The National Weather Service is cutting back weather balloon launches or eliminating them entirely at eight northern locations due to staffing issues, impacting forecast accuracy as severe weather season approaches. Scientists and former NOAA officials warn these reductions will degrade weather forecasting, increasing risks of severe weather events.
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Japan has set new decarbonization targets, aiming to cut emissions by 60 per cent by 2035 and 73 per cent by 2040 from 2013 levels. The updated energy plan boosts renewables to 40-50 per cent by 2040 while reviving nuclear power, targeting 20 per cent of energy supply. However, nuclear expansion faces safety concerns and slow regulatory processes. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is monitoring plant restarts, including at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, amid local opposition.
Severe drought fueled intense wildfires across the Americas in 2024, leading to record carbon emissions in several regions, including Bolivia, Nicaragua, and the Pantanal wetlands. The Amazon, Canada, and the western US also experienced significant blazes, impacting air quality across the continent. Experts attribute the widespread fires to climate change and human activities like deforestation.
International environmental negotiations are facing significant setbacks. Recent UN-sponsored talks on climate change, plastic pollution, biodiversity loss, and desertification have yielded limited results, raising concerns about the effectiveness of multilateral environmentalism. Experts cite various challenges, including the consensus-based decision-making process, influence of the fossil fuel industry, geopolitical shifts, and the sheer scale of the problems.
Ever since his first hard-won sightings of African manatees, award-winning marine biologist Aristide Takoukam Kamla has been devoted to protecting the little known and at risk aquatic mammals. Takoukam Kamla set up the African Marine Mammal Conservation Organisation which has five laboratories including in the lakeside fishing village of Dizangue.
Jordan, one of the world's driest countries, signed an agreement on Sunday with French-led investors to build one of the world's largest desalination plants. In 2013, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians signed a memorandum of understanding on that project, which included plans to build a desalination plant at the Red Sea.
In the newly designated Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve, two rare caracals were photographed, marking the first sighting in over two decades in this region. Caracals, now critically endangered in India, face severe habitat loss, with their range shrinking significantly since 1948. Rajasthan has reported the highest sightings of caracals since 2001.
A Siberian Demoiselle crane, nicknamed Sukpak, has broken the record for the longest migratory flight to Rajasthan, India, covering over 3,676km. Tagged in the remote Tyva Republic of Russia, Sukpak's journey took an unusual route through Pakistan, reversing the typical migration path.
A long-abandoned Papua New Guinea mine once operated by Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto poses environmental and safety concerns for nearby communities, who live under the threat of landslides, a new report shows. Australia's Human Rights Law Centre, which helped organise legal action against Rio Tinto, said communities continued to live with the "devastating impacts of the mine".
Physicist Stephen Hawking's predictions about Earth's future resurface as NASA warns of existential threats like climate change and overpopulation. Hawking urged action to colonize other planets to ensure humanity's survival, highlighting climate change, nuclear war, pandemics, AI, and asteroid impacts as key dangers. NASA emphasizes urgent action to mitigate irreversible climate damage.
The Brazilian COP30 Presidency calls for a 'Circle of Presidencies' to enhance multilateral action on climate change, seeking input from various leaders and sectors. The initiative aims to promote financial alignment with the Paris Agreement and prioritize urgent measures, including forest protection and renewable energy goals.