Concordia, South Pole (ESA) Aug 25, 2022 The 12-member crew of Concordia research station woke up to a most welcome sight in early August: sunrise, after four months of Antarctic darkness. The return of the sun is a major milestone for the isolated and confined crew; they are three-quarters of the way through their Antarctic residency and will soon prepare to welcome the summer influx … Continue reading Winter, over at the South Pole for 2022

London (AFP) Aug 18, 2022 Warmer and wetter weather linked to climate change appears to stress out bumblebees and make their wings more asymmetrical, which could ultimately affect their future development, according to UK scientists in a new research paper. “With hotter and wetter conditions predicted to place bumblebees under higher stress, the fact these conditions will become more frequent under climate change meahttp://dlvr.it/SXDfQj Continue reading Climate change causes wonky bumblebee wings: scientists

Camarillo CA (SPX) Aug 19, 2022 Semtech Corporation (Nasdaq: SMTC), a leading global supplier of high performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms, announced a collaboration with New Zealand’s IoT Ventures and global connectivity provider Lacuna Space. IoT Ventures has used Semtech’s LoRa devices to develop its Drought Early Warning System, a network of low-cost rainwater tank and rain monithttp://dlvr.it/SX9Tg2 Continue reading The Lacuna Space water monitoring system

London (AFP) Aug 17, 2022 Britain’s largest water provider on Wednesday became the latest UK supplier to announce restrictions on usage as swathes of England grapple with a punishing drought. Thames Water, which supplies 15 million people in London and some surrounding counties, said the ban on hoses would begin on August 24. It asked domestic customers not to use hoses for cleaning cars, watering … Continue reading UK’s largest water provider calls for hose bans

Paris (AFP) Aug 16, 2022 Global decarbonisation scenarios envisioned by oil and gas majors are incompatible with the Paris climate deal temperature goals aimed at averting devastating heating, according to research published Tuesday. The landmark 2015 accord saw nations commit to limit planetary heating to “well below” two degrees Celsius (3.6 Farenheit) above pre-industrial levels and to work towards a safer 1.5-Chttp://dlvr.it/SX9Tg0 Continue reading Oil majors’ climate visions ‘inconsistent’ with Paris targets

Kinshasa (AFP) Aug 22, 2022 Environmental campaigners in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday said they had faced threats due to their opposition to last month’s auction of 30 oil and gas blocks. In a statement, eight environmental groups, including Greenpeace, the Rainforest Foundation and the Network for the Conservation and Restoration of Forest Ecosystems (CREF) said campaigners in DRC were facing “direct thrhttp://dlvr.it/SX9Tfp Continue reading DR Congo anti-fuel campaigners face post-auction ‘threats’

Abidjan (AFP) Aug 23, 2022 It was once a jewel of West Africa – the “Pearl of Lagoons,” people liked to call it. Today, the vast Ebrie lagoon which abuts Ivory Coast’s economic capital Abidjan is a sick and sorry sight, choked by plastic pollution and ravaged by sand extraction and unbridled development. Named after an ethnic group that lives on its banks, the lagoon … Continue reading Ivory Coast’s ‘Pearl of Lagoons’ loses its lustre

Ilulissat, Denmark (AFP) Aug 19, 2022 As tourists flock to Greenland to take in its breathtaking icebergs and natural beauty, authorities are mulling ways to control crowds to protect the fragile environment, already threatened by global warming. “It’s a dream destination,” said Yves Gleyze, a veteran off-the-beaten-track French tourist in his 60s as he arrived at the airport in Ilulissat. Visitors to the third-biggest townhttp://dlvr.it/SX5nRT Continue reading Greenland treads softly on tourism as icebergs melt

Los Angeles (AFP) Aug 22, 2022 A hiker swept away in flash floods and torrential rain was still missing Monday as a weekend of storms forced hundreds to evacuate in the latest weather disasters to hit national parks in the United States. Heavy rains were also causing havoc in parts of Texas on Monday as forecasters predicted more precipitation throughout the southern part of the … Continue reading Flash flooding hits US parks, southern states in latest weather disasters

Manila (AFP) Aug 23, 2022 Schools were ordered shut across the northern Philippines Tuesday – a day after many resumed in-person learning for the first time since Covid-19 hit – as torrential rain and strong winds pounded the main island of the archipelago. Severe tropical storm Ma-on struck the northeast coast of Luzon around mid-morning, raking the largely agricultural region with gusts of up to … Continue reading Storm forces Philippine schools to shut day after reopening