Christopher Joyce

The two nations topping the world in greenhouse gas emissions agreed at the Paris talks to cut way back. But critics have stalled a key part of the U.S. plan, and China's good start may be fragile.

Researchers say climate change has made weather more pleasant in many parts of the U.S. Winters have been milder, and summers haven't become much hotter. But that's likely to change in coming years.

Parts of Oklahoma and Texas have about the same risk of an earthquake as parts of California, the maps show. Why? Wastewater that oil and gas operations are pumping into wells adds pressure on faults.

The 15-year project wasn't a flight of fancy. Biologists used a plane to successfully teach many young, captive-bred whooping cranes to migrate cross-country. But the birds aren't reproducing well.

Scientists say the buzz picked up by hydrophones in the Pacific may be caused by "fish farts" — the emptying of air bladders that let clouds of fish rise and fall during daily hunts for food.

Some of the genetic variations in human DNA that have been linked to quick clotting or depression or diabetes lie within or near the genetic stretches we picked up from Neanderthals, a study finds.

The nets that ensnare the giant totoaba fish also trap and kill the world's smallest and rarest mammal: a porpoise called the vaquita.

Before it does damage, an earthquake sends out a "P wave" that scientists use to find location and size. The U.S. quake warning system under development on the West Coast is built around the P wave.

The weather trail that led to a blizzard in the Mid-Atlantic likely started with a very warm Pacific, scientists suspect. Whether climate shifts will bring more strong El Niños is still uncertain.

Tension is building along a major fault in the seabed off Alaska's coast, research shows. Devastating tsunamis from sudden slips in certain sections could directly hit Hawaii and Central California.

The U.S. had 10 weather events in 2015 that cost $1 billion or more in damage, with December the warmest and wettest month on record. Climate scientists blame a warming climate and strong El Nino.

Editor's note: One of the most intriguing stories we ran in 2015 looked at — and listened to — how the invention of the stethoscope changed medicine. We're presenting it again, in case you missed it in July.

---

Over the years, scientists have mostly interpreted the world through ...

This Year will likely be the hottest year on record. Climate change is partly to blame, but so is El Nino. That's the weather pattern from the Pacific that affects weather in the America's as well.

Over the weekend in Paris, representatives from 196 countries signed an agreement that aims to curb climate change. What's in it, and what happens next?

On Saturday, world leaders approved what's being hailed as a historic deal to reduce greenhouse emissions. NPR's Christopher Joyce gives the details.

The U.N. climate conference in Paris was supposed to end Friday, but negotiators have extended it for at least another day. NPR has the latest from Paris.

Negotiations at the Paris climate summit will be wrapping up soon and a global agreement is expected this weekend. A deal signed in Paris would come into being in 2020.

It's been 17 years since the Koyto climate talks. What have environmental groups learned about advocacy, lowering expectations and the realities of international politics, government and business?

At the U.N. climate summit in Paris, negotiators have 48 hours until their deadline to reach a deal on global warning. NPR has the latest from the summit.