Climate chaos is threatening food production, trade and lives, says World Meteorological Organization
Hunger and disease are rising in Latin America after a year of record heat, floods and drought, a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has shown.
The continent, which is trapped between the freakishly hot Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, probably suffered tens of thousands of climate-related deaths in 2023, at least $21bn (£17bn) of economic damage and “the greatest calorific loss” of any region, the study found.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
05/08/2024 - 09:00
05/08/2024 - 08:37
How do city residents feel about animals in their immediate surroundings? A recent study shows how different the acceptance of various wild animals in urban areas is. Important factors are the places where the animals are found and their level of popularity -- squirrels and ladybugs come out on top here. The results have important implications for urban planning and nature conservation.
05/08/2024 - 05:02
Devastating floods in Rio Grande do Sul state have about left 90 dead with survivors seeking food and shelter
Brazil flooding death toll rises to 90
Heavy rains that began last week have caused rivers to flood, inundating whole towns and destroying roads and bridges across the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The local civil defence agency said the death toll had risen to 90, while 131 people were unaccounted for with 155,000 homeless. A state of emergency has been declared in 397 of Rio Grande do Sul’s 497 towns and cities as rescue efforts continue.
The Taquari River in Rio Grande do Sul. Photographs: Maxar Technologies/AFP/Getty Images
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05/08/2024 - 04:00
Exclusive: Planet is headed for at least 2.5C of heating with disastrous results for humanity, poll of hundreds of scientists finds
‘Hopeless and broken’: why the world’s top climate scientists are in despair
Hundreds of the world’s leading climate scientists expect global temperatures to rise to at least 2.5C (4.5F) above preindustrial levels this century, blasting past internationally agreed targets and causing catastrophic consequences for humanity and the planet, an exclusive Guardian survey has revealed.
Almost 80% of the respondents, all from the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), foresee at least 2.5C of global heating, while almost half anticipate at least 3C (5.4F). Only 6% thought the internationally agreed 1.5C (2.7F) limit would be met.
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05/08/2024 - 01:00
Scientists reclassify Humboldt glacier, also known as La Corona, after it melted faster than expected
Venezuela has lost its last remaining glacier after it shrunk so much that scientists reclassified it as an ice field.
It is thought Venezuela is the first country to have lost all its glaciers in modern times.
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05/08/2024 - 00:00
Also known as ‘devil birds’ for their haunting scream, they are just starting to arrive from sub-Saharan Africa
May Day dawns cold and breezy, with sullen grey clouds promising rain. Hope seems very far away. But then, a distant dark streak scythes through the skies over the Avalon Marshes, stiff-winged, direct and determined. A single swift, my first of the year.
As I do every spring, I silently recite the words of the poet Ted Hughes: “They’ve made it again, which means the globe’s still working … ”
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05/07/2024 - 18:01
Report says humans may be on brink of cutting fossil fuel generation, even as demand for electricity rises
Renewable energy accounted for more than 30% of the world’s electricity for the first time last year following a rapid rise in wind and solar power, according to new figures.
A report on the global power system has found that the world may be on the brink of driving down fossil fuel generation, even as overall demand for electricity continues to rise.
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05/07/2024 - 10:00
The US cattle industry adopted a ‘climate neutral’ goal in 2021 but scientists say that ‘misses the point’ in keeping global temperature rises below 1.5C
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Cattle Australia is lobbying the red meat sector to ditch its net zero target in favour of a “climate neutral” goal that would require far more modest reductions in methane emissions.
The $75bn red meat industry, led by Meat and Livestock Australia, announced a target of reaching net zero emissions by 2030 seven years ago, in an attempt to maintain its social licence and drive investments in emissions reduction technology.
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05/07/2024 - 08:11
Campaigners ‘appalled’ as French energy company EDF gets go-ahead for next stage of project
A planned nuclear power station at Sizewell in Suffolk has been granted the first site licence in more than a decade as investors and government officials race to finalise a deal for the multibillion-pound project this year.
The licence from the nuclear regulator is considered a milestone for EDF, which plans to build Sizewell C as a replica of its Hinkley Point C project in Somerset, which has been dogged by delays and cost overruns.
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05/07/2024 - 06:00
Charity asks people to charm worms to the surface and count their numbers to contribute to worm map of UK
Dancing for worms may seem an odd pursuit, but an environment charity is calling for people across the UK to charm the creatures from the depths in order to count them.
The Soil Association is trying to get a nationwide picture of worm abundance, to track their decline and see where they need the most help.
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