The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has officially evaluated temperature record extremes of 54.0 °C at two locations, one in Mitribah, Kuwait, on 21 July 2016 and a second in Turbat, Pakistan, on 28 May 2017. In its most intensive evaluation ever undertaken, the WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes, has verified the Mitribah observation…
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) warns that air pollution exposure affects many organs beyond the lungs, posing a great risk to health. Outdoor fine particulate matter exposure is the fifth leading risk factor for death in the world, accounting for 4.2 million deaths and 103 million disability-adjusted life years lost according to the…
Celebrated every year on June 5, World Environment Day is the United Nations’ biggest annual event for positive environmental action to encourage worldwide awareness of the need to protect our planet. Since the first World Environment Day in 1974, the event has grown to become a global platform for positive public outreach on the environment…
Study Recommends Solutions, Including Phasing Out Single-Use Plastics In 2019 alone, the production and incineration of plastic will add more than 850 million metric tons of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere—equal to the pollution from 189 new 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants, according to a new report, Plastic & Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic…
Alarming levels of some of the most toxic chemicals, including brominated dioxins and brominated flame retardants, were found in consumer products made of recycled plastics sold in Argentina, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, the EU, India, Japan and Nigeria. Dioxins were measured in children’s toys and hair accessories at levels comparable to those found in hazardous wastes,…
A definitive new global synthesis of the state of nature, ecosystems and nature’s contributions to people — the first such report since the landmark Millennium Ecosystem Assessment published in 2005, and the first ever that is inter-governmental — will be presented to representatives of 132 Governments for consideration of approval in May 2019. Prepared by…
During its 30th anniversary year, award recognizes activists from Chile, North Macedonia, Liberia, Mongolia, Cook Islands, and the USA San Francisco Prize ceremony to include former Vice President Al Gore The Goldman Environmental Foundation today announced six recipients of the 2019 Goldman Environmental Prize, the world’s foremost award for grassroots environmental activists. Awarded annually to…
Conservation scientists, NGOs and indigenous leaders urge governments to adopt a “Global Deal for Nature” as a companion to the Paris Climate Agreement, to tackle the interlinked crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. A corresponding study establishes science-based conservation targets for the entire planet The private sector has continued to come together to mobilize…
Exposure to Air Pollution Shortens Life of a Child Born Today by over 20 Months China Beginning to Make Progress, But South Asia’s Air Pollution, Health Impacts Continue to Worsen Worldwide Air Pollution Greater Health Risk Factor Than Malnutrition or Lack of Exercise, and Just Behind Smoking Exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution could,…
The physical signs and socio-economic impacts of climate change are accelerating as record greenhouse gas concentrations drive global temperatures towards increasingly dangerous levels, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization. The WMO Statement on the State of the Global Climate in 2018, its 25th anniversary edition, highlights record sea level rise, as…
