Climate change funding talks stuck ahead of COP29 summit. With just five months to go before this year’s U.N. climate summit, countries cannot agree on the size of a global funding bill to help the developing world fight climate change – let alone how to split it. The decision is set to dominate the COP29 climate...
Africa’s Nile River Suffocating With Waste. Juba, South Sudan — The Nile River is the second-longest river in the world. It provides crucial resources to 11 countries, including South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation. As dawn breaks each day over the Nile, its waters carry a silent plea at the center of a 21st century...
Chinese scientists say further research on potential harm to reproduction from contamination is ‘imperative’. Microplastic pollution has been found in all human semen samples tested in a study, and researchers say further research on the potential harm to reproduction is “imperative”. Sperm counts in men have been falling for decades and 40% of low counts remain unexplained,...
Human activity from construction along the coast between Torremolinos and Málaga laid the groundwork for this erosion to occur. Construction and climate change are eating away at one stretch of the Spanish coast at an alarming rate. Between 2016 and 2022, the Arraijanal-San Julián coast between Torremolinos and Málaga receded up to 45 metres. The...
Cabo Verde, an archipelago of ten islands, nine of which are inhabited, is a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) in West Africa. It is increasingly bearing the brunt of the effects of climate change. In 2018, a severe drought hit the country where approximately one-quarter of the population relies on agriculture for their main income....
The relationship between climate and malaria transmission is complex and has been the subject of intense study for some three decades. Mosquito vector populations sufficient to maintain malaria transmission occur within a particular range of temperatures and humidity that are suitable for their survival and breeding. The parasite also needs suitable temperatures to complete its mosquito life stages. And...
Climate change is bringing malaria to new areas. In Africa, it never left. When cases of locally transmitted malaria were found in the United States last year, it was a reminder that climate change is reviving or migrating the threat of some diseases. When a small number of cases of locally transmitted malaria were found...
Climate change threatens Africa’s rhinos. Extreme heat, poaching, and habitat loss are pushing the animals closer to extinction. In the grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa, few animals are as instantly recognizable as the rhinoceros. But both black and white rhinos have been under intense pressure from poaching and habitat loss, which have pushed these species close...
Scientists Urge Action Over Life-Threatening Pollution From Solar Power Waste In Africa. Researchers from The University of Manchester investigating waste management practices for off-grid solar technologies in Malawi have discovered life-threatening quantities of lead pollution from improperly managed battery waste. Common informal recycling activities for lead-acid batteries used in solar energy systems were recorded to...
Cockroach infestations are up by a third in Spain: Is climate change to blame? Rising temperatures across Spain are thought to be responsible for growing numbers of insecticide-resistant Germanic cockroaches. Climate change could be causing a concerning uptick in the number of cockroach infestations in Spain – as well as alterations to their genetic makeup....