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Tracking sea ice is ‘early warning system’ for global heating – but the US is halting data sharing | Climate crisis

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Scientists analysing the cascading impacts of record low levels of Antarctic sea ice fear a loss of critical US government satellite data will make it harder to track the rapid changes taking place at both poles.

Researchers around the globe were told last week the US Department of Defence will stop processing and providing the data, used in studies on the state of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, at the end of this month.

Tracking the state of sea ice is crucial for scientists to understand how global heating is affecting the planet.

Sea ice reflects the sun’s energy back out to space but, as long-term losses have been recorded, more of the planet’s ocean is exposed to the sun’s energy, causing more heating.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center, based at the University of Colorado, maintains a Sea Ice Index used around the world to track in near real-time the extent of sea ice around the globe.

In two updates in the past week, the centre said the US government’s Department of Defence, which owns the satellites that contain onboard instruments used to track sea ice, would stop “processing and delivering” the data on 31 July.

Climate scientists have been warning that Trump administration cuts have targeted climate functions across government, and there has been fears the sea ice data could be targeted.

The news comes as new research, some of which relied on the data, found that record low amounts of sea ice around Antarctica in recent years had seen more icebergs splintering off the continent’s ice shelves in a process scientists warned could push up global sea levels faster than current modelling has predicted.

Dr Alex Fraser, a co-author of the research at the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (AAPP), said NSIDC’s sea ice data was “our number one heart rate monitor” for the state of the planet’s ice.

“It’s our early warning system and tells us if the patient is about to flatline. We need this data and now [the scientific community] will be forced to put together a record from a different instrument. We won’t have that continued context that we have had previously.”

NSIDC has said it is working with alternative and higher-resolution instruments from a different satellite, but has warned that data may not be directly comparable with the current instruments.

Fraser said: “We are seeing records now year on year in Antarctica, so from that perspective this could not have come at a worse time.”

Dr Walt Meier, a senior scientist at NSIDC, said there were other “passive microwave instruments” that could keep the long-term record going, but he said differences with older sensors created a “a challenge to make the long-term record consistent and there will some degradation in the consistency of the long-term record.”

“I think we will end up with a robust and quality record that users can have confidence in,” Meier said, but said this would add to uncertainty to estimates of trends.

Asked why the government was stopping the data, he said because “everything is old and resources are limited, my guess is that it is not worth the time and effort to upgrade the systems for such old sensors, which may fail at any time.”

The research, published in the journal PNAS Nexus, found a link between increasing numbers of icebergs calving from floating ice shelves and the loss of sea ice.

While the loss of sea ice does not directly raise sea levels, the research said it exposed more ice shelves to wave action, causing them to break apart and release icebergs faster.

Glaciologist Dr Sue Cook, also from AAPP, said “like a cork in a bottle” those shelves help to slow down the advance of land-based ice that does raise sea levels if it breaks off into the ocean.

She said the higher rates of iceberg calving seen in Antarctica were not accounted for in calculations of how quickly the ice sheet might break apart and contribute global sea levels.

“If we shift to this state where summer sea ice is very low but we continue using models based on previous periods, then we will definitely underestimate how quickly Antarctica will contribute to sea level rise,” she said.

The study also outlined other knock-on effects from the record low sea ice levels in the Antarctic, including the loss of more seals and penguins if trends continued.

As many as 7,000 emperor penguin chicks died in late 2022 after the early break-up of the stable ice they used for shelter while they grow their waterproof plumage.

A US Navy spokesperson confirmed the data processing from its defence meteorological satellite program (DMSP) would stop on 31 July “in accordance with Department of Defense policy.”

DMSP is a joint program owned by the US Space Force, the spokesperson said, and was scheduled for discontinuation in September 2026.

“The Navy is discontinuing contributions to DMSP given the program no longer meets our information technology modernization requirements.”



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Israel bombs Houthis in Yemen after rebels attack commercial ship for first time in months

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CNN
 — 

Israel has carried out its first strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen since the Israel-Iran ceasefire, attacking ports and a power plant around midnight local time Sunday night into Monday morning.

The strikes come after at least three Houthi ballistic missiles were launched at Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), including one missile that was intercepted Saturday.

The Iran-backed Houthis also claimed responsibility for an attack on the bulk carrier ‘Magic Seas’ in the Red Sea on Sunday, the first on commercial shipping in the region by the rebels this year.

Israel struck the ports of Hodeida, Ras Isa, Salif and the Ras Kanatib power plant along the Red Sea. The IDF also hit the Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship seized by the Houthis in November 2023.

“Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,” the IDF said in a statement following the strikes.

A short time before the wave of attacks, the IDF’s Arabic language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, issued an evacuation warning for the ports and the power station.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were part of the newly named Operation “Black Flag.” In a statement on social media, Katz said, “The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions” and promised more attacks would follow if the Houthis kept launching drones and ballistic missiles at Israel.

The Houthi military confirmed the strikes but said, “Yemeni air defenses effectively confronted the Israeli aggression,” using, “a massive barrage of locally manufactured surface-to-air missiles,” in a short statement on early Monday morning.

There are no immediate reports of casualties from the strikes.

Houthi political bureau member Mohammed Al Farah said targeting Yemeni ports, power stations, and other “civilian facilities is an attempt to harm civilians and has no connection to any military activity,” according to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV.

Since Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza started in October 2023, the country has come under fire from missiles and rockets from Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, who claim to strike Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians.

On Sunday, the Houthis attacked the ‘Magic Seas’ ship, claiming that the its owner had used Israeli ports.

The rebels said they had struck the vessel with unmanned boats, missiles and drones, and it had now sunk. They have warned that they will target shipping that uses ports in Israel, which they describe as “occupied Palestine.”

The vessel’s operator – Stem Shipping – told Reuters that the ‘Magic Seas’ had made a port call to Israel in the past, but the latest transit of the region appeared low-risk as it had nothing to do with Israel.

The ‘Magic Seas’ crew of 19 left the boat on Sunday and were being taken by another ship to Djibouti.

In May, the Houthi group – which controls much of northern and central Yemen – agreed to halt attacks on US warships in the Red Sea after more than a month of airstrikes by US forces on its strongholds and missile infrastructure.

But it did not pledge to end attacks on other shipping with alleged connections to Israel and has continued to fire ballistic missiles at Israel in support of the Palestinian population in Gaza.

This story has been updated with additional developments.



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Kevin Love Reacts to Heat, Jazz, Clippers Trade, ‘Never Thought I’d Be a Math Problem’

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Veteran forward Kevin Love reacted to his involvement in a reported three-team trade between the Miami Heat, Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.

“Never thought I’d be a math problem,” Love wrote in a post on X. “Welcome to the NBA.”

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Clippers sent Norman Powell to Miami and received John Collins from the Jazz. Love, Kyle Anderson and a 2027 Clippers second-round pick will also be heading to Utah as part of the deal.

Love may not last long with a Jazz team focused on building for the future, as NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the 36-year-old is “certainly a buyout candidate in Utah.”

He was out of Miami’s rotation for most of the 2024-25 season, appearing in just 23 contests. Love averaged 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per game, shooting 35.7 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from three-point territory.

He’ll end his Heat career with averages of 7.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game on 41.3/33.5/78.6 shooting splits.

While the five-time All-Star’s days of operating as a starter on squads with contending aspirations may be behind him, retirement doesn’t seem to be a looming possibility.

Love confirmed that he’s looking to keep playing during the 2025-26 season in April.

His defense hasn’t been sharp as of late, but he’s shown that he’s still a force on the glass while spacing the floor on offense. Love has averaged 12.1 rebounds per 36 minutes and shot 36.3 percent from behind the arc over the past four seasons.

He wasn’t expecting to have his contract used to help facilitate Monday’s three-team deal, though.



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Russian minister fired by Putin shoots himself dead, authorities say – POLITICO

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One lawmaker said that Starovoit’s death may have occurred before he was sacked by the president.

The Kremlin published a decree earlier Monday saying that Putin had fired Starovoit, without giving an official reason for his dismissal — but airports across Russia have faced multiple delays, cancellations and stranded passengers over the weekend due to Ukrainian drone attacks.

On Sunday, an explosion aboard the Eco Wizard tanker at a port in the Leningrad region triggered an ammonia leak, adding to the crisis engulfing Russia’s transportation sector.

Starovoit was appointed as Russia’s transport minister in May 2024. Before his time as minister, he spent almost five years as acting governor and head of the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.

This story has been updated.





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