PUERTO AYORA, Ecuador (AFP) – Ecuador created a massive new marine reserve Friday north of its Galapagos islands, forming a Pacific corridor up to Costa Rica’s Cocos Island National Park to preserve species of migratory fauna, such as sharks. President Guillermo Lasso, on board a scientific vessel from the Galapagos National Park (PNG) anchored in the bay of Puerto Ayora off Santa Cruz Island, signed the decree creating the new reserve called “Hermandad” (Brotherhood). To […]
Tag: climate
Last nine years all among 10 hottest-ever: NOAA
WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – The nine years spanning 2013-2021 all rank among the 10 hottest on record, according to an annual report by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published Thursday, the latest data underscoring the global climate crisis. For 2021, the average temperature across global surfaces was 1.51 degrees Fahrenheit (0.84 degrees Celsius) above the 20th-century average, making the year the sixth-hottest in the overall record, which goes back to […]
US snowstorm strands drivers for 24 hours or more
The snow storm is over but the travel misery lingered: drivers on a major highway outside Washington reported Tuesday they were stuck in their cars in freezing weather for 24 hours or more. As families tried to return home from the long New Year weekend, I-95 in Virginia was dangerously icy, gas tanks were running low and for hours there was no help in sight, drivers said. Aerial footage showed seemingly endless lines of cars […]
Denmark aims for all domestic flights to be green by 2030
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) – Denmark’s government has set an ambitious target of making all Danish domestic flights green by 2030, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Saturday. “Will it be difficult? Yes. Can it be done? Yes, I think so. We’re already on it. Talented researchers and businesses are working on solutions,” Frederiksen said in her New Year’s Day address to the nation. “If we succeed, it will be a green breakthrough. Not just for Denmark, […]
Three people missing in Colorado wildfire
Three people are missing after a wildfire tore through several Colorado towns, quickly destroying nearly 1,000 homes as part of the latest in a string of US natural disasters. “We’re very fortunate that we don’t have a list of 100 missing. But unfortunately we do have three confirmed missing people,” Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle told a press conference. At least 991 homes are thought to have been destroyed as the blaze raced through the […]
Thousands told to flee Colorado wildfires
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Thousands of people were told to flee fast-moving wildfires in the US state of Colorado on Thursday, as flames tore through areas desiccated by a historic drought. Powerlines toppled by gusting winds sparked a number of small blazes which took hold of the tinder-dry landscape in Boulder County. The 20,000-strong city of Louisville, along with the 13,000 residents of Superior have been told to get out, with the National […]
Chilean scientists study climate change at ‘end of the world’
Chilean scientists studying organisms in one of the most remote places on Earth are urging regional leaders to step up efforts to tackle climate change. A recent expedition, which was delayed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, sought to investigate harmful organisms and how they are impacting climate change. Chile’s Magallanes region — on the southern tip of South America where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet — is known as the “end […]
Drought-hit western US walloped by powerful winter storm
A powerful winter storm battered the western United States Monday, dumping much-needed snow on the drought-parched mountains of California, but causing travel misery over a wide area. Three feet (one meter) of snow had fallen in 24 hours on parts of the Sierra Nevada range, taking December’s total to a record-breaking 16 feet, and bolstering the badly depleted snowpack that feeds the region’s reservoirs. “We were definitely not expecting a wet winter,” said Dr. Andrew […]
Sticky situation: Canada taps maple syrup reserves to meet soaring demand
by Anne-Sophie THILL Agence France-Presse LAURIERVILLE, Canada (AFP) – Pancake lovers, fear not. Strong demand for maple syrup after a poor Canadian harvest has created supply-side woes, but Quebec province is tapping its strategic reserves to keep the world awash in the sweet, sticky stuff. Experts are warning the shortages could be further compounded by climate change, which is already being blamed for last spring’s shorter and warmer sugaring season. To avoid shortages, the Quebec […]
More extreme weather hits US as Biden promises aid to tornado-hit Kentucky
by Brendan SMIALOWSKI DAWSON SPRINGS, United States (AFP) — Severe storms battered the American Midwest Wednesday evening, hours after President Joe Biden pledged increased federal assistance to Kentucky, where scores were killed and towns leveled by recent tornadoes. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned of an “extremely strong” and “potentially record-breaking” storm system producing “a plethora of weather hazards” throughout several states in the central and northern part of the country Wednesday night, including “dangerously […]
Vulnerable to climate change, New York constructs seawall
by Ana FERNANDEZ Agence France-Presse After major storms highlighted New York’s weaknesses in the face of climate change, the city is erecting a $1.45-billion system of walls and floodgates to protect it from rising sea levels. Superstorm Sandy in 2012 was the trigger for establishing the East Coast Resiliency Project (ESCR), running 2.5 miles (four kilometers) along the shoreline of Lower Manhattan. Hurricane Ida, which ravaged parts of the city this year, added further urgency. […]
Are tornadoes linked to climate change? The science isn’t yet definite
by Lucie AUBOURG WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Was climate change behind the recent tornadoes that killed dozens of people and wrought a trail of destruction through five American states? Higher temperatures might create more favorable conditions for these violent storms, but for now, scientists remain cautious about drawing a direct connection. While research has firmly linked recent extreme weather events to global warming — from this summer’s heatwaves in North America to flooding in […]





