The agave’s stalk — which it shoots up before the plant’s once-in-a-lifetime bloom — has already blown away predictions of its top height, and it's still growing. Where it will stop, nobody knows.

Earth simmered to the sixth hottest year on record in 2021, according to several newly released temperature measurements.

A man receives the first pig heart transplant. Astronomers witness a star go supernova. Researchers identify a biomarker of depression. And a goldfish goes for a drive. 

Eagles don't eat rat poison, but they do eat the critters that take the bait. The powerful toxins keep blood from clotting, and a recently rescued eagle would have bled to death from a tiny cut, said the veterinarian caring for the bird. 

Studies show temperatures of -30°F will kill 98% of ash borer beetle larvae. Guess when Chicago was last that cold.

According to a federal report released Monday, the U.S. experienced 20 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2021, including hurricanes, wildfires and out-of-season December tornadoes.

It can be hard to tell one tree from another in winter, but there's a simple trick to identifying invasive buckthorn. 

Skokie Lagoons may look like an oasis of green but a lot of that lush vegetation is actually an invasive species called European buckthorn. WTTW News tagged along as a group of volunteers charged into the thicket and tackled this enemy. 

In response to concerns about putting a see-through glass tower in the path of migrating birds, Carvana revised its plan to incorporate bird-friendly components. Critics called the proposed mitigations “woefully inadequate.” 

Chicagoans woke up Friday to sub-zero temperatures, the first time in nearly a year the mercury has dipped into the negatives. In anticipation of the cold snap, officials issued reminders and tips.

Chicago’s Christmas tree recycling event kicks off Saturday and runs through Jan. 22 at 26 parks. The program keeps hundreds of thousands of pounds of trees out of landfills.

Melting glaciers, deadly floods in Germany, record high summer temperatures in generally mild Oregon, more urgent pleas for help from Pacific island nations. With growing urgency, the effects of climate change were felt around the world in 2021.

The National Weather Service on Tuesday said that as of 12:10 p.m., one-tenth of an inch of snow had been recorded at O’Hare Airport — Chicago’s official weather site — making the first measurable snowfall in 287 days.

The National Weather Service is forecasting a "burst of wet snow" on Tuesday and a chance of light snow on Wednesday, which could bring Chicago's snow-free streak to an end.

Did you know wrapping paper isn’t recyclable in Chicago? Read on for more tips on how to deal with post-holiday waste.

For an animal immortalized in literature, song and film, the reindeer has done a remarkable job of, pardon the pun, flying under the radar.