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Heatwaves and wildfires to worsen air pollution: UN

More frequent and intense heatwaves and wildfires driven by climate change are expected to worsen the quality of the air we breathe, harming human health and ecosystems, the UN warned Wednesday.

Mercury pollution makes ducks more likely to get bird flu: study

Ducks contaminated by mercury pollution are significantly more likely to get bird flu, a study found Wednesday, pointing towards another way that human-driven changes to the natural world increase the risk of viruses spreading.

G7 corporate climate plans spell 2.7C heating: analysis

The decarbonisation plans of some of the biggest corporations from G7 nations put Earth on course to heat a potentially catastrophic 2.7 degrees Celsius -- blowing Earth well past the Paris Agreement temperature goals, analysis showed Tuesday.

PSG face backlash over mockery of train travel option

French football giants Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday faced accusations of failing to take climate change seriously, after coach Christophe Galtier and star Kylian Mbappe mocked a suggestion that they should take the train rather than private planes for short-haul travel.

PSG face backlash for 'inappropriate' mockery of train plea

French football giants Paris Saint-Germain faced an angry backlash Tuesday after coach Christophe Galtier and star player Kylian Mbappe mocked a suggestion that they should take the train rather than private planes for short-haul travel.

Lake Urmia risks fully drying up: Iran wetlands chief

Iran's Lake Urmia will dry out completely if rescue efforts are not prioritised over the needs of farmers in the drought gripping the region, an environment official said Tuesday.

Pregnant women caught in Pakistan floods desperate for aid

With a swollen belly, aching feet and her four-year-old daughter in tow, Fahmidah Bibi keeps an eye out for a doctor who is rumoured to be due a visit at the campsite she now calls home, after being forced to flee her village because of flooding.

Selfridges targets 'circular' sales for almost half its goods

UK department store Selfridges said Friday that it wants almost half of its sales to be products given a new lease of life as part of the upmarket retailer's efforts to improve sustainability.

Greenpeace drops boulders on UK seabed to curb bottom-trawling fishing

Greenpeace UK said Friday it had dropped 18 large boulders on the seabed in a marine conservation zone off the coast of southwest England to prevent "destructive" industrial fishing.

Flood-born: Nothing but mud as mother, infant return to Pakistan home

Swaddled tightly under the shelter of a donated tent, a newborn baby lays still amid the disorder all around.

Gone in 30 years? The Welsh village in crosshairs of climate change

Occasionally at night, if the weather's bad when she walks her dog along the waterfront, Georgina Salt admits feeling a little "frisson" at the vulnerability of her exposed Welsh village.

England's drought-hit summer 2022 joint hottest on record

England had its joint hottest summer on record this year, tied with 2018, the country's meteorological agency said Thursday as it unveiled provisional mean temperature statistics for the three-month period.

Norwegian eyeing climbing record awaits Chinese permit

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila is only three peaks away from achieving the lung-busting feat of scaling the world's 14 highest mountains in record time.

Greenhouse gas, sea levels at record in 2021: US agency

Earth's concentration of greenhouse gases and sea levels hit new highs in 2021, a US government report said Wednesday, showing that climate change keeps surging ahead despite efforts to curb emissions.

Chinese electric carmaker BYD plummets after Buffett sale

Shares in Chinese electric carmaker BYD plunged on Wednesday after its largest backer, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, reduced its stake amid speculation of a potential exit.

Cambodian psychiatrist helping genocide survivors wins 'Asia's Nobel Prize'

A Cambodian psychiatrist treating victims of the Khmer Rouge and a French environmentalist cleaning up Indonesian rivers were among the winners Wednesday of the 2022 Ramon Magsaysay Award -- considered Asia's Nobel Prize.

Pakistan floods 'worst in country's history', aid efforts gather pace

Aid efforts ramped up across flooded Pakistan on Tuesday to help tens of millions of people affected by relentless monsoon rains that have submerged a third of the country and claimed more than 1,100 lives.

UN raises alarm on Red Sea oil tanker 'time-bomb'

The UN appealed Tuesday for the last $14 million needed to try and prevent a stricken oil tanker from triggering a disaster off Yemen that could cost $20 billion to clean up.

Fossil fuels causing cost-of-living crisis: climate expert

The cost-of-living crisis pushing millions of people towards poverty in Europe is driven by fossil fuels, according to a leading Earth systems scientist, who has warned that global heating risks causing runaway climate change.

'Third' of Pakistan under water as flood aid efforts gather pace

Aid efforts ramped up across flooded Pakistan on Tuesday to help tens of millions of people affected by relentless monsoon rains that have submerged a third of the country and claimed more than 1,100 lives.

Ecuador investigates killing of four Galapagois giant tortoises

Prosecutors in Ecuador on Monday announced an investigation into the alleged hunting and killing of four giant tortoises on the Galapagos Islands, a unique and fragile ecosystem considered a world heritage site.

Plenty of roadblocks for automakers seeking EV success

The world's top automakers -- motivated either by governmental regulations or pure profit -- have made a sharp turn away from fossil fuel vehicles. But there are plenty of obstacles on the road to a future full of eco-friendly cars.

Dead fish and depression on the banks of the Oder

Appearing tired and stressed, Piotr Wloch looks out dejectedly at his empty tourist boats on the Oder river after an environmental disaster that has killed thousands of fish.

Pipeline operator to pay $13m over California coast leak

The operators of a pipeline that leaked crude oil onto California beaches has agreed to plead guilty to environmental pollution charges and pay $13 million, these companies said Friday.

Dry summer puts squeeze on French Alps cheese

France's record heat and drought have not spared the majestic pastures under the snow-capped Alps, where cows are struggling to find enough grass to produce milk for reblochon and other prized cheeses.

UK cost-of-living crisis worsens as energy price cap nearly doubles

Britain announced Friday a vast 80-percent hike in electricity and gas bills, in a dramatic worsening of the cost-of-living crisis before winter as the country awaits a new leader.

Lights out? Swiss brace for looming power shortages

Switzerland is among the world's wealthiest countries, but its reliance on Russian gas and French nuclear power -- both in short supply -- has it bracing for power shortages and even blackouts this winter.

UN high-seas biodiversity treaty struggles to leave port

A two-week negotiating session on a treaty to protect the high seas wraps up Friday, with UN observers holding their breath that the long-stalled deal can cross the finish line.

California says new cars must be zero emission by 2035

California ruled Thursday that all new cars sold in America's most populous state must be zero emission from 2035, in what was billed as a nation-leading step to slash the pollutants that cause global warming.

Brazil records worst day for Amazon fires in 15 years

The number of forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon hit a nearly 15-year high this week, according to official figures that provided the latest warning on the advancing destruction of the world's biggest rainforest.

California set to ban fossil fuel cars by 2035

All new cars sold in California by 2035 will have to be zero emission under plans set to be adopted by the state this week, as the biggest economy in the United States drives a nationwide fossil fuel evolution.

Boiling heat and no water: taps run dry in southern Iraq

Younes Ajil turns on the tap in his home but nothing comes out: dozens of villages are without running water in drought-hit Iraq, surviving on sporadic tanker-truck deliveries and salty wells.

Auld reekie: Edinburgh bin strike leaves a bad smell

Trash overflowed from bins on the streets of Edinburgh on Tuesday as a strike by council workers hit the city during its internationally renowned arts festival.

Cyprus says major gas find could boost European supplies

A new gas discovery off Cyprus could speed up exploitation of untapped resources and help secure supplies to Europe, Cypriot Energy Minister Natasa Pilides said Tuesday.

After 'doomsday' floods, Sudanese fear worse to come

In the Sudanese village of Makaylab, Mohamed Tigani picked through the pile of rubble that was once his mud-brick home, after torrential rains sparked heavy floods that swept it away.

Swiss glaciers shrink in half since 1931: study

Swiss glaciers have shed half their volume since 1931, Swiss researchers said Monday, following the first reconstruction of the country's ice loss in the 20th century.

'We are divided': lake upends life for tiny Kenyan tribe

At first light, children from one of Kenya's smallest and most isolated tribes put on life jackets and board a fishing boat for the journey across the lake to school.

Algeria fires mostly contained but more residents forced to evacuate

Wildfires which killed at least 38 people across northern Algeria have been largely contained, firefighters said Friday, but new blazes forced further evacuations and the closure of some roads near the Tunisian border.

Greenland treads softly on tourism as icebergs melt

As tourists flock to Greenland to take in its breathtaking icebergs and natural beauty, authorities are mulling ways to control crowds to protect the fragile environment, already threatened by global warming.

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