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Keith Ladzinski

The Mont Blanc Massif, with western Europe's highest peak, is fundamentally changing due to climate change, along with mountains worldwide. Temperatures in mountainous regions have risen up to 50 percent faster than the global average,.

A crescent moon setting at sunrise over the mountains at Tolar Grande, Argentina.

Great Basin National Park, Nevada • A pale moon shines through the skeletons of bristlecone pines 21 years after a wildfire—made rare and more intense by years of fire suppression—ripped through 1,650 acres here in 2000. Some bristlecones are about 5,000 years old, making them the longest-lived individual organisms on Earth. Seedlings have sprouted among the dead, offering hope that this species might be one of the best equipped to endure a warming climate

Near Boulder, Colorado • With the help of a helicopter, charred trees ground to mulch are showered like cremated remains over a forest that burned in 2020. The mulch will help stabilize the slopes in these foothills, letting new vegetation take root and preventing soil erosion, which otherwise could harm nearby lakes and streams.

Jemez Mountains, New Mexico • From 1650 on, this ponderosa pine survived 15 fires—but in the 20th century most fires were suppressed. Fuel built up in the forest; a long, hot drought settled in. A monster blaze in 2011 ravaged 45 square miles in its first night. The result? “An extinguished ecosystem that will never be seen again here,” says scientist Craig Allen.

Mojave National Preserve, California • Yet these icons of the Mojave Desert already faced other threats. Seedlings appear less often as temperatures rise and a long drought persists; invasive grasses promote fire. This relatively cool pocket, where some trees survived the 2020 fire, is a potential refuge. Volunteers are planting seedlings to aid the recovery.

American alligators are vulnerable as youngsters, prey to birds, raccoons, and other gators. A study found they can partially regenerate their tails, which are important for moving around.

A 'supercell' storm towers over a farm grain elevator.

The Cape weaver bird, found in southern Africa, isn’t considered endangered. Yet a new study predicts that it may be one of thousands of species likely to become ensnared in the global wildlife trade.

Libecki keeps watch as his boat manoeuvres around icebergs in the Greenland Sea at dusk.