When 175 countries unanimously voted in Nairobi in March 2022 to negotiate a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution, the move was hailed as the most significant step in global environmental negotiations since the Paris climate accord. Now, a year to the day after two weeks of talks and a 24-hour final negotiating marathon […] Continue reading ->
Situated on the edge of the advancing Sahara Desert, Ngouri in western Chad is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to climate change. Heat is already rising in the region as the El Niño advances globally, with hotter sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean driving up land temperatures and triggering […] Continue reading ->
CHENNAI, India – Women in drought-prone areas are at a higher risk of intimate partner violence during the hot summer months, but heat action plans being drafted by cities and countries rarely account for this public health issue. The unique vulnerability of women to intensifying climatic events such as heatwaves was at the centre of […] Continue reading ->
KARAGWE, Tanzania – Maria Mwijage had barely reached the footpath home from the village well when mosquitoes began circling her legs. Overnight rain had filled roadside puddles and cattle hoof prints with stagnant water, turning them into breeding grounds. She brushed the insects away, balanced the yellow jerry can on her head and continued towards […] Continue reading ->
As wildfires rage across continents, heatwaves claim thousands of lives and ocean temperatures shatter records, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Friday that the climate crisis has entered “overdrive.” “This is only a warm-up act,” he said. “El Niño is strengthening, adding fuel to a planet already on fire with scorching heat domes, apocalyptic wildfires […] Continue reading ->
Nine miles south of the picturesque French city of Bordeaux, firefighters are at war with a phenomenon straight out of an apocalyptic epic. Scientists call them pyrocumulonimbus, or PyroCbs. NASA calls them the “fire-breathing dragon of clouds”. The port capital of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, normally bustling with tourists at peak season, is instead drowned in smog, so […] Continue reading ->
About 43 million fewer people are undernourished today compared to a peak in 2022, during the COVID pandemic. Yet undernutrition and a lack of diet affordability still haunt more than half a billion people globally. Crises and conflicts increase risks. Global food security improved slightly in 2025 as hunger fell to 7.8% from 8.1% in […] Continue reading ->
PRETORIA, South Africa – Participants from 47 African nations are meeting at the Africa Clean Air Forum this week as part of a continental drive to address the air pollution health crisis. The forum, convened by the Africa Clean Air Network (AfriCAN), is in its fourth year, and this is the first time it is being […] Continue reading ->
Record-breaking dust storms sent pollution levels soaring in China and the US-Mexico border region in 2025, disrupting transport, shutting schools and airports, and sending thousands to emergency rooms, according to a new World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report. Overall, average dust concentrations in 2025 were similar to the previous year, but the regional extremes were severe, […] Continue reading ->
The explosive growth of artificial intelligence is siphoning off water and electricity supplies used by communities around the globe, and creating new sources of air pollution and climate emissions from additional power generation. Yet, experts and industry representatives claim that the technology holds the key to mitigating the very crises it compounds. Advanced algorithms are […] Continue reading ->