Editor's note

Fires burnt through much of the Amazon rainforest earlier this year. The fires emitted vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, threatened indigenous people who live in the forest, and destroyed vital habitats for plants and animals found nowhere else. But you probably know all this. What you may not know is that soot from fires in the Amazon is also blown westwards and settles on glaciers high in the Andes mountains. The soot makes the ice darker, which means it absorbs more heat – and melts faster. Matthew Harris reports on a new study linking Amazon fires to melting Andean glaciers.

Disappearing glaciers are of course a classic example of global warming. It’s hard to maintain denial that the climate is changing when presented with evidence that a huge wall of ice is melting more and more each year. In the face of such obvious impacts, climate deniers have switched tactics. Mark Maslin looks at the five pillars of climate denial.

In the UK election, the two largest parties have both released their climate policies. Dénes Csala compares the two and says the Conservatives aren’t taking the climate crisis seriously – unlike Labour.

And finally, are “dog years” really a thing? A mathematical biologist has the answer.

Will de Freitas

Environment + Energy Editor

Top stories

3523studio / shutterstock

Amazon fires are causing glaciers in the Andes to melt even faster

Matthew Harris, Keele University

'Black carbon' from rainforest fires is settling on glaciers and making them melt faster, according to new research.

Don’t let the green naysayers drown you out. Component/Shutterstock

The five corrupt pillars of climate change denial

Mark Maslin, UCL

How to identify and understand different types of denial: scientific, economic, humanitarian, political and crisis.

Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson at the State Opening of Parliament. Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA

Energy expert: here’s where Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn’s climate pledges leave the planet

Dénes Csala, Lancaster University

Long term climate targets are meaningless without concrete action. Here's what the plans of the UK's two biggest parties mean for the planet.

Shutterstock/Blanscape

Are ‘dog years’ for real? An explanation of calculating canine age

Christian Yates, University of Bath

Your pup may be older than you think. Another reason to let sleeping dogs lie.

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