They are next-door neighbors, sharing all the amenities and challenges of the neighborhood—oceans teeming with life, the risk of tropical diseases, a changing climate that may be giving rise to bigger and more frequent hurricanes. And yet, because the neighbors are barely on speaking terms, they cannot share the opportunities and the responsibilities that come with solving the challenges.

 As airplanes fly through the clouds, they often punch holes through the ones that contain supercooled water, or water that has remained in liquid form below its freezing point. Now, researchers say that this phenomenon can lead to increased snowfall around the world’s major airports.

The current global trend of rising average temperatures could bring worrisome reductions in crop yields within a decade, a leading agricultural economist told a Capitol Hill briefing co-sponsored by AAAS.

Michael J. Roberts, assistant professor of agricultural and resource economics at North Carolina State University, said computer models suggest that average global temperatures will rise enough to cause severe weather extremes that could cut yields by 20% for major crops such as corn and soybeans for the period 2020-2049.