Published stories in Climate & Environment.
Norwegian authorities said Thursday that 13 recently dead reindeer had been found in Svalbard in what they described as a highly unusual pattern for summer. The local governor's office said the animals were found during an annual count in two valleys in the A…
Switzerland may struggle to meet its 2030 climate target because of budget limits, Environment Minister Albert Rosti told Le Temps on Thursday. The country has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions to half of 1990 levels by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.…
Human-caused climate change made the extreme fire conditions behind this year's Canadian wildfires about twice as likely, according to a World Weather Attribution study released Thursday. The researchers focused on the most extreme seven-day and 30-day period…
Rising waters in Kenya's Rift Valley have pushed Lake Baringo closer to homes, schools and tourist sites, increasing encounters with crocodiles and hippos and displacing tens of thousands of people, according to officials and residents. Lake Baringo and nearb…
An oil leak from a stranded tanker near an Omani nature reserve could cause a serious environmental disaster, environmental groups and investigators warned. Satellite imagery verified by AFP showed what appeared to be an oil slick spreading from a ship strand…
Tuju, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Sao Paulo, changes the timing of its menus according to rainfall rather than fixed calendar dates. Chef Ivan Ralston and gastronomic researcher Katherina Cordas spent two years studying ingredients, mainly from Sao Pa…
Slovakia recorded 42.2C in the southern village of Dolne Plachtince on Thursday, setting an all-time national temperature high for the second day in a row, the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute said. The reading broke the 41.4C record set on Wednesday in K…
Mountain lions are linked to far fewer deer-vehicle crashes in parts of Washington state's Olympic Peninsula, with collisions falling by as much as 76 percent in areas the predators frequent, according to a study published Wednesday in Current Biology. Lead a…
Butterfly species are moving into new areas and retreating from some traditional habitats as climate change alters conditions around the world, according to a study published Wednesday in Nature Ecology & Evolution. The study assessed more than 1,700 species…
Austria and Slovakia set national temperature records on Wednesday as a heatwave affected central Europe, weather agencies in both countries said. GeoSphere Austria said 41.2C was recorded at Bad Deutsch-Altenburg in eastern Austria, breaking the 41C record s…
July was France's hottest month since measurements began in 1900 and its third driest July on record, Meteo-France said Tuesday. The weather service said July surpassed earlier French heat records set during the heatwaves of August 2003 and July 2006. It said…
The Royal Mint is recovering gold from electronic waste at a plant near Cardiff in Wales and using the metal to make jewellery. Sean Millard, the Royal Mint's development director, said the plant, opened two years ago, can process around 4,000 tonnes of elect…
Scotland's natural heritage agency has banned this year's Guga Hunt, a centuries-old annual hunt for gannet chicks on the remote island of Sula Sgeir, citing conservation concerns. NatureScot said the hunting group known as the Men of Ness had requested a lic…
Most of Italy was under a red heat alert on Monday, August 3, as another heatwave hit parts of Europe.
England and Wales had their driest July on record, the UK Met Office said, citing provisional figures after a month of extreme dryness, warmth and sunshine. The weather agency said England recorded 6.5 millimetres of rain in July, 10 percent of its usual aver…
South Korea's weather agency issued a severe heatwave warning for Seoul on Monday, the first such alert for the capital since the designation was introduced this year. The Korea Meteorological Administration said some districts in the city could face more ext…
Record-low water levels on the Danube are disrupting shipping, fishing, power generation and tourism across parts of central and eastern Europe after successive heatwaves dried out the region. The river is at a 30-year low in Romania and Slovakia and at its l…
The World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya will move its three-day event to November from next year because of summer heat, after participants at this year's parade faced conditions ahead of a 40C forecast for Sunday's final day. The annual Japan event draws upwards…
Italy will place 25 of its 27 major cities under the highest heat alert from Monday as a fresh heatwave grips the country, the health ministry said. Temperatures were forecast to reach into the high 30s Celsius on Monday. Only Reggio Calabria, at the southern…
Wine harvests in parts of France and Italy have started unusually early after summer heat and drought pushed grapes to mature ahead of normal schedules. In Oltrepo Pavese in northern Italy, harvesting was under way in the final days of July. Matteo Castellani…
Rhine water levels in Germany are nearing or reaching record lows as low rainfall and high summer temperatures raise concern among shipping operators and industry. Germany's WSV waterways agency said a stretch of the Rhine near Kaub, a key point for commercia…
President Donald Trump's administration has approved five new pesticides that many scientists and environmental advocates say are PFAS “forever chemicals,” intensifying a dispute over how the United States defines and regulates the substances. The Environment…
A heatwave across Central Europe prompted fire bans, cooling centres and energy-saving measures on Friday as authorities warned of pressure on water and power networks. In Hungary, Prime Minister Peter Magyar called on businesses to voluntarily reduce electri…
Chronic water shortages in Eritrea's capital, Asmara, have left residents rationing household use and paying for costly tanker deliveries. Saba, a civil servant whose name was changed for her safety, said her family buys water from tankers with help from rela…
Mexico is deploying navy ships and beach crews to remove a large influx of sargassum from Caribbean beaches, including near Cancun and Playa del Carmen, after officials said some days were bringing more than 9,000 tons ashore. Environmental Secretary Alicia B…
The Rhine has fallen to its lowest recorded level at Lobith, where it enters the Netherlands, and is expected to drop further because of drought, Dutch officials said Thursday. “The drought in the Netherlands continues to worsen,” the Dutch infrastructure and…
Southern Europe has more than twice as many summer days primed for extreme wildfire conditions as it had in earlier decades, according to a study published Thursday in Scientific Reports. The study found extreme fire conditions occurred on fewer than 10 days…
Italian authorities raised the drought alert in the Po Valley to “high” on Thursday as worsening conditions and unfavourable forecasts increased pressure on northern Italy’s water supplies. The Po River Authority said more than 100 municipalities in Piedmont…
The Danube has fallen to record or multi-decade lows in parts of Europe, stranding boats, disrupting shipping and affecting nuclear and hydropower production along the river. The low water has left pleasure boats trapped in algae at Corabia in southern Romani…
More than half of England has been declared in drought after record-low rain and exceptionally high temperatures, the UK government said Wednesday. The Environment Agency said the seven drought areas include London, East Anglia, all of southwest England and t…
Nepal's tiger population has risen by roughly 20 percent in the past four years to an estimated 429, officials said Wednesday, in a conservation gain that also brings challenges for communities near tiger habitats. The latest nationwide survey found tiger num…
Preliminary work on a hotel project linked to the Trump family has already caused irreparable damage to part of Albania's coast, scientists and environmental activists say. Satellite images obtained by AFP show that during a 25-day period in May, a road was c…
Scientists and conservationists in Japan's Okinawa are testing ways to protect coral reefs after a 2024 marine heatwave caused widespread bleaching in the subtropical island region. Researchers are using controlled seawater tanks to simulate hotter, more acid…
Fifteen elephants found dead over the past month in and around Kenya's Amboseli National Park were likely poisoned by cyanide, wildlife officials said Thursday. Kenya Wildlife Service spokesman Duncan Juma Wanyama said a preliminary investigation found that t…
Residents of Moroni, the capital of the Comoros, are queuing before dawn or paying for private deliveries as piped water supplies fail for weeks at a time. Ben Joma, an 86-year-old retired printer in the Zilimadjou neighbourhood, told AFP his taps provide wat…
UNESCO has added South Sudan’s Boma-Badingilo migratory landscape to its World Heritage in Danger list, giving the country its first UNESCO World Heritage listing. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation added the site on Sunday,…
Spain will enter a new heatwave on Wednesday that is expected to last until at least Sunday, the national weather agency AEMET said, as the country battles major wildfires. “The risk of fires will rise to extreme levels,” AEMET said. The agency had previously…
Human Rights Watch said pollution linked to Perenco’s oil operations in western Democratic Republic of Congo posed serious health risks to nearby communities, allegations the company denied. Perenco is the only oil producer operating in DR Congo and runs seve…
Five young Pallas’s cats have gone on public display at Kobe Animal Kingdom in Japan, the zoo said. The four males and one female were born at the facility in May. Each weighed about 150 grams at birth but now weighs more than one kilogram. The kittens are be…
Surface waters along the California coast are three to four degrees Celsius above normal during a marine heat wave that scientists say is changing wildlife patterns. Andrew Leising, a research oceanographer with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis…
Some European holidaymakers are choosing cooler northern destinations as summer heatwaves affect parts of Europe, but tourism experts say it is not yet clear whether the shift will become a lasting change in travel patterns. With summer temperatures in Europe…
New York is testing whether food carts can replace petrol generators with rechargeable batteries to reduce noise, exhaust fumes and climate-warming emissions. William Arevalo, a 59-year-old vendor in Queens, is one of 10 street vendors taking part in the city…
Meta has left RE100, a global pledge for companies to source all of their electricity from renewable sources, the company confirmed Friday. RE100 is run by the UK-based nonprofit Climate Group and has 444 members, including Apple, Google and Microsoft. The Cl…
Sweden said it plans to ban so-called "forever chemicals" in consumer products such as clothing and kitchenware as early as 2028, before expected European Union regulation comes into force. The planned ban is intended to take effect on January 1, 2028. It is…