CARTAGENA, Colombia – A small group of climate pollutants– including the air pollutants black carbon, methane, and ozone – are responsible for nearly half of global temperature increases to date. Reducing these emissions, which only remain in the atmosphere for a few weeks to decades, could serve as the “emergency brake” critical to halting runaway […] Continue reading ->
OSOGBO, Nigeria – A few years back, when the bustling Alekuwodo market in Osogbo in Osun State quietened down at night, the chaos of the day lingered. Crushed tomatoes, discarded papers, plastic wrappers, bean husks, watermelon rinds and other fruit scraps turned the market square into a suffocating mess. As the sun set, the stench […] Continue reading ->
CARTAGENA, Colombia – A tour bus emits a cloud of black diesel smoke in front of Cartagena’s glittering white conference center. It is a vivid reminder that from the hottest tourist destinations to the slums of Latin America, Asia and Africa, nine out of ten people on the planet breathe dangerously unhealthy levels of air […] Continue reading ->
Many glaciers in western Canada, the United States, Scandinavia, Central Europe, the Caucasus, New Zealand and the tropics will not survive the 21st century – and this will have a “dramatic impact” on mountain communities and hundreds of millions of people who depend on water that originates from these glaciers. These are the key findings […] Continue reading ->
The proposed pandemic agreement being negotiated at the World Health Organization (WHO) represents a critical opportunity for the global community to prevent future pandemics – including through coordinated multi-sectoral surveillance across human, animal, and environmental health data. As WHO member states gather in closed meetings over the next few week, three experts in wildlife health […] Continue reading ->
The past ten years (2015-2024) were the ten warmest years on record, individually and collectively, according to the State of the Global Climate 2024 report released on 19 March. The year 2024 was also the warmest year in the 175-year observational record of temperature tracking, according to the United Nations’ agency World Meteorological Organization (WMO), […] Continue reading ->
The US Environmental Protection Agency announced it would seek to roll back 31 climate, air and water pollution, and emissions regulations, declaring this is the “biggest deregulatory action” in US history. Leading environmental health voices say that rolling back pollution and climate regulations will inextricably harm the public’s health, though the Trump administration asserts that […] Continue reading ->
A four-year, multi-country trial measuring health impacts of reduced indoor air pollution due to the shifting of households from biomass to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has yielded mixed results – defying expectations that reduced indoor air pollution would yield significant health benefits. The study of 3,200 households in four Asian, African and Latin America countries […] Continue reading ->
BARAMULLA, India – The biting cold seeped through the cracks of the health facility in Tangmarg in northern Kashmir as 23-year-old Madiha* wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders. She had barely stepped inside when the lights flickered—and then went out. A tense silence fell over the dimly lit corridor before the deep, guttural roar […] Continue reading ->
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 83% of US international aid programs were “canceled” hours before a federal district judge ruled that the administration’s actions were an overreach of the Executive branch’s power. At risk are thousands of lifesaving humanitarian programs. In a refugee camp in Bangladesh, 500,000 Rohynga children depend on food treatment […] Continue reading ->