities could be in the thousands.

“The totality of the slums have been totally destroyed, we haven’t received any reports of displaced people, so the reality could be terrible in the coming days,” Eric Sam Vah, a French Red Cross spokesperson, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program.

Authorities were having trouble establishing how many people had lost their lives because nearly a third of the island’s population is made up of undocumented migrants — more than 100,000 of the 320,000 residents.

Emergency operations were being impeded by widespread infrastructure damage caused by the cyclone.

“The hospital has suffered major water damage and destruction, notably in the surgical, intensive care, maternity and emergency units,” Geneviève Darrieussecq, France’s health minister, told France 2 on Monday, as The Guardian reported. Darrieussecq added that “medical centres were also non-operational.”

Mayotte’s airport suffered significant damage, with the powerful storm downing power lines and leaving residents without water, electricity or communication.

Though many roads were impassable, supplies had begun to arrive. Most of the territory — 85 percent — was without power.

Water was also becoming available in some areas, but not for everyone.

“The water here is completely yellow. It’s unusable for us,” Amalia Mazon, a midwife at Mayotte’s central hospital, who is originally from Brussels, told the BBC. “We feel completely abandoned, and we don’t even know if help is coming.”

Regarding the eventual death toll, Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, who is the top official appointed by Paris in the territory, told Mayotte la Premiere broadcasting service, “I think there will definitely be several hundred, perhaps we will come close to a thousand or even several thousand,” reported AFP.

Officials feared that, with roads closed, many people could be trapped beneath the rubble in inaccessible areas.

Mamoudzou’s Mayor Ambdilwahedou Soumaila told AFP that the powerful cyclone had “spared nothing.”

Approximately 160 additional firefighters and soldiers had been deployed to reinforce the 110 who were already helping with recovery efforts in the archipelago.

“The images are apocalyptic. It’s a disaster, there’s nothing left,” a nurse at Mamoudzou hospital told French news network BFMTV, as BBC News reported.

Mayotte was colonized by France in 1841. By the beginning of the 20th Century, it had added the three main Comoros archipelago islands to its overseas territories. In 1974, the Comoros voted for independence, but Mayotte did not join them, remaining part of France.

Mayotte’s residents have struggled with unemployment, poverty and political instability. Roughly 75 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line, while about a third of residents are jobless.

Cyclone Chido also hit Mozambique, bringing flash flooding and damaging buildings. Three deaths had been reported in the East African nation.

Chido, the most recent in a series of deadly storms, strengthened as it made its way over the ocean, according to Sarah Keith-Lucas with the BBC Weather Centre. Keith-Lucas said storms had become stronger due to climate change.

The cyclone had been downgraded to a “depression” and was set to cross southern Malawi before moving into Zimbabwe overnight into tomorrow. The storm could still bring nearly six to 12 inches of rain before the end of Tuesday.

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Scientists have, for the first time, observed the unleashing of an enormous glacial lake flooding event in East Greenland. The rare outburst involved 3,000-plus billion liters of meltwater bursting forth in a matter of weeks.

Witnessed by researchers from the University of Copenhagen, the natural phenomenon provides insight into the powerful and potentially dangerous forces that can be released by meltwater, a press release from University of Copenhagen’s Niels Bohr Institute said.

“Imagine an enormous bathtub atop a mountain filled with water equivalent to three times Denmark’s annual water consumption, and then suddenly bursting. This is essentially what happened when the massive Catalina Lake in East Greenland released 3.4 cubic kilometers of meltwater — 3,000 billion liters — into the Scoresby Sound fjord,” the press release said.

The enormous volume of water released by the lake made it one of the three largest events of its kind ever to be documented.

The meltwater outburst flood happened from September 23 to October 11, during which time the water level of Catalina Lake fell by 154 meters. The scientists were able to use satellite imagery to observe the spectacle in real time.

Satellite image of Catalina Lake in an undated photo. University of Copenhagen

“We have previously found traces of similar outburst floods, but due to polar night and clouds obstructing the potential for satellite observations, this is the first time that researchers have been able to monitor an event and measure the water volumes in real time,” explained Aslak Grinsted, a climate researcher with the Niels Bohr Institute, in the press release.

The outburst flood was caused by the accumulation of meltwater from Catalina Lake over the last two decades. The lake sits nestled in a valley obstructed by the Edward Bailey Glacier. As the lake filled up, the water started to lift the glacier, resulting in a 25-kilometer-long, carved-out tunnel underneath the ice. The pressure from the water building up finally caused it to burst into Scoresby Sound, the largest fjord on Earth.

The phenomenon of a glacial lake gradually filling and releasing its meltwater in a rush is known as a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF).

Events such as this have been happening more often in the past 30 years due to global heating and climate change.

“The danger from glacier-dammed lakes is increasing due to global warming. It’s vital to improve our understanding of this phenomenon to issue timely warnings should there be an imminent risk,” Grinsted warned.

The recent GLOF in East Greenland did not cause any harm due to the area’s sparse population. However, floods like this can be catastrophic in more populated areas such as the Himalayas, where villages are frequently destroyed. A 2023 study found that 15 million people globally live under threat of dangerous glacial floods.

“I expect that we will witness outbursts from even larger ice-dammed lakes as Greenland’s ice sheet retreats in coming centuries. At the end of the last Ice Age, Lake Missoula had an outburst that was 2,500 times larger than the recent Catalina event. To understand these massive forces, we must study the largest outbursts when they occur,” Grinsted said. “In this case, the energy released by the glacier flood was equivalent to the output of the world’s largest nuclear power plant running at full capacity for 22 days.”

Grinsted said it was worth considering how the incredible power of such natural phenomena could be harnessed as a green energy source. The energy produced by the event at Catalina Lake could theoretically have generated 50 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power a small town.

In this instance, however, the closest human settlement of 350 residents was 180 kilometers away, which would pose a major technological challenge for energy transmission and potential use.

“As with many other natural resources in Greenland, infrastructure is a problem. But if a brilliant engineer could figure out how to harness these meltwater outbursts, there’s enormous power and energy potential in them,” Grinsted concluded.

“The danger from glacier-dammed lakes is increasing due to global warming. It’s vital to improve our understanding of this phenomenon to issue timely warnings should there be an imminent risk,” says Grinsted.

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According to the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s 2024 Arctic Report Card, tundra in the Arctic is becoming a net source of carbon dioxide, rather than the climate-beneficial carbon sink it has been for millennia.

This year was the second warmest in the Arctic, based on data dating back to 1900, the report said. Across the region, temperatures from October 2023 to September 2025 were 1.20 degrees Celsius above the average for 1991 to 2020, a press release from NOAA said.

“The Arctic continues to warm at a faster rate than the global average. The 2024 Arctic Report Card highlights record-breaking and near-record-breaking observations that demonstrate dramatic change, including Arctic tundra transformation from carbon sink to carbon source, declines of previously large inland caribou herds, and increasing winter precipitation,” NOAA said. “Adaptation is increasingly necessary and Indigenous Knowledge and community-led research programs are essential to understand and respond to rapid Arctic changes.”

The Arctic autumn of 2023 was the second warmest ever recorded, while this summer was the third warmest — as well as the wettest — across the Arctic. The past nine years were also the Arctic’s nine warmest on record.

An early August heatwave set a daily all-time temperature record in several communities in northern Canada and Alaska.

Precipitation in the Arctic has been increasing since 1950, with the most pronounced surges occuring in winter.

“Our observations now show that the Arctic tundra, which is experiencing warming and increased wildfire, is now emitting more carbon than it stores, which will worsen climate change impacts,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, as The Guardian reported.

High-latitude wildfires are also becoming more intense due to human-caused climate change. Wildfires release carbon into the atmosphere through the burning of vegetation and the organic matter stored in soils. The fires strip soils of their insulating layers, which speeds up long-term permafrost thaw, along with the release of associated carbon emissions.

“In recent years, we’ve seen how increasing fire activity from climate change threatens both communities and the carbon stored in permafrost, but now we’re beginning to be able to measure the cumulative impact to the atmosphere, and it’s significant,” said Dr. Brendan Rogers, a scientist with the Woodwell Climate Research Center who contributed to the report, as reported by The Guardian.

When permafrost thaws, microbes decompose its carbon stores, releasing greenhouse gases, including methane.

“We need accurate, holistic and comprehensive knowledge of how climate changes will affect the amount of carbon the Arctic is taking up and storing, and how much it’s releasing back into the atmosphere, in order to effectively address this crisis,” said Dr. Sue Natali, a Woodwell Center scientist who also contributed to the research. “This report represents a critical step toward quantifying these emissions at scale.”

Currently, Arctic temperatures are warming as much as four times faster than the worldwide average. The report found that this is the 11th consecutive year warming in the Arctic has been happening more rapidly than the global rate.

“The climate catastrophe we’re seeing in the Arctic is already bringing consequences for communities around the world,” said Brenda Ekwurzel, a climate scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, as The Guardian reported. “The alarming harbinger of a net carbon source being unleashed sooner rather than later doesn’t bode well. Once reached, many of these thresholds of adverse impacts on ecosystems cannot be reversed.”

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