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People rest at a cooling station in Portland, Oregon during the deadly Northwest heat dome of 2021. Climate change has made heat risks more dangerous across the country. A new heat forecasting tool could help people stay safe. KATHRYN ELSESSER/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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KATHRYN ELSESSER/AFP via Getty Images

A new version of the popular board game Catan, which hits shelves this summer, introduces energy production and pollution into the gameplay. Catan GmbH hide caption

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Catan GmbH

How do you build without over polluting? That's the challenge of new Catan board game

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Nearly half of the major cities in China are sinking, a new study finds. Subsidence exacerbates flooding related to sea level rise from climate change. Parts of Shanghai have subsided up to 9 feet in the last century. Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

An empty room is pictured in a concrete house in Matam, Senegal. Many families don't have electricity nor the means to own a fan or air conditioning to help quell the intense heat at night, temperatures can stay around 35 degree Celsius throughout the night. John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images

The grass pea — Lathyrus sativus — is hardy and drought resistant. It tastes like a sugar snap pea, although if that's all you were to eat its natural toxin could make you sick. But breeders might be able to address that issue. Sadasiba Behera/Getty Images hide caption

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Sadasiba Behera/Getty Images

What are 'orphan crops'? And why is there a new campaign to get them adopted?

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Atypically heavy rains in the United Arab Emirates on Monday and Tuesday caused flooding, flight cancellations and school closures. Vehicles were abandoned on highways like this one in Dubai. Francois Nel/Getty Images hide caption

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Francois Nel/Getty Images

Wildfire smoke covered huge swaths of the U.S. in 2023, including places like New York City, where it has historically been uncommon. New research shows the health costs of breathing in wildfire smoke can be high. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images hide caption

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David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

A set of four tubes known as the "river outlet works," pictured on Nov. 2, 2022, could soon be the only way for water to make it through Glen Canyon Dam. Recently-discovered damage to those tubes has raised questions about their role going forward. Alex Hager/KUNC hide caption

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Alex Hager/KUNC

Damage at Glen Canyon Dam has Colorado River users concerned

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Record levels of heat in the ocean are causing a worldwide mass bleaching event on coral reefs, as seen here on the Great Barrier Reef. Scientists are working on creating more heat-resistant coral to help restore reefs. Veronique Mocellin /AIMS hide caption

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Veronique Mocellin /AIMS

Coral reefs can't keep up with climate change. So scientists are speeding up evolution

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Scientists Carly Biedul, Coordinator at The Great Salt Lake Institute, Bonnie Baxter, Director at The Great Salt Lake Institute, and Heidi Hoven, Senior Manager at the Gillmor Sanctuary and Audubon Rockies, showed us around a bird sanctuary where many species of birds and insects the the birds feed on are affected by the recession of The Great Salt Lake. Lindsay D'Addato for NPR hide caption

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Lindsay D'Addato for NPR

What biologists see from the shores of the drying Great Salt Lake

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A man works in a Florida agricultural field on a hot, humid day in July 2023, one of the hottest months ever recorded in the state. There are no federal heat regulations. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Yu Darvish #11 of the San Diego Padres throws a pitch during the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Petco Park on April 2, 2024 in San Diego, California. Brandon Sloter/Getty Images hide caption

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Brandon Sloter/Getty Images

How climate change and physics affect baseball, America's favorite pastime

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A mother humpback whale and calf are seen on the coast of Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, Brazil on August 22, 2023. Carl de Souza/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Carl de Souza/AFP via Getty Images

Indigenous leaders want to protect whales by granting them legal personhood

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