Planetary Boundaries News

All life on Earth, and human civilizations, are sustained by vital biogeochemical systems, which are in delicate balance. However, our species — due largely to rapid population growth and explosive consumption — is destabilizing these Earth processes, endangering the stability of the “safe operating space for humanity.” As noted by the main feature in this special Mongabay series, scientists have defined nine planetary boundaries: climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol pollution, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows of nitrogen and phosphorus, land-system change, and the release of novel chemicals.

The Golden dorado (Salminus brasiliensis), a powerful migratory freshwater fish native to the Pantanal and Paraná River Basin, shown here being held by researcher Zeb Hogan. Highly prized by recreational anglers and important to commercial fisheries, the species has declined in parts of its range due to dam construction.

Migratory freshwater fish are in trouble: Will we act in time to save them?

Stefan Lovgren 1 May 2026

Dove Lake beneath Cradle Mountain in Tasmania’s highlands, where cool, ocean-influenced conditions have helped slow the pace of climate change across the landscape. Image by Stefan Lovgren.

Long dubbed a ‘climate refuge,’ warming Tasmanian forests need our help

Stefan Lovgren 12 May 2026

During prolonged floods, many residents of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta are unable to grow and harvest crops. NGOs have stepped in to help with basic food supplies and cash during times of crisis. Image courtesy of Anh Duong Community Development and Support Center.

The world’s great deltas are sinking — and with them, a global food system

Petro Kotzé 6 May 2026

The Golden dorado (Salminus brasiliensis), a powerful migratory freshwater fish native to the Pantanal and Paraná River Basin, shown here being held by researcher Zeb Hogan. Highly prized by recreational anglers and important to commercial fisheries, the species has declined in parts of its range due to dam construction.

Migratory freshwater fish are in trouble: Will we act in time to save them?

Stefan Lovgren 1 May 2026

Wind farm off Pingtan Island in Pingtan county, Fuzhou, China. Image by Kilian Murphy via Unsplash.

Offshore wind’s clean energy potential remains largely untapped, say experts

Sean Mowbray 27 Apr 2026

An Atlantic Forest frog, Dendrophryniscus haddadi. Amphibians are susceptible to habitat split due to its negative impact on their life cycles, but the researchers note that such impacts (including microbiome changes) likely apply to numerous other species in wide-ranging ecosystems.

Linking habitats strengthens wildlife microbiomes, helps fight disease: Study

Sean Mowbray 23 Apr 2026

The King River enters Macquarie Harbour, where decades of mining have contributed to contaminated sediment buildup at the river’s delta. Image by Stefan Lovgren.

In Tasmania, the mines have closed but the rivers remember

Stefan Lovgren 16 Apr 2026

Sunset over the tropical Pacific Ocean off Hawai‘i. The new study points to the climactic interconnectivity of the world’s warming oceans, where humid heat waves often originate, and faraway terrestrial landscapes, where humid heat waves can threaten public health.

Tropics take the brunt as hotter oceans drive large-scale humid heat waves: Study

Adam Litchkofski 10 Apr 2026

Palm trees, which make up 20% of the trees in the Amazon, grow mixed among various tree and grass species in the southern Peruvian Amazon lowlands of Manu National Park.

Novel research finds unexpected climate resilience in up to 36% of Amazon forest

Justin Catanoso 10 Apr 2026

A chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is weighed at a live poultry market in West Harlem as a customer stands nearby. The stacking of live animal cages allows bodily waste to drop into the cages below, facilitating disease spread. Image by Cate Twining-Ward.

Avian bird flu surges in New York urban wildlife, increasing disease concerns

Cate Twining-Ward 7 Apr 2026

Muskoxen on Ellesmere Island. As a species, muskoxen have been around for a million years and are often called “ice-age survivors.” Though they have one of the lowest levels of genetic diversity of any mammal, the full suite of immune-related genes are intact in the species, says muskox expert Anne Gunn.

Canadian muskoxen hit by double punch of novel diseases and climate change

Ruth Kamnitzer 3 Apr 2026

Research finds that there are already places on Earth where it gets so hot and humid at times during the year that it’s unsafe for either younger or older adults to do more than lie down or sit outdoors. Photo by NOAA.

Global warming already impacts daily lives around the globe, study finds

Mike Gaworecki 30 Mar 2026

Researcher Lisiane Hahn and colleagues have tagged and released piraíba fitted with tracking devices, generating new data that reveal previously undocumented migrations of this South American species. Image courtesy of Lisiane Hahn.

325 Long-neglected migratory freshwater fish species need protection now: Report

Stefan Lovgren 25 Mar 2026

Wood pellets for biomass energy. Image courtesy of Dogwood Alliance.

Forest advocates accuse EU energy firm of Dutch biomass certification fraud

Justin Catanoso 13 Mar 2026

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station.

Rush to put AI data centers in space poses poorly understood dangers

Sean Mowbray 11 Mar 2026

Aerial view as a ship sails through the sea ice in the winter.

Petrostates stymie effort to rein in Arctic shipping carbon emissions

Sean Mowbray 23 Feb 2026

New study assesses geoengineering marine ecosystem risks, knowledge gaps

Ruth Kamnitzer 19 Feb 2026

A caddisfly in the Oligotricha genus.

Insects are moving pharmaceutical pollutants from rivers to land; risks unknown

Sean Mowbray 13 Feb 2026

Soil microbes. Invisible to the naked eye, microbial communities play a huge role in planetary processes, such as nutrient cycling, and are vital to ecosystem and human health.

IUCN launches group to conserve at-risk microbes vital to life on Earth

Sean Mowbray 21 Jan 2026

Study co-lead author Luke Jeffrey climbs a tree in a melaleuca wetland forest to measure microbial community gas fluxes.

Hidden heroes: Australian tree bark microbes consume greenhouse & toxic gases

Ruth Kamnitzer 16 Jan 2026

A mule deer buck at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge outside Denver, Colorado.

Involuntary parks: Human conflict is creating unintended refuges for wildlife

Annelise Giseburt 15 Jan 2026

Methane bubbles flow in small streams out of seafloor sediment offshore of Virginia, north of Washington Canyon. Quill worms, anemones and patches of microbial mat can be seen in and along the periphery of the seepage area.

Methane chasers: Hunting a climate-changing gas seeping from Earth’s seafloor

Elizabeth Devitt 8 Jan 2026

A sewage outlet in Bangkok.

Marine heat waves and raw sewage combine to put human health at risk

Sean Mowbray 18 Dec 2025

Community members gather as a tagged Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) is prepared for release in the Cambodian stretch of the Mekong River.

Earth’s freshwater fish face harsh new climate challenges, researchers warn

Stefan Lovgren 17 Dec 2025

Smoke rises from a coal-burning power plant. Refuse-derived fuel (RDF), which includes large amounts of plastics, is replacing fossil fuels in some energy and industrial furnaces. But critics say this practice is merely replacing one dirty fuel for another.

Boom in burning waste for fuel could put human health and environment at risk

Sean Mowbray 10 Dec 2025

A child at work collecting e-waste in the Agbogbloshie dump in Ghana.

Can two Amazons survive? Invisible e-waste is poisoning the world

Gerry McGovern, Sue Branford 3 Dec 2025

Spraying pesticides on a field. Chemical pesticides have become ubiquitous in industrial agriculture, and have contributed to a rapid rise in chronic diseases, researchers say.

‘Silent epidemic of chemical pollution’ demands radical regulatory redo, say scientists

Mike Gaworecki 3 Dec 2025

Producing an AI chip requires 10-15 times more energy than making a standard chip.

AI data center revolution sucks up world’s energy, water, materials

Gerry McGovern, Sue Branford 14 Nov 2025

A cassava farmer checks his crops in the Juma Reserve in the Brazilian Amazon, circa 2011. Cassava serves as both an important commercial crop and a subsistence crop by Indigenous and traditional peoples.

Witch Hunt: Virulent fungal disease attacks South America’s cassava crop

Gloria Dickie 5 Nov 2025

By fusing satellite, drone and ground-based data with AI-powered analytics, Earth observation systems now provide meter-scale insights (or finer) for key human-driven environmental impacts.

Report identifies 10 emerging tech solutions to enhance planetary health

Julian Reingold 4 Nov 2025

After a game of beach footvolley on a sweltering hot day in Beirut, Lebanon, a man cools off by pouring water on himself.

Feel the heat: New app maps heat stress anywhere on Earth, 1940 to now

Ruth Kamnitzer 15 Oct 2025

A giant dust storm approaches the metro area of Phoenix, Arizona, Aug. 25, 2025.

Climate change is messing with global wind speeds, impacting planetary health

Sean Mowbray 3 Oct 2025

A participant plants local green plants in a park as part of Ethiopia's Green Legacy Initiative, which aims to plant 7.5 billion trees by the end of the year, at Jifara Ber site, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Thursday, July 31, 2025.

There’s far less land available for reforestation than we think, study finds

Justin Catanoso 2 Oct 2025

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Photographer Jonathan Bachman was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for capturing a photograph of Ieshia Evans being arrested in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was Ieshia Evans first protest, and Bachman’s first time covering one. The photo was included in The New York Times’ “The Year in Pictures 2016,” among other honors. jonathan bachman / reuters. Shepard Fairey—a prolific artist and activist who often addresses social and political issues in his work—was invited by the authors of ‘Protest’ to interpret Bachman’s photograph for the book. Image credit to Shepard Fairey. Image Courtesy of Patagonia Books.

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