Nature Hub

  By Helen Briggs Environment correspondent, Edited by - Amal Udawatta , IMAGE SOURCE, NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM LONDON Image caption, From anemones to worms: A number of weird creatures have been retrieved from the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean. A vast stretch of ocean floor earmarked for deep sea mining is home to thousands of oddball sea creatures, most of them unknown to science. They include weird worms, brightly coloured sea cucumbers and corals. Scientists have put together the first full stocktake of species to help weigh up the risks to biodiversity. They say more than 5,000 different animals have been found in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean. The area is a prime contender for the mining of precious metals from the sea bed, which could begin as early as this year. Companies want to exploit valuable deep-sea metals in international waters, but have yet to start extraction. Scientists warn of sea mining threat to whales and dolphins Companies back mo

  By Matt McGrath Environment Corraspondent BBC Edited by - Amal Udawatta Environment correspondent Related T IMAGE SOURCE, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Image caption, This is how El Niño brought heat to the surface of the Pacific in 2015 Our overheating world is likely to break a key temperature limit for the first time over the next few years, scientists predict. Researchers say there's now a 66% chance we will pass the 1.5C global warming threshold between now and 2027. The chances are rising due to emissions from human activities and a likely El Niño weather pattern later this year. If the world passes the limit, scientists stress the breach, while worrying, will likely be temporary. Hitting the threshold would mean the world is 1.5C warmer than it was during the second half of the 19th Century, before fossil fuel emissions from industrialisation really began to ramp up. And breaking the limit even for just one year is a worrying sign that warming is accelerating and not slowing down.