Tag: climate

New Delhi’s homeless shiver through harsh cold snap

by Archana THIYAGARAJAN Agence France-Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) – India’s capital New Delhi is shivering through an unusually harsh bout of winter cold, blamed for killing scores of homeless people and leaving other hard-up residents struggling to keep warm. The sprawling megacity’s 20 million inhabitants are accustomed to year-round weather extremes, from blistering summer heat to torrential downpours and thick, toxic smog at the end of autumn. Still, the bracing chill and blustery rains […]

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Australia pumps cash into Great Barrier Reef protection

SYDNEY, Austalia (AFP) – Australia unveiled a billion-dollar package to protect the climate-ravaged Great Barrier Reef on Friday, hoping to prevent the vast network of corals from being removed from UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Conservative prime minister Scott Morrison announced the Aus$1 billion (US$700 million) nine-year plan, months after narrowly avoiding the reef being placed on UNESCO’s “in danger” list. “We are backing the health of the reef and the economic future of tourism operators, […]

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Glacier lakes accelerate disappearance of permanent ice: study

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – Glaciers are retreating faster globally due to climate change but they melt more quickly when they flow into a lake than when they end on land, with consequences for water supplies, a new study found on Thursday. The Swiss-funded study is the first large-scale, detailed analysis of the phenomenon in mountain glaciers and could help forecast major water shortages and huge flood waves. It examined all 319 glaciers in the eastern […]

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Winter Olympics threatened by climate change, says report

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Climate change is threatening the future of the Winter Olympics, reducing the number of suitable venues for the event around the globe, a report warned ahead of the Beijing Games. The Olympics in China, which start on February 4, will be the first Winter Games to rely almost 100 percent on artificial snow, according to the study. “Slippery Slopes: How Climate Change is Threatening the Winter Olympics”, was produced by […]

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Hydrogen planes not enough to green aviation: study

PARIS, France (AFP) – The aviation industry looks at hydrogen-fuelled planes as a solution to decarbonise the sector, but a report by an environmental group released Wednesday found that they will only help limit CO2 emissions. Using hydrogen as fuel produces no climate-warming CO2 when it burns, just water. Automakers and planemakers alike have been looking at it as a means to reduce the climate impact of the transportation sector, although currently most production of […]

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Climate change: Biden’s next big political gamble?

by Camille CAMDESSUS Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – After a string of setbacks on getting his priorities through the deeply divided US Congress, President Joe Biden may set his sights on climate change in a bid to save the planet — and his imperiled legacy. Last week, the president announced that efforts were underway to revive the environmental component of his $1.8 trillion social spending plan, after it was all but killed […]

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Volkswagen hits 2021 EU emissions target after 2020 miss

FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) – German car giant Volkswagen said Monday it beat the European Union’s target for cutting carbon emissions on its new vehicles in 2021, having missed the mark last year. “Our group-wide electric offensive picked up significant speed last year with many attractive new models,” the head of sales for the multi-brand group Christian Dahlheim said. Average CO2 emissions for passengers cars sold in the EU were “around two percent below the legal […]

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Monster iceberg released ‘billions of tonnes’ of fresh water into ocean

by Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – A giant iceberg that detached from Antarctica in 2017 released the equivalent of 61 million Olympic-sized swimming pools of fresh water as it melted, according to research published Thursday, raising questions over the impact on the marine ecosystem. The monstrous iceberg was twice the size of Luxembourg when it separated from the Larsen ice shelf, which has warmed faster than any other part of Earth’s southernmost […]

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‘Remarkable’ giant coral reef found off Tahiti

by Kelly MACNAMARA Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Scientists have discovered a vast reef of “pristine” rose-shaped corals apparently unharmed by climate change in deep water off the coast of Tahiti, UNESCO announced Thursday. Mapping approximately three kilometres (two miles) long and up to 65 metres (213 feet) wide, UNESCO said it was “one of the most extensive healthy coral reefs on record”. The UN heritage agency said it was “highly unusual” to find […]

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US announces historic $1.1 bn investment for Everglades rehabilitation

MIAMI, Florida (AFP) – The plan to restore the Florida Everglades, the largest wetlands in the United States, will receive a federal investment of $1.1 billion to protect the region against the effects of climate change, the White House said Wednesday. “The Administration is making the largest single investment in the Everglades in US history,” the White House said in a statement. The money, which comes from already approved funds in President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion […]

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More protected areas won’t save biodiversity, warn experts

by Laure FILLON / Marlowe HOOD Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Expanding nature preserves will not be enough to stem a rising tide of extinctions, a panel of experts warned Wednesday, taking aim at a draft treaty tasked with rescuing Earth’s animal and plant life. Setting aside at least 30 percent of both land and oceans as protected zones is the cornerstone target of the so-called global biodiversity framework to be finalised in May at […]

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Millions hunker down as storm hits eastern US

Millions of Americans hunkered down as a major winter storm hit the eastern United States with heavy snow and ice knocking power out for an estimated 145,000 customers as of Sunday evening. The National Weather Service (NWS) said the storm was bringing a miserable combination of heavy snows, freezing rain and high winds, impacting the southeast and coastal mid-Atlantic before moving up to New England and southern Canada. Some areas along the Appalachian mountain range […]

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