Zürcher Nachrichten

Featured

Plastic pollution talks must not fail: UN environment chief

Talks to agree the world's first treaty to curb plastic pollution cannot fail and must tackle both production and consumption, the UN's environment chief told AFP on Monday.

Indian author Ghosh wins top Dutch prize

Acclaimed Indian author Amitav Ghosh has won the coveted Dutch Erasmus Prize for his writings on climate change and its impact on humanity, especially on the Indian subcontinent.

Last news

Tesla, Chinese EV brands jostle for limelight at German fair

One of the world's biggest auto shows opened in Munich on Monday, with Tesla ending a 10-year absence to jostle for the spotlight with Chinese rivals as the race for electric dominance heats up.

Can Africa grasp its green-powered potential?

No continent has been hit harder by climate change than Africa, and yet none has more potential for a future centred on green energy, a top expert has told AFP in an interview.

Helping or hindering? US scientists debate how to save giant sequoias

When ferocious wildfires tore through California's prized giant sequoia forests, they killed towering trees that have lived there for thousands of years -- and perhaps changed the nature of the groves forever.

Cute but calamitous: Australia labours under rabbit numbers

With their outsized ears and fluffy fur, rabbits are often seen as cute and harmless. Yet the creature is behind one of the globe's most harmful biological invasions, ravaging Australia, whose efforts to limit the problem have tended only to make things worse.

Minnows blamed for algae-filled French, Spanish lakes

Perched 1,800 metres (about 6,000 feet) near France's border with Spain lies the emerald Areau lake -- whose colour experts blame on minnows used by anglers as live bait.

Heat records topple across sweltering Asia

Temperature records are being toppled across Asia, from India's summer to Australia's winter, authorities said Friday, in fresh evidence of the impact of climate change.

Mont Blanc: The Holy Grail of ultra-trail running

More than 2,000 runners will on Friday set off for the 20th edition of the Mont Blanc Ultra Trail, a hellish 170-kilometre trail run in weather that is already turning wintry.

Brazil high court resumes key Indigenous lands case

Brazil's Supreme Court resumed hearings Wednesday in a closely watched case on whether to restrict native peoples' rights to claim their ancestral lands, a key buffer against climate change.

Climate change boosts risk of extreme wildfires 25%: study

Climate change has sharply boosted the risk of fast-spreading wildfires, according to a Californian study published Wednesday that offers lessons for prevention after recent disasters in Canada, Greece and Hawaii.

IMF warns climate shocks may increase conflict deaths

Climate change threatens to exacerbate conflict in fragile nations across the globe and lead to increased deaths, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report published Wednesday.

Oil firms pay Insta, TikTok influencers for ads

Oil companies are paying popular influencers to pump their gas on social media, sparking a backlash from some climate-conscious fans for promoting planet-warming fossil fuels among young people.

Voluntary deforestation carbon credits failing: study

Only a small fraction of private sector forest-based carbon credits available for purchase to offset greenhouse gas emissions actually help prevent deforestation, according to new research.

Tears as Malaysia-born panda cubs head to China

Tearful Malaysians said goodbye to two panda cubs Tuesday as authorities prepared to send them to China after years of delays because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Air pollution greatest global threat to human health, says benchmark study

Air pollution is more dangerous to the health of the average person on planet Earth than smoking or alcohol, with the threat worsening in its global epicenter South Asia even as China fast improves, a study showed Tuesday.

'Like an urban dumpster': rare corpse flower stinks out California

A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but with a corpse flower -- well, tinkering around the edges isn't going to help.

Comeback king Lula gets delayed honeymoon in Brazil

Economic growth is up, Amazon deforestation is down and he's scored some key wins in Congress: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva finally appears to be getting a delayed honeymoon in his third-term comeback.

Japan PM condemns China over stone-throwing at embassy, schools

Japan's prime minister hit out at Beijing on Monday over what he said were instances of stones being thrown at diplomatic missions and schools in China, following the release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Squeezed out: Bulgaria lavender oil makers fear EU laws

As a successful harvesting season yielding several hundred tonnes of lavender oil wraps up in Bulgaria -- the world's top producer -- the industry's future looks more grey than purple.

Acai berry craze: boon or threat for the Amazon?

Working in the sweltering heat of the Brazilian Amazon, Jose Diogo scales a tree and harvests a cluster of black berries: acai, the trendy "superfood" reshaping the world's biggest rainforest -- for better and worse.

Hawaii county sues power company over deadly wildfires

Maui County is suing Hawaii's electricity company over the deadly fire that levelled Lahaina, alleging the destruction could have been avoided if power lines had been shut off.

In Colombia, a community wins fight to protect a slice of paradise

In the remote west of Colombia, where virgin rainforest and pristine beaches collide, a group of politicians and businessmen dreamed of building a massive port on the Pacific.

Greek fires continue to rage, as toll rises to 21

Greek firefighters struggled Friday to contain scores of wildfires stretching nationwide, as the week's death toll from the raging blazes rose to 21.

'Citizen scientists' battle to save historic UK river

On the banks of the River Wye on the border between England and Wales, Pat Stirling flings a plastic measuring jug tied to a rope into the water.

'Animals are thirsty': Dust and bones on Turkey's shrinking lake

Shepherd Ibrahim Koc recalls his youth with fondness as he grazes cattle on a barren field that was once lush with vegetation on the edge of Turkey's largest lake.

US Republican positions on climate change shock environmentalists

US environmental groups and experts expressed anger Thursday at positions on climate change expressed by Republican presidential hopefuls during their first televised debate the day before.

Ecuador says vote to halt Amazon oil drilling a 'terrible precedent'

Ecuador's energy minister said Wednesday that a vote to halt drilling in an Amazon oil block set a "terrible precedent" and it would be a long and complex task to dismantle the installation.

Top science publisher withdraws flawed climate study

Top science publisher Springer Nature said it has withdrawn a study that presented misleading conclusions on climate change impacts after an investigation prompted by an AFP inquiry.

Beijing fishmongers worry as Japan begins Fukushima water release

Seafood sellers in Beijing expressed consternation Thursday over Japan's gradual release of wastewater from the disaster-hit Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.

Japan begins release of water from Fukushima nuclear plant

Japan began releasing wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday in an operation it insists is safe but has generated a fierce backlash from China.

Brazil experiencing winter heat wave

Brazil is enduring a heat wave in the middle of the southern hemisphere's winter, with the metropolis of Sao Paulo close to breaking records for August and for the year 2023.

Tropical forests nearing critical temperatures thresholds

Global warming is driving leafy tropical canopies close to temperatures where they can no longer transform sunlight and CO2 into energy, threatening total collapse if the thermometer keeps climbing, according to a study Thursday.

Norway opens world's biggest floating wind park

Norway inaugurated the world's biggest floating wind park in the North Sea on Wednesday, an emerging technology considered promising for the transition from fossil fuels to green energy.

Zürcher Nachrichten - Nature (English)