The death toll from Indonesia's wildfire smoke reached an estimated 3,560 in September, roughly double August's figure, while about 57.8 million people breathed unhealthy to hazardous air. The crisis has triggered protests in Jakarta and other cities against President Prabowo Subianto's policies, and the government announced prosecutions of companies tied to the fires. Over 4.6 million acres have burned since August, and more than 300,000 Indonesians have sought treatment for acute respiratory problems.
Columbia University
3 stories since 28 October 2026, newest first
31 October 2026
30 October 2026
Researchers say human-driven warming reversed the start of a new ice age. A study published in the journal Science examined the Barnes ice cap on Baffin Island in northern Canada, the last remnant of the Laurentide ice sheet. According to the study authors, the ice cap began expanding around 2,000 years ago, signaling the onset of a new ice age. By the 1960s, warm summers had caused it to shrink again. Lead author Nicolás Young is a geochemist at Columbia University.
28 October 2026
OpenAI and Anthropic announced on Monday, 30 Oct, that one of their AI models claims to have disproved the exponential time hypothesis, a conjecture that has guided three decades of computer science research. Ramamohan Paturi and Ryan Williams, two of the scientists involved, say they are helping organise an independent review of the companies' claims. Paturi said his first reaction was surprise, while Williams said he felt vindicated because he had long doubted the hypothesis. Separately, the European Central Bank reports that euro area digital investment has risen 73 % in real terms since 2014, and that AI has added about 10 % to firms' capital expenditure plans this year.