What is the impact of air pollution on exam results or future earnings? Can governments agree to a 2050 net-zero-like goal for a key pollutant, PM 2.5? Such questions are part of an appeal by a new group of political, health, policy, and finance leaders for a policy approach to air pollution that is like […] Continue reading ->
A European Court ruling Tuesday that Switzerland was violating human rights by not acting fast enough on climate change has been hailed by legal experts as a global precedent – and by WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as an important recognition of the links between climate change and health. The #ClimateCrisis is here […] Continue reading ->
As global cases of dengue are already close to last year’s record high of over four million, the Americas region is struggling to contain high transmission levels. Unplanned urbanization, heavier rainfall, warmer temperatures, and the El Nino effect create perfect conditions for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary vector of dengue. The Southern Cone region […] Continue reading ->
A new programme aiming at providing 1.2 million rapid cholera diagnostic tests has been launched in 14 African and Asian countries. “Routine use of diagnostics will bolster cholera surveillance in impacted countries, and must be leveraged to better target vaccination efforts, which play a critical role in multisectoral cholera prevention and control programmes,” said Aurélia […] Continue reading ->
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), famous for busting Volkswagen’s Dieselgate, has a new ambition: Taking immediate action to shift to zero-emissions vehicles, significantly cutting ozone (O3) nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM2.5 pollution, and avoiding millions of cases of early death and paediatric asthma. Business-as-usual vehicle scenarios will lead to an increase. Because they […] Continue reading ->
Whenever farmworker Sonali Kadam experiences pain in her lower abdomen, she fears losing consciousness and pops a painkiller. Her fearful response goes back a decade when she was diagnosed with nephrolithiasis, commonly known as kidney stones, which are hard deposits of salt and minerals formed in the kidneys. When Kadam, a farmworker, first experienced this […] Continue reading ->
HARARE, Zimbabwe – The maize meal porridge that their mother had previously blended with peanut butter and sugar for them is now a thing of the past for scrawny 13-year-old Nesbit Chigariro and his three siblings. The family barely has enough food for a single meal a day, as the El Nino-induced drought sweeping southern […] Continue reading ->
Heatwaves, floods, wildfires, and droughts unleashed global mayhem in 2023, as the year broke multiple climate records, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) State of the Global Climate Report released this week. It was the hottest year in recorded history, with global average near-surface temperature of 1.45℃ above the pre-industrial baseline. “Never have we […] Continue reading ->
Bangladesh is the world’s most polluted country and Delhi is the most polluted capital. But India also has the most air quality monitors in South Asia – while some wealthy petro-nations have virtually none. The air quality global ranking of cities for 2023 has been released by a Swiss firm, IQAir, which has been reporting […] Continue reading ->
Sudan will resume immunising children against polio after detecting circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in its waster water, as six other African countries have reported either cases or positive environmental samples over the past two weeks. Mali and Nigeria reported one case each, Yemen reported three cases and Angola, Côte d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone […] Continue reading ->