World exceeds 1.5°C warming limit over 12 months, and other nature and climate stories you need to read this week

We have just lived through the hottest 12-month period ever recorded, with average temperatures breaching the 1.5°C climate target for the first time.

The EU's Copernicus climate service recorded the global mean temperature between Feb 2023 and Jan 2024 at 1.52°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average, which was 0.64°C hotter than the previous all-time high during 1991-2020.

January 2024 was the hottest global January on record, and the eighth month in succession of record temperature highs.

Average global sea surface temperatures for January 2024 broke another temperature record at 20.97°C, exceeding the previous 2016 record January by 0.26°C.

Breaching the Paris Agreement climate target across an entire year sets an alarming precedent, but urgent action to reduce carbon dioxide emissions can still slow warming, say climate scientists.

In the wake of a strong El Niño weather phenomenon, the world is set to transition to a mild La Niña in the second half of 2024, according to meteorological and agricultural experts.

The La Niña event typically turns Pacific Ocean temperatures unusually cold and disrupts global weather patterns, causing higher precipitation in Australia, Southeast Asia and India, and dryer conditions in some parts of the Americas.

"The vast majority of weather models are pointing towards a weak La Nina in the second half of the year or towards the last quarter. One out of maybe 25 weather models is showing a strong La Niña," Chris Hyde, a meteorologist at US-based company Maxar told Reuters.

Changes in weather patterns can upset global crop yields, depending on the intensity of the event and the time of year it happens.

US climatologists are predicting La Niña to arrive in late summer or shortly after.

The circulation of the Atlantic Ocean circulation is a nearing ‘devastating’ tipping point, according to a new study published in Study Advances. Amoc (the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation) is a critical system of ocean currents important to climate regulation and its breakdown could have dramatic impacts.

An autonomous drone plane will survey the mountains beneath Antarctica's ice caps, to help experts from the British Antarctic Survey assess ice melt-rate to forecast the impact of climate change.

Chile is aiming to regrow its National Botanic Gardens, which were destroyed by deadly wildfires that ravaged central parts of the country and killed more than 130 people.

NASA has launched its PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite, which will study microscopic life in water and microscopic particles in the air from hundreds of miles above the planet.

The European Commission has recommended an ambitious 90% reduction in EU net greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. The new EU Commission and Parliament will need to approve the final target following a period of debate, Reuters reports.

Migrating monarch butterfly populations in Mexico have dropped to their second-lowest-ever level during the 2023-2024 wintering season, with year-on-year numbers falling 59% due to extreme heat, drought and climate change, officials said.

Iceland's third volcanic eruption since December in an area south of the capital Reykjavik has caused significant infrastructure damage, leaving residents without hot water during freezing winter temperatures, the country's Prime Minister told public broadcaster RUV.

Hurricanes are becoming less frequent but more powerful due to the climate crisis, prompting calls for a new "Category 6" to be created to record superstorm wind speeds exceeding 309km/h.

Annual planetary boundary health checks will better inform decision-making and allow leaders to respond more effectively to the impact of climate change. here's how.

Africa needs ambitious climate action on climate adaptation. Governments must act now to prepare communities across the continent for change. Here's what leaders can do.