The wetlands system processes about 60 percent of Kolkata’s sewage free of charge, saving the city over $64 million a year. Farms in the wetlands provide about 150 tons of vegetables…Continue readingThe ‘kidneys of Kolkata’: Indian wetlands under threat
Tag: agriculture
Not far from Latin America’s biggest city, Sao Paulo, a river is covered in a white layer that resembles fresh snow but is in fact a smelly, toxic foam. The Tiete…Continue readingToxic foam blights river crucial to Brazil’s biggest city
The marshlands have shrunk from 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 square miles) in the early 1990s to 4,000 (1,500 square miles) by latest estimates—choked by dams on the great rivers upstream in…Continue readingIraq’s marshes are dying, and a civilization with them
Agricultural pesticides leach far from their original sources into the world’s waterways, according to new research which finds pesticides exceed safe levels in 13,000km of rivers globally. Analysing 92 of the…Continue readingPesticides from farming leach into world’s waterways at rate of 710 tonnes a year, UN research shows
Soaring greenhouse gases, ubiquitous microplastics, pervasive “forever chemicals”, the global upheaval of animals, even old mobile phones and chicken bones—all have been put forward as evidence that the world entered the…Continue readingSigns of the human era, from nuclear fallout to microplastics
At least 50 people, including eight children, have been killed by floods and landslides triggered by monsoon rains that have lashed Pakistan since last month, officials said Friday. The summer monsoon…Continue readingAt least 50 dead in Pakistan monsoon floods
Seven out of eight US kale samples recently tested for toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” contained high levels of the compounds. The testing looked at conventional and organic kale bought at grocery…Continue readingNew report finds most US kale samples contain ‘disturbing’ levels of ‘forever chemicals’
Experts say the drought in the central U.S. is the worst since at least 2012, and in some areas, is drawing comparisons to the 1988 drought that devastated corn, wheat and…Continue readingCentral US is now getting worst of the drought. Corn crops are stressed, rivers are running low
France is being badly hit by climate change, is not prepared for its effects and is failing to sufficiently reduce its emissions, an independent climate body warned. The record heat and…Continue readingFrance badly hit by climate change and ill-prepared
The French government is to shut down a climate protest group over a series of recent demonstrations citing risks to public safety, as the environmental activists called the decision “political and…Continue readingFrance to shut down climate protest group citing public safety risks
After a series of heatwaves, including a record high in May, and an unprecedented drought, rivers and reservoirs in northern Vietnam are running dry, pulling locals who survive off the water…Continue reading‘There is nothing for me’: Vietnam drought dries up income
Trillions of dollars of subsidies for fossil fuels, farming and fishing are causing “environmental havoc”, according to the World Bank, severely harming people and the planet. The “toxic” subsidies total at…Continue readingVast fossil fuel and farming subsidies causing ‘environmental havoc’
Already, the Beijing office of Greenpeace is sounding the alarm. In the first three months of 2023, provincial governments in China approved more new coal-fired electricity generation than they did in…Continue readingChina ramps up coal power while pushing for renewables
More than 800m trees have been cut down in the Amazon rainforest in just six years to feed the world’s appetite for Brazilian beef, according to a new investigation, despite dire…Continue readingMore than 800m Amazon trees felled in six years to meet beef demand
Seventeen species that were once commonly found in pastures and meadows across 22 countries, including the small copper, common blue and meadow brown, declined by 36% on average between 2011 and…Continue readingEurope’s grassland butterfly population down more than a third in 10 years
50 researchers, 40 years, 28 countries, 550 million fewer birds.Continue readingIntensive farming is biggest cause of bird decline in Europe, study says
“At the moment,” writes Warren Hern, “we are the most misnamed species on the planet: Homo sapiens sapiens—’wise, wise man.’ Not.” Hern, 84, physician and adjunct professor of anthropology at the…Continue readingHumanity devouring itself and the planet
Earth’s wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 69% in just under 50 years, according to a leading scientific assessment, as humans continue to clear forests, consume beyond the limits…Continue readingAlmost 70% of animal populations wiped out since 1970, report reveals
Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a class of about 12,000 chemicals typically used to make thousands of products water-, stain- and heat-resistant. They do not naturally break down and accumulate…Continue readingToxic ‘forever chemicals’ detected in commonly used insecticides in US, study finds
It was the river that is said to have watered the biblical Garden of Eden and helped give birth to civilisation itself. The Tigris’s course through Iraq begins in the mountains…Continue readingCradle of civilisation dying
Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers account for 2.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, new research shows. Unlike organic fertilizers, which come from plant or animal material, synthetic fertilizers are made by humans using…Continue readingFertilizers cause more than 2% of global emissions
Caption for figure above: Grid-cell specific rankings of 22-yr negative soil moisture anomalies (drought rank) in 2000–2021 compared to the driest 22-yr period in each previous drought event back to year…Continue readingMegadrought in the American south-west: a climate disaster unseen in 1,200 years
The world’s chances of avoiding the worst ravages of climate breakdown are diminishing rapidly, as we enter “uncharted territory of destruction” through our failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions and take…Continue readingWorld heading into ‘uncharted territory of destruction’
The latest assessment by risk company Verisk Maplecroft brings those two threats together to calculate that heat stress already poses an “extreme risk” to agriculture in 20 countries, including agricultural giant…Continue readingCountries growing 70% of world’s food face ‘extreme’ heat risk by 2045
Unprecedented and societally disruptive extreme weather events, including heat waves, droughts, dust storms and torrential rains, will soon become a reality unless immediate, ambitious, and transboundary climate action is taken, warns…Continue readingWarming of up to 5°C in this century projected for the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East
The number of forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon hit a nearly 15-year high this week, according to official figures that provided the latest warning on the advancing destruction of the…Continue readingBrazil records worst day for Amazon fires in 15 years
Bumblebee populations have dropped throughout the United States and Europe as Earth has heated up. Research from 2020 found that the number of areas populated by the insects had fallen 46%…Continue readingBumblebee species stressed by climate change
No longer having access to potable running water, the villagers of Ouled Essi Masseoud rely solely on sporadic supplies in public fountains and from private wells. “The fountains work just one…Continue readingDrought tightens its grip on Morocco
Millions in Assam have been affected by the floods since heavy pre-monsoon rains first hit the region last month, inundating large parts of the valley. After the initial deluge in May,…Continue reading‘All is lost’: Floods in India’s Assam leave trail of destruction
Scientists have been able quickly to prove that record-breaking temperatures are no natural occurrence. A study published last month showed that the south Asian heatwave was made 30 times more likely…Continue readingBurning planet
Niger is on the frontline of the climate crisis. Increasingly erratic rainfall and longer dry seasons mean that many parts of the country have not had a good harvest in a…Continue readingNiger is in the eye of the climate crisis – and children are starving
The Klamath Basin in the western U.S. was once a string of pristine wetlands but in the middle of the 19th century settlers began diverting the three big rivers feeding the system…Continue readingYoung farmers in Klamath Basin lose hope
The nightmare scenario: Year 2100, global waming exceeds 4˚C:→ Massive frequent wildfires→ Dead coral reefs→ Frequent prolonged droughts→ Increased air pollution→ Ice-free Arctic summers→ Rapid sea level rise→ Abandoned small island nations→…Continue readingClimate change: how bad could the future be if we do nothing?