Paris (AFP) July 16, 2024 A French charity warned Tuesday about air pollution problems at the athletes’ village for the Paris Olympics which is set to welcome the first of thousands of competitors later this week. Respire, which released a report into air quality problems at sports fields around the French capital, said that its results showed that “almost all” of the worst polluted sites … Continue reading Air pollution warning for Paris Olympic village

Washington (AFP) July 15, 2024 It’s well known that as far as the climate crisis goes, time is of the essence. Now a study out Monday shows that the melting of the polar ice caps is causing our planet to spin more slowly, increasing the length of days at an “unprecedented” rate. The paper, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that … Continue reading Oh my (long) days: Melting ice caps slow Earth’s spin

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 15, 2024 A collection of ancient plant remains excavated in Kenya sheds light on the history of plant farming in equatorial eastern Africa. This region, previously thought to be significant for early farming, had lacked physical evidence from crops until now. A new study published on July 10 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B by archaeologists from Washington … Continue reading Earliest Evidence of Plant Farming Unearthed in East Africa

Geneva (AFP) July 12, 2024 The amount of dust in the air eased slightly in 2023, the United Nations said Friday, warning that poor environmental management was fuelling sand and dust storms. The UN’s weather and climate agency called for greater vigilance in the face of climate change, as drier surface soil leads to more dust being carried in the wind. “Every year, around 2,000 … Continue reading UN says dust levels in air dropped slightly in 2023

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 15, 2024 In recent years, numerous tree-planting initiatives have been launched across the United States, particularly in urban areas, as part of efforts to mitigate climate change. Urban forests contribute to improved air quality, cooling effects, and provide recreational green spaces, while also serving as vital ecological habitats. Last year, the U.S. Forest Service introduced a $1 billionhttp://dlvr.it/T9fYPp Continue reading Urban Forests in the US Show Varied Climate Adaptability

Jakarta (AFP) July 16, 2024 Deforestation at one of Indonesia’s largest nickel processing hubs is threatening an Indigenous group that is among the country’s last uncontacted tribes, rights groups allege. Nickel is a key component in the batteries of electric vehicles, and Indonesia is both the world’s largest producer and home to the biggest known reserves globally. The government is keen to boost output, but … Continue reading Nickel hub ‘apocalyptic’ for uncontacted Indonesia tribe, say NGOs

Los Angeles, United States (AFP) July 16, 2024 Three people, including a father-daughter pair, died while hiking in the western US state of Utah over the weekend, according to US National Park Service officials. Two of the victims, a 52-year-old man and his 23-year-old daughter, died Friday in Canyonlands National Park after they had “gotten lost and run out of water,” local authorities said in … Continue reading Father, daughter die hiking during heat wave in western US

Taiyuan, China (AFP) July 12, 2024 Senior citizens sway to old-time tunes at a former kindergarten in northern China, as educators turn their sights away from children in the face of a rapidly ageing population and a baby bust. Hundreds of millions of Chinese are set to enter old age in the coming decades while the country’s chronically low birth rate leaves ever fewer people … Continue reading Chinese kindergartens pivot to senior care as population ages

Bharatpur, Nepal (AFP) July 13, 2024 Nepali rescue teams on Saturday recovered the first body from around 50 people missing after monsoon rains triggered a landslide that swept two buses off a highway and into a river. The force of Friday’s landslide in central Chitwan district pushed the vehicles over concrete crash barriers and down a steep embankment, at least 30 metres (100 feet) from … Continue reading Nepal recovers first body from buses swept away by landslide

Hanoi (AFP) July 13, 2024 A landslide triggered by heavy rains buried and killed at least 11 people who were travelling in a van in northern Vietnam, the country’s disaster management authority said on Saturday. Northern Vietnam has entered its rainy season, with heavy downpours and flooding making travel along mountain roads treacherous. The landslide hit the 16-seater van around 4:00 am local time (2100 … Continue reading Eleven dead in northern Vietnam after landslide buries van