Wildfires in Brazil last year consumed a total area larger than all of Italy, a monitor reported Wednesday, as the country continues to battle blazes often set by farmers and ranchers illegally expanding their territory. But in Brazil, the main driver of the fires are ranchers and farmers who clear land for pasture and agriculture -- a crime the government struggles to contain.
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Telangana's forests face a severe fire crisis, with incidents rising significantly to 13,497 in 2024. Mulugu and Bhadradri Kothagudem districts are among the top affected. Fires damage ecosystems, causing biodiversity loss and habitat destruction. Human activities, including negligent agricultural practices, are major contributors.
Civil society groups and academics urged governments Thursday to take actual steps toward fulfilling a stalled pledge to end deforestation before this year's UN climate summit in the Brazilian Amazon. "In 2025, governments must take bold action to get on track," the coalition of nearly 40 non-governmental organisations, think-tanks and forest research bodies said in a document outlining policy proposals.
A village in the Philippines' capital region initiated a unique mosquito bounty plan amid a dengue outbreak. Residents are rewarded with cash for capturing mosquitoes, dead or alive. With an alarming rise in dengue cases, the initiative aims to combat the spread of the disease and incentivize proactive community involvement in mosquito control.
Climate change is accelerating the melting of the world's mountain glaciers, causing ice loss to double since the early 2000s. A study revealed glaciers are losing up to 604 billion tons annually. Glaciers in Alaska are melting the fastest, and Central Europe has lost the most in percentage. This rapid loss contributes significantly to sea-level rise.
The Indian Biogas Association urges the finance ministry to grant corporate tax holidays for compressed biogas production in the upcoming Budget to attract investment. The proposal aims to promote renewable energy, reduce pollution, support agriculture, and generate revenue through carbon credits.
In his small Freetown workshop, engineering student James Samba tinkered with batteries and electrical parts he hoped could help clean up Sierra Leone's polluting public transport system. - 'Good for business, environment' - Samba first ventured into engineering when he built an electric wheelchair for his uncle, who had long struggled to access public transport.
An American influencer sparked a global conversation on wildlife treatment by filming herself taking a baby wombat from its mother. Wombats, mainly herbivorous and known for unique cube-shaped scat, are burrowing marsupials in Australia, where their tunnels serve as shelters for many species, including during wildfires.
Scientist Inna Birchenko began to cry as she described the smouldering protected forest in Thailand where she was collecting samples from local trees shrouded in wildfire smoke. Birchenko and her colleagues hiked kilometre after kilometre through burned or still-smouldering forest, each footstep stirring up columns of black and grey ash.
At the foot of Pakistan's impossibly high mountains whitened by frost all year round, farmers grappling with a lack of water have created their own ice towers. "The water must be propelled so that it freezes in the air when temperatures drop below zero, creating ice towers," said Zakir Hussain Zakir, a professor at the University of Baltistan.
Putricia, a rare corpse flower, bloomed at the Royal Sydney Botanic Garden, drawing over 13,000 fans. Known for its foul odor, the plant flowers every 7-10 years. A live stream garnered close to a million views. The event highlighted the flower's rarity and conservation efforts.