Megaflood Created Great Divide Between Britain and France

The cultural rift between Britain and France endures as an amusing mystery for many, but the physical divide between them can now be blamed on two ancient floods.

Vines Take Over Southern U.S. Forests

Creeping vines are increasingly invading Southern forests, choking out trees and altering forest makeups.

Just why the vines are taking over is uncertain, but Allen and his colleagues speculate that increasing carbon dioxide concentrations that are fueling global warming could be benefiting vine growth more than tree growth.

Greece battles 63 forest fires

ATHENS (AFP) - Some 63 forest fires broke out in Greece over the weekend, firefighters said Sunday amid soaring temperatures that forecasters warned were set to continue until the end of the week.

Tibet's warming trend gaining pace, study says

BEIJING (AFP) - Tibet, the mountainous region whose snows and glaciers give birth to several of Asia's major rivers, is warming at an alarming rate, China's state media reported Sunday, citing a new survey

More than 150 killed in China floods

BEIJING (AFP) - Another 74 people have died in floods across China bringing the death toll for the week to at least 156 in one of the deadliest rainy seasons in years, state media reported Sunday.

Extreme weather batters Europe

LONDON (AFP) - Weather extremes worsened in Europe Monday with massive downpours causing terrible flooding in England and the south and east of the continent roasting in a heatwave that has claimed several lives.

Humans to blame for global changes in rain: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Human activities that spur global warming are largely to blame for changes in rainfall patterns over the last century, climate researchers reported on Monday.

Southeast Europe hit by heatwave as UK flooded

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Up to 500 people are estimated to have died across Hungary last week, partly due to a heatwave gripping central and southeast Europe, Hungarian medical officials said on Tuesday.

Amphibian populations concern scientists

Almost one-third of the world's 6,000 amphibian species are on the brink of extinction. But just 12 percent of all bird species and 23 percent of all mammal species are threatened.

Harsh winters and hot summers limit the fungus in the Midwest. While many frogs and salamanders safely rest in burrows below ponds in the winter, freezing temperatures kill the fungus.

Study: Rising temperatures pose danger

TORONTO - Rising temperatures in eastern Canada are making it more dangerous for the native Inuit population in the province of Quebec to travel and hunt by snowmobile, and a new study recommends that they return to using the traditional dogsled.

Britons begin repairing flood damage

BUSCOT, England - Gasoline-powered pumps roared into action Tuesday as stunned Britons tried to dry out their houses after the worst flooding in more than half a century.

European heat wave death toll hits 35

BUCHAREST, Romania - Southern Europe sizzled under a heat wave Tuesday, with temperatures hitting triple digits for a seventh day in Romania, blazes forcing the evacuation of tourists in Croatia and Italy, and wildfires in Macedonia and Greece exploding shells from long-ago wars. At least 35 heat-related deaths were reported.

Canada ups military in disputed Arctic

As global warming melts the passage — which now is only navigable during a slim window in the summer — the waters are exposing unexplored resources such as oil, fishing stocks and minerals, and becoming an attractive shipping route. Commercial ships can shave off some 2,480 miles from Europe to Asia compared with the current routes through the Panama Canal.

Dozens of wildfires ravage the West

Other fires blackened the landscape in California, Utah, Nevada, Washington, Colorado, Montana and Oregon, many of them also started by lightning and fueled by the dry conditions, made worse by a heat wave that sizzled across the West last week.

Ancient Arctic ponds drying up as climate warms

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Ancient ponds in the Arctic are drying up during the polar summer as warmer temperatures evaporate shallow bodies of water, Canadian researchers said on Monday.

They said the evaporation of these ponds -- some of which have been around for thousands of years -- illustrates the rapid effects of global warming, threatening bird habitats and breeding grounds and reducing drinking water for animals

Hundreds evacuate as Plains rivers bulge

OSAWATOMIE, Kan The Verdigris River at Independence rose to a record 52.4 feet Sunday morning, shattering the old mark of 47.6 feet and more than 20 feet above flood stage. In Coffeyville, the old record of 26.6 feet fell Saturday night as the river surged past 29 feet, more than 10 feet above flood stage.