Human-caused climate change worsened the recent torrential rains and floods which devastated parts of southern Africa, killing more than 100 people and displacing over 300 000, researchers said Thursday.
Every year, Australia experiences a summer monsoon characterized by the reversal of winds, heavy rainfall, and flooding. In 2024–2025, however, the Australian summer monsoon (ASM) was the latest on record since measurements began in 1957. The monsoon's timely arrival is critical for Northern Australia. It dictates water security for communities, drives pasture growth for the vital cattle industry, and signals the end of the high bushfire risk period.
No matter where you live in the United States, you have likely seen headlines about PFAS being detected in everything from drinking water to fish to milk to human bodies.
Around the world, governments and businesses are talking more and more about the need to move from today's "take, make, waste" economy to a circular one, where products are designed to last, materials stay in use, and waste is dramatically reduced. On paper, the case is compelling: recent assessments show that shifting to a circular economy offers both a major climate opportunity and a significant economic one. A study from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre finds that "reduction, reuse and recovery" measures could cut Europe's heavy industrial emissions by up to 231 million tonnes of CO₂ each year, and global analyses estimate that circular models could generate around $4.5 trillion in value by 2030).
The Trump administration, with the support of many congressional Republicans, is looking to boost deep-sea mining as a way to counter Chinese dominance of critical minerals supply chains.
In the days since last week's fatal landslides at Mount Maunganui, there has been widespread discussion about what may have caused the slopes above the campground to fail, including the possible role of recent tree removal on Mauao.
In the drylands of Benin, West Africa, livestock farming is under growing pressure. These vast, hot landscapes cover roughly 70% of the country's land area. Their sparse pastures and scattered trees sustain around six million grazing animals, including 2.5 million cattle, one million sheep and 2.4 million goats which walk with herders over long distances in search of food and water.
California marked a milestone this month with the return of an uninterrupted Highway 1 through the perilous yet spectacular cliffs of Big Sur. The famed coastal road had been closed for more than three years after two major landslides buried the two-lane highway, and it took unprecedented engineering might and precarious debris removal to once again connect northern Big Sur with its southern neighbors.
Parts of India, including the capital Delhi, were once again covered in thick smog recently as toxic pollution from industry and crop-burning engulfed the region. Even though India's National Clean Air Program has advanced clean air action, air pollution remains a reoccurring problem.
A new report from Penn State's Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) highlights the role colleges and universities can play in improving student outcomes by identifying financial insecurity early, and building coordinated support systems across counseling centers, academic units and community partners.
