SHANGHAI/BEIJING, August 14 (Reuters): China saw average concentrations of lung-damaging airborne particles known as PM2.5 fall by 10.8% from January to July as industry slowed because of the coronavirus, data showed on Friday, though levels were still well above WHO recommendations. Average PM2.5 stood at 33 micrograms per cubic metre over the seven months, according to data collected from monitoring stations in more than 300 cities, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment sai

SYDNEY, July 29 (Reuters): Nearly 3 billion koalas, kangaroos and other native Australian animals were killed or displaced by bushfires in 2019 and 2020, showed a study by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), triple the organisation's earlier estimates. Some 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles, 180 million birds and 51 million frogs were impacted by the country's worst bushfires in decades, the WWF said on Tuesday. The fires destroyed over 11 million hectares

OSLO, July 26 (Reuters): Temperatures at Norway's Svalbard archipelago, about midway between the mainland and the North Pole, hit a record high of 21.7 degrees Celsius on Friday, Norway's Meteorological Institute said. The Arctic islands are warming faster than almost anywhere on Earth, highlighting risks in other parts of the Arctic from Alaska to Siberia, a Norwegian report said last year. "A 41-year-old record has been broken in Longyearbyen," the Meteor

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters): Hopes that the rise in average global temperatures by 2100 might be capped below 2.5C can be all but ruled out if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, new research reassessing the atmosphere's sensitivity to CO2 suggests. The study, under the Geneva-based World Climate Research Program, offers the first clear progress in decades toward narrowing the range of temperature rise caused by doubling of carbon dioxide levels since p

BUENOS AIRES, July 23 (Reuters): Scientists have discovered an active methane seep from Antarctica's sea bed that could shed light on the potent greenhouse gas trapped beneath frozen continent. Marine ecologist Andrew Thurber first glimpsed what a colleague described as a "microbial waterfall" during a dive in the icy waters of the Ross Sea in 2012. What looked like a superhighway of white patches on the ocean floor were clusters of tiny organisms drawn to the met

BUENOS AIRES, June 29 (Reuters): At the South Pole, considered the coldest point on Earth, temperatures are rising fast.   So fast, in fact, that Kyle Clem and other climate researchers began to worry and wonder whether human-driven climate change was playing a bigger role than expected in Antarctica.   Temperature data shows that the desolate region has warmed at three times the global warming rate over the last three decades up through 2018, the South Pole&

Mumbai, June 26 (IANS): Actress-producer Anushka Sharma says she always wanted to show strong, independent women through cinema and her latest production venture, "Bulbbul", is a step in that direction.   "The idea that Clean Slate Filmz (her production house, which she runs with her brother Karnesh) would one day create a genre of our own was never an intentional move. We, however, always wanted to create a style of storytelling that celebrates women and thei

Los Angeles, June 8 (IANS): "Friends" co-creator Marta Kauffman has confessed that she didn't do enough to promote diversity on the popular American sitcom "Friends", which is considered to be an iconic show.   Kauffman co-created the show with David Crane. She opened up about what it lacked during the virtual "2020 ATX TV... From the Couch" panel, when she was asked about what she "wished she knew" when she started her career in t

An aerial view shows a deforested plot of the Amazon near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil on August 21, 2019. (REUTERS File Photo)   BRASILIA, May 12 (Reuters): Brazil deployed thousands of soldiers to protect the Amazon rainforest on Monday, taking precautions to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus, as the government mounts an early response to surging deforestation ahead of the high season for forest fires.   The armed forces, alongside environmental

IANS File Photo.   Los Angeles, May 10 (IANS): Led Zeppelin's authentic artwork for the cover of the rock band's 1969 eponymous debut album is set to be auctioned in June. Designed by George Hardie, it was based on photographer Sam Shere's renowned 1937 picture of the Hindenburg disaster, depicting a Zeppelin turning into flames, reports aceshowbiz.com. "In terms of rarity, this is a unique object - I don't think you can get rarer than that," Peter Klarnet

Brian May. Instagram Photo.   London, May 8 (IANS): Brian May, lead guitarist of the rock band Queen, landed in a hospital after ripping the muscles in his glutes "to shreds". The 72-year-old musician posted a photo and video on Instagram to make the announcement, reports variety.com. "As well as getting over-stretched and harassed by too many demands, I managed to rip my gluteus maximus to shreds in a moment of over-enthusiastic gardening," he wrote.

A combination picture shows a view of the Italian Alps standing amidst dense fog and smog January 8, 2020, (top) and the same view pictured during coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Milan, Italy, in Milan, Italy on April 17, 2020. (REUTERS File Photo)   Reuters European Union lawmakers are considering toughening the bloc's planned climate law, with stricter near-term emission goals and a binding commitment for every member state to decarbonize by 2050, accor

Environmental activists of Swiss Klimastreik Schweiz movement placed shoes in place of live participants to demonstrate against climate change, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, on the Sechselaeutenplatz square in Zurich, Switzerland on April 24. (REUTERS Photo)   ZURICH, April 24 (Reuters): Green activists placed rows of boots and shoes in a Zurich square to take the place of protesters who normally come out in person on Fridays to demand a

Birds fly as smoke billows from a burning garbage dump on Earth Day, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on April 22. (REUTERS Photo)   GENEVA, April 22 (Reuters): A possible fall in greenhouse gas emissions due to the COVID-19 pandemic will not be enough to stop climate change, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday, urging governments to integrate climate action into recovery plans. &nb

General view of Mekong river, Ban Namprai village, Nong Khai province, Thailand on October 8, 2019. (REUTERS File Photo)   BANGKOK, April 13 (Reuters): China's Mekong River dams held back large amounts of water during a damaging drought in downstream countries last year despite China having higher-than-average water levels upstream, a U.S. research company said in a study.   China's government disputed the findings, saying there was low rainfall during last y

Forest guards chase away a rhino that strayed into a residential area after floods forced animals to escape the Kaziranga National park in Nagaon district, in the northeastern state of Assam on August 15, 2017. (REUTERS File Photo)   LONDON, April 8 (Reuters): Climate change could trigger sudden, potentially catastrophic losses of wildlife in regions around the world over the coming decades, and the first waves could already be unfolding, according to a study published

A watch showing the time at noon, is displayed for a photo in front of an empty road at Rajpath, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in New Delhi on March 31, 2020. (REUTERS File Photo)   MANILA, April 8 (Reuters): Strict lockdowns, school closures and curbs on commerce are giving Asia's congested capitals rare respite from transport mayhem, as the global fight to contain the coronavirus creates a free-flow of traffic not seen in years.  

NEW DELHI, APRIL 8 (IANS): Long-term exposure to polluted air could lead to increase in death rate of people infected with deadly coronavirus, concluded a recent study which forms a clear correlation between the two factors.   The study, carried out by Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health's researchers, concluded that a small increase in long-term exposure to tiny particles in air known as PM 2.5 could lead to a large increase in COVID-19 death

A combination image distributed by the European Space Agency (ESA) on March 27, 2020, shows the average nitrogen dioxide concentrations from air pollution across France in March, 2019 (L), and from March 14-25, 2020, as mapped by the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite, a reduction that the ESA says is due to the strict quarantine measures during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. (Reuters Photo)   LONDON, March 28 (Reuters): Air pollution from nitrogen dioxide has fa

A wheat field is seen in Los Banos, California, United States on May 5, 2015. (REUTERS File Photo)   ROME, March 20 (Thomson Reuters Foundation): Catastrophic crop failures caused by extreme weather in just one country could disrupt global food supplies and drive price spikes in an interconnected world, exposing how climate change threatens global stability, researchers said on Friday.   They examined how the global trade and supplies of wheat, a crop used fo