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Among the more than 70 tropical fish that taken up residence in the Mediterranean, the lionfish (Pterois miles), silver-cheeked toadfish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), blue-spotted cornetfish (Fistularia commersonii) and the Golani round herring (Etrumeus golanii) have been spotted in increasingly western waters. As the sea warms and becomes saltier because of human-induced global heating, fish from tropical latitudes are finding a more welcoming habitat in an area that, at least nominally, is temperate, not tropical.

marine scientists are concerned about threats to biodiversity, public health and fisheries. A shift from temperate to tropical would, and does, affect the whole Mediterranean ecosystem. Rabbitfish, for example, eat so much that they transform algal forests into barren wastes, destroying important nursery habitats for native species

the western Mediterranean will become increasingly habitable for tropical fish, as will the south Adriatic and south-west Italian coast. The newcomers may change, too, as they adapt. Some scientists argue that the lionfish – spotted off Apulia, Italy, and Albania in 2019 and 2020 – might expand its temperature range, coping with the colder winter waters of certain Mediterranean areas, as has happened with lionfish in the US.

scientists are warning that the substance, known as sea snot, is on the rise as a result of global heating.The gloopy, mucus-like substance had not been recorded in Turkish waters before 2007. It is created as a result of prolonged warm temperatures and calm weather and in areas with abundant nutrients in the water

the sticky substance attracts viruses and bacteria, including E coli, and can in effect turn into a blanket that suffocates the marine life below

if the sea snot were to persist, invertebrate life at the bottom of the Sea of Marmara would be under severe threat.

A new analysis published Wednesday in the journal Nature shows that the Hittites endured three consecutive years of extreme drought right around the time that the empire fell. Such severe water shortages may have doomed the massive farms at the heart of the Hittite economy, leading to famine, economic turmoil and ultimately political upheaval, researchers say.

n accumulating field of research linking the fall of civilizations to abrupt shifts in Earth’s climate. In the ruins of ancient Egypt, Stone Age China, the Roman Empire, Indigenous American cities and countless other locations, experts have uncovered evidence of how floods, droughts and famines can alter the course of human history, pushing societies to die out or transform.

It underscores the peril of increasingly frequent and severe climate disasters. But it also points to strategies that might make communities more resilient: cultivating diverse economies, minimizing environmental impacts, developing cities in more sustainable ways.