Environment
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KALÝVIA THORIKOÚ — In an animal shelter near Athens, veterinarian Kleopatra Gkika gently smears soothing cream on the leg of a tortoise, one of hundreds singed in Greece’s devastating summer wildfires. The healing process is going well, the vet noted. The burnt skin has fallen off and the tortoise can soon be released back into its […]
PHOENIX, ARIZONA — After a summer of extreme heat, Arizona’s most populous city is in the record books again. This time Phoenix is notching a record for dry heat. The National Weather Service said the monsoon season this year in the arid Southwest dropped only 0.15 inches (.38 centimeters) of rainfall from June 15 to September […]
In pockets of Europe’s Alpine mountains, glaciers are abundant enough that ski resorts operate above the snow and ice. Ski lifts, resorts, cabins and huts dot the landscape — and have done so for decades. But glaciers are also one of the most obvious and early victims of human-caused climate change, and as they shrink […]
CHITTAGONG, BANGLADESH — European maritime companies are ditching their old ships for scrap on Bangladesh beaches in dangerous and polluting conditions that have killed workers pulling them apart, Human Rights Watch said Thursday. Bangladesh’s southeastern Sitakunda beaches have emerged as one of the world’s largest shipbreaking yards, fueling the South Asian country’s booming construction industry and […]
SYDNEY — Scorching conditions have come early to parts of Australia, with an extreme fire danger warning issued for Sydney and emergency crews battling blazes across Tasmania and Queensland. A record spell of September heat is baking southern states in temperatures up to 18 degrees Celsius above average. About a dozen towns in the country’s southeast […]
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND — The tiny Pacific island nation of Niue has come up with a novel plan to protect its vast and pristine territorial waters — it will get sponsors to pay. Under the plan, which was being launched by Niue’s Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi on Tuesday in New York, individuals or companies can pay […]
The European Union on Friday threw its weight behind a plan to protect the Amazon rainforest, pledging to coordinate financial contributions from EU members and make sure the money was spent as intended under its Global Gateway investment plan. Team Europe, which includes EU members states and institutions such as the European Investment Bank, will […]
SYDNEY — Australia’s national science agency has installed specialized sensors in the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef to help monitor and forecast sediment runoff. Experts from CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization say the discharge can harm the UNESCO World Heritage site’s marine ecosystem. Researchers from CSIRO say their system of sensors, […]
Earth is exceeding its “safe operating space for humanity” in six of nine key measurements of its health, and two of the remaining three are headed in the wrong direction, a new study said. Earth’s climate, biodiversity, land, fresh water, nutrient pollution and “novel” chemicals (human-made compounds like microplastics and nuclear waste) are all out […]
GABORONE, BOTSWANA — The Botswana government responded to criticism from an anti-hunting activist, saying the number of elephants legally killed by hunters since the lifting of a hunting ban in 2019 is negligible. South Africa-based activist Adam Cruise recently published a report titled “Trophy Hunting in Botswana: a tale of declining wildlife, corruption, exploitation and impoverishment.” […]
