Alexandria, Egypt, has stood for almost 2400 years. Today, though, parts of it are crumbling—one building at a time. As Earth’s climate changes, the Mediterranean Sea is rising, the coast is eroding, and saltwater is seeping into groundwater supplies. That weakens buildings, causing them to collapse. And according to a recent study, without action to protect the coastline, the problem will get worse in the years ahead.

Alexandria is the largest city on the Mediterranean, and one of the busiest ports. But its maritime location is causing trouble. Researchers looked at records of building collapses over the past quarter century. They also compared the coastline to that of previous decades, studied the soil, and made other observations.

They found that 280 buildings have collapsed in the past 20 years. Over that span, the rate of collapse jumped from fewer than one per year to almost 40. Almost all of the destroyed buildings were within a mile of the coast.

The jump was largely the result of climate change. Higher sea level and stronger storms have eroded the coastline by an average of 12 feet per year, with one district averaging 120 feet. And seawater is filtering into aquifers below the city. That corrodes foundations, causing buildings to crumble.

The scientists recommended creating dunes and greenbelts along the coast to keep the Mediterranean at bay—and keep Alexandria from crumbling into the sea.

Most corals are homebodies. They settle in one spot, link with hundreds or thousands of their friends, and never move. They build the structures we recognize as corals: rock-like spires, branches, domes, and others.

But a few corals “walk” along the sea floor. They don’t go very far. And they certainly don’t get there in a hurry. But their mobility helps them find more stable waters, avoid being buried in the sediments, and have a safe space to reproduce.

A recent study showed how one species gets around. Biologists in Australia placed mushroom corals—which are only an inch or two long—in aquariums. They put white lights on one side of the tanks—like the light in shallower waters. And they put blue lights—like deeper waters—on the other side. And they recorded the “action” on video.

When they turned on one set of lights or the other, 87 percent of the corals went toward the blue light. And when they turned on both sets, all of the corals moved toward the blue light—showing a preference for greater depths.

The corals didn’t sprint toward the deep end, though—they averaged less than two inches per day, with a maximum of about nine inches.

The video showed that the corals moved in a way similar to jellyfish. The corals inflated tissues at the edges of their bodies, then squeezed and twisted muscles on their sides, causing them to “hop” forward.

Each tiny hop took an hour or two—a slow but steady pace for a walking coral.

Earth’s warming climate has really heated up Atlantic hurricanes in recent years. Two recent studies, in fact, found that hurricane wind speeds were boosted by an average of 18 miles per hour. That was enough to kick most of the hurricanes to a higher category—including some that were juiced up to category five, the most powerful of all.

As the atmosphere heats up, it warms the oceans. And heat is what powers hurricanes. So warmer oceans make hurricanes more intense.

Scientists studied the impact of warmer oceans on the intensity of hurricanes in the North Atlantic Ocean from 2019 through ’23. In a separate study, they looked at the 2024 season.

The researchers used records of sea-surface temperatures, models of Earth’s climate, and statistical analyses. They used those details to simulate what hurricanes might have been like without human-caused global warming. And they compared those results to the actual hurricanes.

The results were astounding. The winds of 80 percent of hurricanes from 2019 through ’23 were boosted by roughly one category. And all 11 hurricanes in 2024 were kicked up, by anywhere from nine to 28 miles per hour. That includes boosts to the top level for both category five hurricanes.

Heavier winds cause more damage. They blow more stuff over, and they create a bigger storm surge. So as long as the oceans keep getting hotter, hurricanes might keep getting stronger.