New research suggests long-term exposure to wildfire smoke may significantly increase dementia risk, posing a greater threat to brain health than other forms of air pollution. The study, presented this week at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, examined a decade of electronic medical records for 1.2 million older adults in Southern California from 2009 to […] Continue reading ->
Human skin can absorb ‘forever chemicals’, University of Birmingham researchers discovered, revealing a new pathway for these toxic substances to enter the body. The finding amplifies health concerns as researchers increasingly detect per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in people worldwide. PFAS are man-made chemicals that persist in nature and human bodies for a millennium before […] Continue reading ->
The COP28 climate summit, the largest in history, concluded with a landmark but contentious agreement to transition away from fossil fuels, endorsed by 198 nations. This historic agreement, known as the UAE Consensus, represents the first time in the 28-year history of UN climate summits that nations have collectively resolved to move away from the […] Continue reading ->
Early this week, the 28th year of United Nations (UN) climate summits saw its hopes for a historic agreement to end the fossil fuel era dashed by industry interests resisting efforts to phase out their use. The negotiations extended into overtime, familiar to COP proceedings, as diplomats from nearly 200 countries attempted to bridge the […] Continue reading ->
The world will soon know whether a petrostate can steer the global fight against climate change as the 28th UN Climate Conference (COP28) opens in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The two-week summit, expected to draw a record 70,000 delegates from more than 200 countries, marks the largest gathering of world leaders this year. The […] Continue reading ->
Africa is home to many of the world’s fastest-growing urban centres – and a crisis of air pollution faces the continent’s rapidly expanding cities, according to a new Clean Air Fund report released Thursday. Africa, home to the world’s youngest population, is expected to see its population nearly double by mid-century, reaching 3.9 billion by […] Continue reading ->
The third round of international negotiations over a global plastics treaty has ended in a stalemate, leaving nations no closer to an agreement to stem the tide of plastic pollution that is choking the planet and endangering human health. The week-long talks at UN Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi marked the halfway point towards […] Continue reading ->
The world is on a trajectory to heat up by nearly 3°C this century unless governments take “relentless” action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report released Monday by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Emissions Gap report, an annual assessment by UNEP that measures the difference between government pledges to […] Continue reading ->
Measles cases and deaths have skyrocketed worldwide, with 37 countries experiencing large or disruptive outbreaks in 2022 compared to 22 in 2021, according to a joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report, published on Wednesday, highlights the devastating impact of declining vaccination […] Continue reading ->
A new report from the Lancet Countdown, an annual assessment of progress toward the climate targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement, paints a grim picture of the escalating health risks associated with a warming planet. The report, compiled by an international consortium of 114 scientists, health experts, and researchers, warns that the world is on […] Continue reading ->