Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Forest restoration can boost people, nature and climate simultaneously

admin — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 20:02:39 +0000

Forest restoration can benefit humans, boost biodiversity and help tackle climate change simultaneously, new research suggests.

Successful environmental projects benefit nature and people, study finds

admin — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 19:00:49 +0000

‘Integrated’ work to help biodiversity and tackle climate crisis can also benefit humanity, says Dr Trisha Gopalakrishna

Restoring and protecting the world’s forests is crucial if humanity is to stop the worst effects of climate breakdown and halt the extinction of rare species.

Temperature reaches 34.8C on UK’s hottest day of year

admin — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 16:25:30 +0000

Yellow heat health alert in place for much of England as temperatures soar

Temperatures in the UK have surged to their highest point of the year so far with 34.8C recorded in Cambridge on Monday, the Met Office said.

The previous highest UK temperature in 2024 was 32C, recorded at Heathrow and Kew Gardens, south-west London, on 29 July.

Breastfeeding women try to show orangutan how to care for baby at Dublin zoo

admin — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 15:21:58 +0000

Thirty mothers take turns with their babies in front of Mujur, 19, to try to encourage her to bond with newborn

When staff at Dublin zoo discovered an orangutan named Mujur was pregnant they decided to stage maternal workshops.

The 19-year-old female had not sufficiently bonded with either of her previous infants, who died in 2019 and 2022, so when she became pregnant earlier this year the zoo enlisted breastfeeding human mothers to try to show her how it was done.

Heat aggravated by carbon pollution killed 50,000 in Europe last year – study

admin — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 15:00:46 +0000

Continent is warming at much faster rate than other parts of world, leading to fires, drought and health problems

Hot weather inflamed by carbon pollution killed nearly 50,000 people in Europe last year, with the continent warming at a much faster rate than other parts of the world, research has found.

The findings come as wildfires tore through forests outside Athens, as France issued excessive heat warnings for large swathes of the country, and the UK baked through what the Met Office expects will be its hottest day of the year.

Italian hospitals report rise in heat cases as weather fails to deter tourists

admin — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 13:20:48 +0000

Number of people seeking emergency care for heat-related illnesses is up in cities including Rome, Florence and Venice

The number of people accessing emergency care for heat-related illnesses has risen sharply in some of Italy’s most popular tourist cities, as the country experiences an intense heatwave that is failing to deter visitors.

Italy has been engulfed in consecutive heatwaves since around the middle of June. Some central and southern areas are expected to record temperatures above 40C in the coming days.

US air force avoids PFAS water cleanup, citing supreme court’s Chevron ruling

admin — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 11:29:30 +0000

EPA says Tucson’s drinking water is contaminated but air force claims agency lacks authority to order cleanup

Greece has brought in the army to help extinguish fires raging out of control in eastern Attica – as it happened

admin — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 08:14:01 +0000

Eighty-eight soldiers had been seconded in the battle to contain blazes with firefighting efforts

AFP reports from Penteli:

Thick smoke from burning trees filled a small square in Penteli where local resident Mariana Papathanasi said they could only pray that their houses would be saved.

“There is still a strong fire. Some houses were burned after midnight and we are trying to protect our local restaurant,” the 49-year-old supermarket employee told AFP.

‘Losing Noah’s Ark’: Brazil’s plan to turn the Pantanal into waterway threatens world’s biggest wetland

admin — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 06:00:34 +0000

Hidrovia project to dredge Paraguay River and build ports may destroy vast biodiversity and refuge of jaguars, giant otters and armadillos – and an age-old riverine way of life

Pantanal waterway project would destroy a ‘paradise on Earth’, scientists warn

admin — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 06:00:32 +0000

The South American wetland, which falls within Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, would be vulnerable to biome loss and increased wildfires