Science - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Friday, June 27, 2025

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Science

Philly endures more heat waves each year. See how they’ve changed in your lifetime.

Weather

Is Philadelphia’s heat as bad as Philadelphians say it is? See how it’s changed over the course of your lifetime.

Learn how heat waves are increasing in frequency and duration in the region.

Pedestrians stroll Center City on a warm day earlier this month. It's about to get a lot warmer.

Weather

Heat advisory in effect for Philly Thursday, with strong storms possible

An isolated tornado can't be ruled out Thursday.

A kindergartener takes part in distance learning in Massachusetts during the COVID-19 outbreak in October 2020. Threats to funding of public broadcasters increses the difficulty of planning for the next education crisis, writes Yoni Greenbaum.

Opinion

As STEM faces a funding crisis, we’re dismantling public broadcasting — our best educational safety net

The threat of funding cuts creates an impossible situation: Just when the nation needs educational broadcasting most, public media outlets are planning their own obsolescence.

Forecast near-surface smoke from Canadian wildfires for 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Weather

Wildfire smoke from Canada will likely last the workweek in Philly, but air quality should improve

Wildfire smoke was helping raise ozone to hazardous levels.

Pedestrians ambling in Center City on Tuesday as temperatures climb and veils of smoke fill the air. It's going to get steamier Wednesday.

Weather

Canadian smoke persists over Philly, with a ‘code orange’ air-quality alert

Temperatures are due to climb toward 90 degrees Wednesday, and it's going to get steamier.

An aurora borealis as seen in October in Idaho.

News

The northern lights show over Philly on Sunday and Monday was ambushed by timing and smoke

Northern lights in Philadelphia were a miss on Sunday, but there's slim hope for sightings tonight

The northern lights flare in the sky over a farmhouse last year in Brunswick, Maine.

News

The northern lights may be visible over the Philly region on Monday night

A space weather expert sees a "decent" chance they'll be visible over Philly, if the forecast holds.

A path of destruction is obvious as the sun slowly sets in Atlantic, Pa., on May 31, 1985, after a twister all but leveled the small town, leaving five dead and dozens injured. About a dozen homes were flattened, and most of those remaining were severely damaged. In all, 64 people were killed in Pennsylvania.

Climate News

40 years ago a rare and deadly tornado outbreak struck Pennsylvania. Are more in our future?

It was “one of the rarest” tornado outbreaks on record, says a tornado expert, but “things like that are possible.”

Pedestrians walking in the rain near Independence Mall in what has become a common scene after months of dyrness.

Weather

Tornado watch, flood watch are up for the Philly region Friday night

May likely will be the wettest month since March 2024. The weather may finally have the drought on the run.

The Asian longhorned tick was first spotted on a sheep farm in New Jersey in 2017.

News

The Asian longhorned tick is spreading far and fast, and Pennsylvania is a ‘hotbed.’

The female Asian Longhorned tick can reproduce without mating.

Pedestrians with umbrellas out walking walking near Independence Mall Wednesday. It's been a wet, chilly period in Philly.

Weather

Philly has had rain on 18 days so far in May, and more is yet to come

After 10 straight days of below-normal temperatures, the first week of June may start feeling like summer.

Pools of water that used to be solid marsh at Scotch Bonnet Island behind the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor.

New Jersey

Racing to save Stone Harbor’s Scotch Bonnet Island before it’s swallowed by rising seas

Sea level rise in N.J. is running at twice the global average and that's bad news for New Jersey’s 200,000 acres of tidal wetlands.

The Schuylkill as seen from Spring Garden bridge in the aftermath of Ida in 2021, Forecasters see an active 2025 season.

Weather

NOAA sees another active hurricane season and says Trump cuts won’t hurt forecasting

But NOAA and other forecast services say that the 2025 season may not be as active as last year's.

Video

Philadelphia Zoo’s oldest residents welcome even more new kids

The Philadelphia Zoo announced its oldest residents — Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoises Mommy and Abrazzo — are proud parents to three new male hatchlings.

An obviously seafood-loving osprey with a prize catch at the John Heinz Environmental Center. Like eagles, the ranks of osprey are growing.

News

Eagles (the flying kind) are making huge gains in Pennsylvania, a major bird census shows

Ospreys also have made a remarkable comeback.

Philly hit 100 degrees Tuesday for the first time in 13 years, but a cooldown is coming

Philly set a temperature record Monday, and it may hit 100 Tuesday

Philly about to bake in a potentially dangerous first heat wave of the season

‘Extreme heat warning’ in effect for the entire Philly region. More than 40,000 still without power

The longest days arrive in Philly, and the sunsets are about to get even later

Is Philadelphia’s heat as bad as Philadelphians say it is? See how it’s changed over the course of your lifetime.

Heat advisory in effect for Philly Thursday, with strong storms possible

As STEM faces a funding crisis, we’re dismantling public broadcasting — our best educational safety net

Wildfire smoke from Canada will likely last the workweek in Philly, but air quality should improve

Canadian smoke persists over Philly, with a ‘code orange’ air-quality alert

The northern lights show over Philly on Sunday and Monday was ambushed by timing and smoke

The northern lights may be visible over the Philly region on Monday night

40 years ago a rare and deadly tornado outbreak struck Pennsylvania. Are more in our future?

Tornado watch, flood watch are up for the Philly region Friday night

The Asian longhorned tick is spreading far and fast, and Pennsylvania is a ‘hotbed.’

Philly has had rain on 18 days so far in May, and more is yet to come

Racing to save Stone Harbor’s Scotch Bonnet Island before it’s swallowed by rising seas

NOAA sees another active hurricane season and says Trump cuts won’t hurt forecasting

Philadelphia Zoo’s oldest residents welcome even more new kids

Eagles (the flying kind) are making huge gains in Pennsylvania, a major bird census shows