Mount Everest summits exceed 900 in record season.
Over 900 climbers summited Mount Everest’s 8,849-metre peak during the 2026 season, Nepalese officials confirmed as the climbing window closed in late May. Stable weather allowed teams to spread summit attempts across an extended period, reducing the bottlenecks that typically form near the top. Alongside the high success rate, climbers achieved notable personal and national milestones. The season also recorded fatalities: two climbers of Indian origin died on 22 May after reaching the summit, perishing during descent.
One survival stood out. Hillary Dawa Sherpa, a guide, was found crawling out of the Khumbu Icefall on 4 June, six days after going missing below Camp IV. He had been left for dead on the mountain. The climbing community called his survival unbelievable. As teams descended and officials began dismantling ladders and ropes on 29 May, the 2026 season closed as one of Everest’s busiest on record.
Sources: Gulf News; Outside.
Schmidt Ocean Institute documents 24 new marine species in South Atlantic midwater.
Scientists aboard research vessel Falkor (too) identified more than 24 new marine species during a recent expedition off Brazil’s coast. The team identified new jellyfish, comb jellies, siphonophores, larvaceans, a gossamer worm and an amphipod crustacean. These finds occurred in the midwater zone, the vast expanse between the sunlit layer and seafloor that remains Earth’s least-explored ecosystem. Researchers used imaging systems developed at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, mounted on remotely operated vehicle SuBastian, to describe the animals’ shape and internal structures without collecting them.
Genetic sequencing allowed rapid identification. The team also filmed a juvenile glass squid at 779 metres and observed a large female Haliphron atlanticus octopus, a pelagic species rarely seen alive, consuming a red jellyfish at 800 metres. Females of this species can reach four metres long and weigh 75 kilograms; males average 30 centimetres. Chief scientist Karen Osborn of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History called the midwater “the largest habitat on Earth, filled with incredible animals we are only just starting to understand.”
Sources: Schmidt Ocean Institute; Discover Wildlife.
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Wildlife alters movement patterns in direct response to human presence.
More than 65 per cent of 37 tracked species changed their behaviour based on human presence, not just habitat loss, according to research from Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change published in Science. Researchers used GPS devices to collect 11.8 million location points from over 4,500 animals — 22 bird and 15 mammal species — across the United States. They paired this data with mobile phone location information and satellite habitat measurements. COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 provided a natural experiment: when human movement declined, some animals returned to previously avoided areas or shifted activity hours.
Grey wolves expanded their ranges to steer clear of people, while ravens covered more ground, likely exploiting human-associated food sources. Coyotes restricted their movements. The strongest behavioural changes occurred in relatively undisturbed natural regions, where animals may be less accustomed to people. Lead author Ruth Oliver, now at UC Santa Barbara, said capturing human presence impacts has historically been challenging. The findings suggest conservation must address not only habitat preservation but also the timing and intensity of human activity in sensitive areas.
Sources: Yale News; Nature World News.
Mangrove forests rebound globally after four decades of decline.
Global mangrove forests are no longer in net decline and are now expanding overall, according to research based on four decades of satellite data published in Science. Mangroves lost nearly 2,900 square kilometres between the 1980s and 2010, but gains have outpaced losses over the past 16 years. By 2023, mangrove area showed only a one per cent net decline over the entire period — far smaller than previous estimates. Recovery is driven by natural recolonisation of abandoned aquaculture ponds and expansion into newly formed coastal mudflats, particularly in river deltas where sediment creates ideal conditions.
Closed-canopy mangrove forests, which store more carbon and provide stronger coastal protection, have expanded globally. Lead author Zhen Zhang of Tulane University called the shift a turning point after decades of loss. However, newly established mangrove forests are often young and less capable of providing full ecological benefits. Deforestation remains a threat in some regions. In Texas, mangroves expanded in recent decades but experienced sharp decline in 2021 due to an extreme freeze event. Researchers emphasise that stopping deforestation is the most immediate way to protect mangroves and prevent long-stored carbon release.
Sources: Science; University of Cambridge; Tulane University.
Coronal mass ejection may deliver glancing blow to Earth on 16 June.
A coronal mass ejection that departed the sun on 12 June may brush Earth’s magnetosphere tomorrow, forecasters at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center report. Solar activity remained at low levels over the past 24 hours, with seven flares recorded — five C-class and two B-class. The strongest, a C1.7 event, came from sunspot region AR4464 at 01:50 UTC on 15 June. Four numbered active regions currently face Earth, all magnetically simple and relatively inactive. The anticipated CME arrival could lift geomagnetic activity to active levels, with a slight chance of isolated G1 minor storm conditions.
If G1 levels are reached, aurora may become visible from Calgary, Edmonton, Oslo and Stockholm, though mid-June’s limited darkness at these latitudes will restrict viewing. A coronal mass ejection is a massive burst of solar plasma and magnetic field from the sun’s corona. When this material interacts with Earth’s magnetosphere, it can trigger geomagnetic storms, disrupt navigation systems and create geomagnetic induced currents in power grids. Forecasters expect the glancing geometry to limit the CME’s impact, with a direct hit not anticipated.
Sources: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center; EarthSky; ABC News.
Everest’s record season and the mangrove rebound share a thread: both show systems responding to changed conditions — one to weather, the other to decades of protection and natural regrowth. The wildlife study reminds us that presence, not just footprint, shapes behaviour. Tomorrow, the sun sends a glancing reminder that we occupy a dynamic, interconnected sphere.
