Fire fighters in New South Wales are battling 81 grass and bushfires, 38 of which remained uncontained

Of the 10 persons defecating in the open globally, six are Indians. By 2019, six will be from African countries, and none from India, as the country is inching towards meeting total sanitation targets. Though some African countries have shown marginal improvement, they are likely to miss the Sustainable Development Goal on sanitation in 2030. But that is just the beginning of the continent's problems. Lack of safe sanitation will lead to more water-borne diseases resulting in higher healthcare expenses and productivity loss. Poverty-stricken African nations can ill afford to ignore this basic developmental right. What will it take for Africa to overcome the various hurdles to achieve …

Scientists say that by 2050, the capital of Indonesia will be entirely submerged

October 12 is when the United States celebrates Christopher Columbus making landfall in the Caribbean in his 3 caravels. A ‘cacique’ (chief) of the Taino, the first indigenous people of the Americas Columbus encountered, gives his take on why the observance of this day is unacceptable

A California court awarded a compensation of $289 million to him as he got cancer from using Monsanto's herbicide 

Japan reveals that its major car makers conducted improper fuel economy and emissions tests on their vehicles

In 2017, carbon dioxide concentration at Earth’s surface was 405 ppm—greater than the 2016 level

That terrestrial species like the rhino and tiger are targeted for use in Traditional Chinese Medicine is well known. What is not is that this hocus-pocus system also claims millions of animal lives in our oceans every year

GCF, the primary vehicle for Paris pact finances, struggles as developed countries don’t seem too keen on donating

Experts say 80 per cent of food production depends on pollination, but pesticides are affecting pollinators like bees

This was the second earthquake in Indonesia in a week

The Green Revolution may have prevented the fate that was forecasted for a world bursting at the seams and unable to feed itself. But unlimited population growth means that doomsday could be well within sight

The UK’s divorce from Europe will reduce IP protection and may result in an increase in the cost of protection of IP rights on the continent

Unusual heat wave, floods, wildfire, extreme rain and drought hit everyone worldwide

Day Zero has been postponed to next year for Capetonians. When is your turn? Are you ready?

Women in developing countries are more vulnerable to floods and storms owing to their socially constructed roles

Gill Braulik, who has been studying Indus River dolphins in Pakistan for over 15 years, speaks to Down To Earth about the future of the animal in both Pakistan and India

The underground lake is about 20 kms wide and is on Mars’ southern ice cap

In the past 10 years, extreme weather events cost developing countries over $62 billion in higher external interest payments

It says 6,500 km of fibre-optic cables are under threat of being submerged by water by 2033

Emissions from this sector are to rise by more than 60 per cent by 2030

It suggests measures for managed motorised access into such areas for bear conservation

Trade and climate policy experts give a detailed roadmap for a carbon-based response to US tariffs

This is the first time since 1997 that red sanders has been placed under the ‘near threatened’ category by International Union for Conservation of Nature

They killed a protected species and can be fined or imprisoned for it

Livelihood opportunities should take precedence in global trade talks as it is more about employment than anything else right now

Lack of standards means there is no benchmark from which to calculate the Sustainable Development Goals

On the first-ever World Chimpanzee Day, we should consider the ways we can ensure that future human generations can enjoy sharing the earth with our closest living relatives

The Earth is losing more and more biodiversity every day, and we should all be worried

Researchers found evidence of 14 species of native animals that are extinct now by analysing DNA from fossils

Fracking is a controversial method used to extract shale gas by breaking rock and is considered to be very harmful for the environment

Youngsters in northern Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province are giving up their guns to become a driving force behind wildlife conservation

The Church plans to withdraw investment from companies that don’t follow the terms of the Paris Agreement

The Environmental Investigative Agency has found that CFC-11, a gas banned under the Montreal Protocol, is being used extensively in East Asia, mainly China

Discussions on funding proposals could not happen due to process-related disagreements among Board members

While extreme rain in western Japan has caused devastating landslides, destroying infrastructure, more such landslides are on cards

Countries are now getting into bilateral or regional trade deals as opposed to global agreements

The lake inflow hydrology has already changed, which means that nutrient inflows and their distribution through the lake have also been affected

European Environmental Agency, in its study, finds English rivers, lakes and estuaries to be among the worst

With the US halving its contribution to the Global Environment Facility, the oldest green fund sees first budget cut in 27 years, hurting the Least Developed Countries the most

Many LDCs will not be able to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of eliminating all forms of malnutrition by 2030

Howard Bamsey resigned abruptly after a 'disappointing' meeting on expansion of GCF-funded projects

Declining demand for transport fuel will lead to reduced demand for ethanol in the US and EU—main markets for ethanol

Ayahuasca, a psychedelic brew made from two plants, has been used in Amazonia for centuries

Be it Europe, Asia or the Middle East, all are setting heat milestones

With major GEF grant countries set aside political differences and try to restore the mangroves and coral reefs of the world’s largest bay

According to a recent study, indigenous people and local communities are able to conserve forests by investing only 16–23 per cent of the amount spent by governments and NGOs

Per capita meat consumption will grow most strongly in the developed world

Although production has grown strongly across commodities, demand growth is decelerating

The UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to half the world’s mountain gorillas

It's hard to measure the value of a tree, but scientists equipped with lasers have come one step closer

At least 75,000 passengers globally have been affected in the latest eruption

Being an EU member state, the UK had been insulated from WTO rules that dictate the size of subsidies and how they are paid

The countries say that talks on further discipline on domestic support can only happen after harmful subsidies are reduced

Globally, irrigation accounts for an estimated 70 per cent of total freshwater withdrawal

Even if global warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels this century, rapid polar warming may release additional greenhouse gases, and sea-levels will rise by several metres

1.6 people should escape poverty every second but currently just 1.1 are doing so. Worryingly, by 2020, the rate of poverty reduction would further slow down

New report highlights how many wild plants used in everyday products are sourced without any consideration to supply sustainability

Although each volcano is different, there are some generalisations that help us understand what these risks are likely to be

New report notes that renewable energy is mostly being used in the power sector

As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rise, rice plants produce fewer vitamins and other key nutrients

Communities in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda are facing fresh bouts of flooding besides facing hardships due to earlier bouts

Rising sea temperatures will reduce the availability of prey for the predator seabird and their population growth rate will decline by 5.3%

Coal’s contribution to global electricity generation will shrink from 38 per cent to just 11 per cent by 2050 as comparative costs shift in favour of wind, solar and batteries 

Climate change is making sea levels rise, which is putting 2.5 million properties along the coast at a risk of chronic flooding

As the continent feels the heat of climate change, it is time it adopts measures to better manage its water and land to build greater resilience to droughts

Currently, policy instruments and investments to promote the spread of sustainable land management technologies are non-existent

Eruption followed a series of nine earthquakes

Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the UK are no longer at the forefront of the fight against climate change

A 6.1-m quake that hit the coastal city set off fires, caused walls to collapse and cracks in roads

Every year, we make New Year resolutions about change. Why not include as one of those resolutions, a change of habit leading that will lead to a smart sustainable consumer lifestyle?

Poor soil fertility is a major constraint to improving farm productivity and farmer livelihoods in Africa

It’s time researchers and policy makers think about managing the water when even the more resilient of the two poles has given in to climate change

While ICAO has proposed that biofuel use in passenger planes be increased rapidly to cut carbon emissions, environmentalists disagree

They suspect climate change to be the cause of the death of baobab trees that live for thousands of years

Shifting reliance from one fossil fuel to a relatively lesser polluting fossil fuel will not lead to de-carbonization

The country has worked on eliminating the disease for more than five decades and finally found success

The governing body of world football updates its sustainability policy for the world cup by including changing certain norms for green stadiums, waste management and recycling

An FAO report says Cabo Verde and Senegal have been added to a list of 39 countries that need external food assistance owing to poor cropping season and pastoral conditions

The biggest hurdle is finding uniform production processes across diverse geographies and climatic conditions

Here’s a round-up of today’s news reports and debates on energy

Here’s a round-up of today’s news reports and debates on pollution

The study contests car manufacturers' claim that newest diesel cars are far cleaner

Researchers took Gehyra variegate, a gecko, as the sample species and found that it does not shy away from heat and can maintain its population during drougt

Government and corporations have started working on different programmes aimed at reducing plastic pollution

The research is meant to help develop measures to correct the harmful effects of the organic compounds on the environment

The country has not followed the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures

Here's is a list of exterme weather events that have happened in June across the world

As people hunt animals from zoos to feed themselves, the President, accused of extrajudicial executions, is busy blaming the US and the opposition party

The Zambian government has selected two projects— agriculture and electricity generation development—for receiving financial boost from the Green Climate Fund

Crop losses, caused by extreme weather events, steered small-scale farmers towards new farming techniques

Globally, only 24 countries seem to be achieving WHO's 2025 target of reducing global prevalence of tobacco use by 30 per cent

Since Sub-Saharan Africa is largely off grid, it has great opportunity to skip installing fossil fuel-based power generation infrastructure and jump to renewables

A UN-backed mechanism to curb carbon sequestration and ensure biodiversity conservation, REDD+, is compromising community rights. Is there a better way?

Almost 70 per cent of the funds committed by developed countries to finance climate action in Africa are tied to conditional loans and credit lines

These ‘climate victims’, who live near the coast or in the mountains, are witnesses to melting glaciers and affected by permafrost melting

Political will is needed to address marine pollution and climate change in Africa

Fisherfolk blame big trawlers but they do not talk about the illegal trade they indulge in

Climate change is likely to increase the spread and incidence of tropical diseases in Africa

Flies can keep the bacteria in their gut for a week and since their flight can last up to 10kms they can act as vectors to disseminate it

The five-day assembly also agreed upon other resolutions concerning topics like digital health and assistive technology

Africa has only 1,152 weather stations; most of which are in dilapidated condition. Adequate infrastructure and quality data is needed to help provide seasonal forecasts 

Will the world’s anti-plastic movement succeed? Or will it once again succumb to a new set of technology “fixits”

With extreme weather events becoming the new normal, forecasting has become more important than ever. It's time African nations invest in observation networks 

Large-scale changes in rainfall can happen based on how tropical forests respond to excess CO2 in the atmosphere

While 43 African countries plan to raise 20 per cent of adaptation funds, the remaining needs to be funded by the international community, which has in the past defaulted on aid commitments

Here's an overview of recently released reports and studies on renewable energy 

Amidst crop losses, researchers call for using genetically modified maize

While droughts and floods have wreaked havoc on the sector, change in farming practices can bring about a better tomorrow

More than 2,000 natural disasters have hit Africa since 1970 affecting 500 million people and killing 0.9 million

Cape Town’s diversification of supply from surface water to groundwater, desalination and water recycling has also filtered into the business community in South Africa

Several businessmen, investors and experts are of the opinion that energy transition is the key to keeping the world peaceful and stable

Non-communicable diseases kill 41 million people each year, low and middle-class countries account for 80 per cent of these deaths

This three-point strategy aims at ensuring that 1 billion people get health coverage, are better protected from emergencies and enjoy wellbeing by 2023

Guardians of the Amazon, a tribe in the forests sent this message to the Brazilian government to help them protect an uncontacted tribe and their forests from illegal loggers

Chemical pollution in oceans, release of radiation into the atmosphere are some of the human activities that are causing animals to suffer

The six-day World Health Assembly kicked off in Geneva on Monday

They stress on the need for a comprehensive and party-driven negotiating text by Bangkok intersession in September 2018

These 10 species are the most likely to go extinct in the next few years

Cyclone Sagar, one of the rare ones to penetrate into western Gulf of Aden, was also the strongest tropical storm ever recorded in Somalia

Dam removal gained momentum after the EU adopted the Water Framework Directive in 2000

85 juvenile sharks visited various spots of the island nation’s coast in a single season, says study

While some Parties are emphasisng the need to focus on existing features of NDCs, others are calling for new features

Soybean farmers in a country that imports soybean have to switch to other crops on a land where there is leftover nitrogen after crop harvest

The impacts of climate change are making the continent even more vulnerable

NASA's Carbon Monitoring System provides data on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon stocks to help countries evaluate their progress towards reducing atmospheric CO2

The bullshitter may do even more damage than the liar in politics

The UN body has released a step by step guide for the industry to eliminate trans fats from food

Prem Shankar Jha makes a case for solar energy while tracing the history of global warming

With Parties differing on their fundamental stances, creation of a robust and fair Paris climate rule book looks like a tough task

While the Bonn meet was packed with hundreds of parallel meetings, progress on readying a text for COP 24 has been slow

Torrential rains have wreaked havoc in the last few weeks, destroying thousands of homes and displacing more than half a million people across East Africa

Rapid intensification occurs when the maximum wind speed in a hurricane goes up by at least 28.8 miles within a 24-hour period

Contrary to popular perception, predators moving into hitherto ‘alien’ environments are only recolonising what they had once lost

The Hunnic and Mongol invasions caused people in the region to transform from Indo-European to Turkic speakers

Soil pollution poses a major risk to human health by impairing plant metabolism and making crops unsafe for consumption

Four out of five glaciers could disappear entirely within the next twenty years, it warns

A group of experts give their verdict on whether the long fought over policy will help tackle the country’s water crisis

Over the next two and half years, the negotiating group will meet five times to discuss and prepare reports on the work required for each of the six agenda items

Yak herders from Bhutan, Nepal, and China met with reindeer herders from Norway, Russia and found surprising commonalities in the challenges they face, especially climate change

The US President’s plan to wall off the US-Mexico Border could end any efforts by jaguars to re-colonise land north of the Rio Grande

: Kilauea, the most active of the five volcanoes that form the Big Island in the archipelago, erupted on Thursday, after a series of earthquakes struck the island

International shipping produces as much CO2 as aircraft. Here’s what we can do about that

The two-day dialogue on loss and damage could not move beyond stating the obvious and raising concerns over roadblocks

Developed countries, including US, were seen obstructing an attempt by the Africa group to submit a draft decision on climate financing

Dolphin flesh and blubber is being used as bait to ensnare catfish, endangering the species

Nawabshah, in Sindh, registered a sweltering 50.2 degree Celsius on April 30

Younger, meaner, more self-indulgent, angry and insecure in a climate risked world. We don’t deserve this

A large forest near the city is on the brink of collapse, in turn endangering the city’s water supply

IUCN report cites pollution, over-harvesting of resources and land clearance among primary threats

They are the first humans to have genetically adapted to have larger spleens which help them dive deeper and for longer periods

A team of scientists came to this conclusion after testing fecal samples and swabs collected from 10 hatcheries in the country

The colour bar in African conservation has come to occupy the centre of public perception, driven mostly by the social media

Rapidly rising sea level might force a climate-sceptic regime to rethink its policies and safeguard lives and security assets

About three-fourths of 60,000 tonnes of used electronic equipment shipped to Nigeria in both 2015 and 2016 originated from EU ports

Two reports reveal that the African powerhouse’s productivity could decline by 11 per cent due to climate change’s impact on its small farmers

A tour of some of the world's most iconic and endangered species, and what we can do to save them. 

How do people avoid the stresses of the digital age?

Land bridges are the causeways of biodiversity.

How solar could spark a clean-energy transition through transformative innovation—creative financing, revolutionary technologies, and flexible energy systems.

The book that sparked the modern environmental movement, with an unprecedented collection of letters, speeches, and other writings that reveal the extraordinary courage and vision of its author

For the first time ever, an international coalition of leading researchers, scientists and policymakers has come together to offer a set of realistic and bold solutions to climate change.

A changing climate is likely to have a drastic impact on crop yields in Africa.

From Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former head of the Sierra Club Carl Pope comes a manifesto on how the benefits of taking action on climate change are concrete, immediate, and immense.

Scientists have found that the fungus is a source of novel antibiotics which inhibit the growth of bacteria

Breast milk contains hydrogen peroxide, which works like an antibiotic, and degrades if not fed to the infant immediately, says a study

NITI Aayog CEO got it right, almost. Just five states are increasing the global challenge of meeting sustainable development goals

Although the parasite that carries the disease Avian trichomonosis was discovered in myna, it may not prove fatal for them

A study on the state of birds globally says agricultural expansion and deforestation are one of the major reasons for this

Prof Veena Sahajwalla, the Indian-origin scientist who launched the world’s first microfactory for e-waste, talks to Down To Earth about its environmental and financial viability

While a plastic-free society may sound good, issues like lack of alternatives to banned products and potential threats to livelihoods of millions need to be factored in while framing policies