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Greece: Orange Sahara dust haze descends over Athens
Greece: Orange Sahara dust haze descends over Athens AFP Despite the beauty of the orange hue over Athens, the clouds of dust left many Greeks suffering from respiratory problems A dramatic orange haze has descended over Athens as clouds of dust have blown in from the Sahara desert. It is one of the worst such […]
Pandemics in Roman Empire correlate with sudden climate changes
Pandemics in Roman Empire correlate with sudden climate changes A new temperature and precipitation proxy record shows that periods of rapid cooling align with the civilization’s three worst disease outbreaks. Physics Today 77 (4), 17–18 (2024); Plankton living in the Mediterranean Sea some 2000 years ago have helped researchers to uncover a correlation between climate change […]
Letting Your Grass Grow Wild Boosts Butterfly Numbers, UK Study Says
Letting Your Grass Grow Wild Boosts Butterfly Numbers, UK Study Says Butterflies benefit when grass grows long, researchers say. simonkr / iStock / Getty Images Plus Have you ever noticed that meadows of long grass seem to be teeming with butterflies, bumble bees, beetles, crickets and other insects? Meanwhile, short-cropped, bright green lawns appear devoid of critters in comparison. A six-year study of […]
Europe is the fastest-warming continent, at nearly twice the average rate, report says
Europe is the fastest-warming continent, at nearly twice the average rate, report says The latest 5-year averages show that temperatures in Europe are running 2.3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, compared to 1.3 degrees higher globally. Residents walk along a footbridge as the sun sets during a heat wave in Ourense, Spain, on Aug. 8. Brais […]
Cities are often 10-15 °C hotter than their rural surroundings
Cities are often 10-15 °C hotter than their rural surroundings A recent global study conducted by the Joint Research Centre looks at the difference between surface temperatures of urban areas and their neighbouring rural areas in summer. Worldwide, more than half of the people live in cities, and the share of city dwellers is projected to […]
Plastics industry heats world 4 times as much as air travel, report finds
Plastics industry heats world 4 times as much as air travel, report finds Greenpeace activists display a giant art installation called ‘Perpetual Plastic Machine’ ahead of Global Plastic Treaty talks Saturday, May 27, 2023 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) Pollution from the plastics industry is a major force behind the heating of the planet, according […]
Water extraction and weight of buildings see half of China’s cities sink
Water extraction and weight of buildings see half of China’s cities sink Getty Images A building subsides and collapses in Guangxi province Nearly half of China’s major cities are sinking because of water extraction and the increasing weight of their rapid expansion, researchers say. Some cities are subsiding rapidly, with one in six exceeding 10mm […]
Understanding climate warming impacts on carbon release from the tundra
Understanding climate warming impacts on carbon release from the tundra Open-top chambers (OTCs) in Latnjajaure, Sweden, provide a controlled environment to study simulated warming of the tundra ecosystem. Credit: Sybryn Maes The warming climate shifts the dynamics of tundra environments and makes them release trapped carbon, according to a new study published in Nature. These changes could transform […]
Hundreds of thousands displaced by flooding in Burundi
Hundreds of thousands displaced by flooding in Burundi People in Burundi are struggling to cope with flooding after months of heavy rains, with hundreds of thousands being displaced and many homes and schools damaged. The relentless rain has resulted in the level of water in Lake Tanganyika rising considerably, causing chaos for communities living along […]
‘Where can you hide from pollution?’: cancer rises 30% in Beirut as diesel generators poison city
‘Where can you hide from pollution?’: cancer rises 30% in Beirut as diesel generators poison city Lebanon’s economy and electricity system are broken and much power is now generated locally, with devastating effects on air quality and health Smog hangs over Beirut most days, a brownish cloud that darkens the city’s skyline of minarets and […]
I Saw the Future of Europe… In India
I Saw the Future of Europe… In India Photo by Mitchell Ng Liang an on Unsplash This is definitely not going to be an article what the title may suggest. At least not for those who still believe in the mainstream paradigm, according to which “everything can only get better with time”. This is also not going to […]
Oil Companies Must Set Aside More Money to Plug Wells, a New Rule Says. But It Won’t Be Enough.
Oil Companies Must Set Aside More Money to Plug Wells, a New Rule Says. But It Won’t Be Enough. For the first time in more than 60 years, the Bureau of Land Management will force oil and gas companies to set aside more money to guarantee they plug old wells, preventing them from leaking oil, […]
The vast ravines swallowing whole neighbourhoods around the world
The vast ravines swallowing whole neighbourhoods around the world This was once a bustling street in Buriticupu, a city in north-east Brazil. Now it is a vast chasm 80m deep – a 20-storey building could fit inside it. Canyons like this are known locally as “voçoroca” or “torn land” in the indigenous Tupi-Guarani language. The […]
The world dumps 2,000 truckloads of plastic into the ocean each day. Here’s where a lot of it ends up
The world dumps 2,000 truckloads of plastic into the ocean each day. Here’s where a lot of it ends up A local fisherman performs maintenance on his boat while surrounded by trash washed up on Loji Beach in West Java, Indonesia. The western coast of Java in Indonesia is popular with surfers for its world-famous […]
