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MANILA, Dec 12, 2023 (AFP) – The Philippines has so far endured fewer storms in 2023 than in any of the past 25 years and now faces potentially the worst drought in decades, officials said Tuesday. The tropical archipelago nation — which is ranked among the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change — is usually affected by around 20 major storms a year. So far this year, only 10 have made landfall […]
A quarter of freshwater fish species worldwide are at risk of extinction, according to an update to the global red list of threatened species on Monday, highlighting the escalating impacts of human-caused climate change on the planet’s wildlife. The assessment published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) also updated its list to reflect climate change threats to Atlantic Salmon, green turtles and Big leaf mahogany trees. “Climate change is menacing the diversity […]
Too many cats, not enough crustaceans: The current emoji catalog doesn’t accurately represent the breadth of biodiversity seen in nature — and that hurts conservation efforts, according to scientists. An analysis published Monday in the journal iScience found that while animals are well represented by the current emoji catalog, plants, fungi, and microorganisms get short shrift. “While the biodiversity crisis may seem distant from the online world, in our increasingly digitized society, we should not […]
DUBAI, Dec 11, 2023 (AFP) – UN climate talks enter their endgame on Monday as negotiators seek to convince an increasingly isolated Saudi Arabia and other holdouts to give up their opposition to a historic phase-out of fossil fuels. With 24 hours to go before the official end of COP28 in Dubai, a new draft deal was expected in the morning in the hope that the right language may have finally been found to achieve […]
DUBAI, Dec 9, 2023 (AFP) – China on Saturday lodged a protest after calls at the UN climate talks in Dubai to include Taiwan, the self-governing democracy claimed by Beijing. Two of the dwindling number of countries that recognise Taiwan — Guatemala and the tiny Pacific island of Nauru — both hailed support from Taipei in addresses at the COP28 conference. “I would take this opportunity to make special reference to the government of Taiwan, […]
By Daniel Lawler with Benjamin Legendre in Dubai PARIS, Dec 6, 2023 (AFP) – This year will be the hottest in recorded history after an “extraordinary” November became the sixth record-breaking month in a row, Europe’s climate monitor said Wednesday, piling pressure on the COP28 talks to act on climate change. Last month smashed the previous November heat record, pushing 2023’s global average temperature to 1.46 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels, the EU’s Copernicus […]
By Daniel Lawler PARIS, Dec 6, 2023 (AFP) – Humanity faces an “unprecedented” risk from tipping points that could unleash a domino effect of irreversible catastrophes across the planet, researchers warned Wednesday. The most comprehensive assessment ever conducted of Earth’s invisible tripwires was released as leaders meet for UN climate talks in Dubai with 2023 set to smash all heat records. While many of the 26 tipping points laid out in the report — such […]
By Aishwarya KUMAR NEW DELHI, Dec 5, 2023 (AFP) – Environmental change hits the poorest the hardest, experts say, and in India’s toxic smog-filled capital that includes the air people breathe. In Old Delhi, the ancient heart of the capital, 39-year-old Rizwan pedals a rickshaw tricycle, transporting passengers and heavy goods through crowded streets often too narrow for cars, earning about seven dollars on a good day. There is no escape from Delhi’s deadly smog […]
By Kelly MACNAMARA PARIS, Dec 5, 2023 (AFP) – The world may cross the crucial 1.5C global warming threshold in seven years as fossil fuel CO2 emissions continue to rise, scientists warned Tuesday, urging countries at the COP28 talks to “act now” on coal, oil and gas pollution. Battle lines are being drawn over the future of fossil fuels at the UN climate summit in Dubai, with big polluters trying to see off calls for […]
A US tourist visiting the Bahamas was killed by a shark on Monday, police in the Caribbean country said. The unnamed 44-year-old woman, from Boston, was paddle-boarding off a resort on the island of New Providence, also home to the capital Nassau. A lifeguard brought the woman and a male relative she was with to shore and performed CPR, according to a news release from the Royal Bahamas Police Force. “The victim suffered significant trauma […]
By Victoria LUKOVENKO with Lea DAUPLE in Warsaw Ravaged forests, flooded towns and dead dolphins: after nearly two years of war in Ukraine, experts say environmental damage is becoming an “enormous” tragedy that will affect generations to come. The invasion of Ukraine has been particularly devastating for nature, said Doug Weir, head of research at the Conflict and Environment Observatory, a British non-governmental organisation. Unlike conflicts limited to particular areas, the front line in Ukraine […]
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck just south of Istanbul on Monday, rattling parts of Turkey’s largest city but causing no immediate injuries or damage. The earthquake’s epicentre was in the Marmara Sea’s Gemlik Bay, which lies about 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Istanbul, near the city of Bursa, according to the AFAD emergencies service. AFP reporters felt walls shake on both the Asian and European sides of Istanbul, with television images showing people walking […]
