Storms brought power outages and catastrophic flooding. An unusually dry and hot autumn led to historic wildfires. But it wasn鈥檛 all bad news: blue skies delivered a crystal-clear total eclipse, and solar flares gave us the northern lights.
In climate and environment news, it was a year of heartbreak and exhilaration, progress and setbacks, thrilling discoveries and daring rescues. Here鈥檚 a look back as we head into 2025.
Mild, erratic, extreme
From a lackluster winter to a , the weather in 2024 gave some insight into how climate change is affecting New England.
The year began with a power outage in Vermont and . It was the for the U.S. But some New England winter traditions, like ice harvesting, .
We had too much winter rain and not enough in the fall. During September and October, Connecticut experienced . Massachusetts firefighters faced , much later in the season than usual.
The warmer weather is having a complex , incubating invasive plants and degrading water quality.
Flooding, again
In July, just as Vermont was marking the anniversary of the previous year鈥檚 widespread, destructive flooding, heavy rains came again.
The remnants of Hurricane Beryl dropped as much as 6 inches of rain in parts of Vermont. A few weeks later, severe flash flooding tore through communities in the northern part of the state. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott urged weary Vermonters to stick together and not give up.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont for residents of southwestern Connecticut later in the summer, when severe flooding hit there, with at least two people killed.
In New Hampshire鈥檚 North Country, residents affected by flooding in December 2023 continued in their long recovery and .
In Maine, where back-to-back storms hit in January, for how the state can be prepared for more of this extreme weather in the future.
Adapting and seeking solutions
State governments in New England continued in their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In Vermont, legislators overrode the governor鈥檚 veto to pass a major clean energy bill and passed a bill to try to make big oil pay for climate damages.
to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
Massachusetts passed a , including a plan to give marginalized communities in how energy projects affect them.
As New Hampshire officials drafted that state鈥檚 climate change plan, it was , focusing on voluntary measures and market-based solutions.
Meanwhile, New Englanders pursued their own creative approaches.
Farmers experimented with things like to protect from unseasonably cold nights. looked for ways to reduce their carbon emissions and , in some cases, by .
On Cape Cod, people enthusiastic about encouraged their neighbors to divert their urine to protect the local water supply. Researchers in Vermont looked into whether recycled pee can work as a large-scale, sustainable fertilizer.
A tumultuous year for offshore wind
Offshore wind could bring massive amounts of renewable energy to New England.
On Jan. 2, 2024, the region鈥檚 first large offshore wind farm, Vineyard Wind, for the first time from a single turbine. In February, .
With 62 turbines planned, Vineyard Wind is set to produce enough renewable electricity for about 400,000 homes.
But there have been challenges.
In July, a blade broke off a Vineyard Wind turbine and at the height of summer tourism season. The incident .
In response, the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement issued a suspension order. Construction resumed, but when a group of our journalists in September, all of the turbines were still.
Later in the fall, efforts to expand offshore wind in New England through and attracted less interest than anticipated, potentially about the industry.
Looking up
Heading into 2024, we were certain about one thing: a total solar eclipse would pass over northern New England on April 8.
But how many would travel to the region to see it, how much those crowds could disrupt communication or emergency services in rural areas, or whether the clouds would even part.
As it happened, New Englanders got some of the in the country. People who saw it in Vermont, and called it a life-changing experience.
And there was more to come. Later in the year, solar storms caused the northern lights to be visible in areas where it鈥檚 not normally seen, . People peered through their phones and captured striking pink and green images from Connecticut to .
Discoveries and rescues
Some of the saddest, strangest and most wonderful stories of the year in New England came from the natural world.
In February, a . The tragedy gave scientists a rare opportunity to do a necropsy and learn more about how one of the world鈥檚 last remaining North Atlantic right whales had died.
Right whales were again in the news as experts tried to understand , and as we learned their overall population numbers had .
Groups that help animals in trouble were busy. A got stranded on the Cape. were treated at a New England Aquarium animal hospital. were rescued in the Boston area. And endangered piping plovers got .
Mosquitoes dominated the news in August after .
In other insect news that month, some Boston residents encountered swarms of flying ants 鈥� turns out those bugs were .
The year saw major efforts in Maine to help , an important plant in the coastal ecosystem that also sequesters a large amount of carbon. In western Massachusetts, researchers planted from Appalachia to try to save them from extinction. In Connecticut, they counted acorns to try to . In Vermont, wildlife officials rediscovered false mermaid-weed, a spring ephemeral plant that hadn鈥檛 been seen in the state for more than 100 years.
And we sought out birds 鈥� , and 鈥� to better understand them, but also just to enjoy them.
Art and reflection
As we learned in our special series about , the landscape of New England affects us in myriad ways.
We reflected with , and . In New Bedford, an exhibit on scrimshaw included depictions of pollution .
Along the way, we enjoyed some . And as we found in our , there will always be new places to explore.
