NEW DELHI: Projecting the grand success in saving tigers from the brink of extinction to now becoming home to 70% of the global population, the Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that there is an annual growth of 6% in the big cat’s population, which offset natural losses. India achieved the target of doubling […]
Environment
Three dead as rain pounds New Zealand’s largest city Auckland
WELLINGTON: Authorities said Saturday that three people had died and at least one was missing after record levels of rainfall pounded New Zealand’s largest city, causing widespread disruption.Prime Minister Chris Hipkins flew to Auckland on a military plane after a state of emergency was declared in the region.“Our priority is to ensure that Aucklanders are […]
Sections of Balkan river become floating garbage dump
VISEGRAD: Tons of waste dumped in poorly regulated riverside landfills or directly into the waterways that flow across three countries end up accumulating behind a trash barrier in the Drina River in eastern Bosnia during the wet weather of winter and early spring. This week, the barrier once again became the outer edge of a […]
Scientists say pollution not cause of UK mass crab deaths
LONDON: British scientists said Friday they don’t think pollution killed thousands of crabs that washed up on beaches in northeast England, though they are unsure what did cause the unusual die-off. The crustaceans were found dead or dying along more than 70 kilometres (44 miles) of coastline in late 2021, with some displaying unusual “twitching” […]
Policy levers that can push decarbonization into overdrive
PARIS: Government measures to boost electric vehicle sales, the share of green ammonia in fertiliser, and public purchasing of plant proteins could help shift the decarbonisation of the global economy into high gear, researchers said Friday.Strategic support through regulation and subsidies in these three areas would have knock-on effects, accelerating the transition away from planet-warming […]
Davos 2023: UN chief urges ‘credible’ net-zero pledges or risk greenwashing
DAVOS, SWITZERLAND: UN secretary general Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called on business leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos to follow the principles outlined by an expert group to make “credible”, accountable net-zero pledges.The United Nations and standard setter the International Organization for Standardization launched the guidelines in November to become a reference […]
New species of lizard discovered in Peru national park
LIMA: Scientists have discovered a new species of lizard in a protected natural area in Cusco, southeastern Peru, national park officials said Monday.“Otishi National Park reveals a new species of lizard to science,” the National Service of State-Protected Natural Areas said in a statement.The new species, named “Proctoporus titans,” was found high in the Andes […]
Earth’s Ozone layer is recovering as damaging chemicals phased out
The Earth’s protective layer is on track to recover within four decades as damaging airborne chemicals are phased out, helping to shield humans from the sun’s rays and limit global warming, a UN-backed scientific panel said. Scientists first identified a hole in the ozone layer, which helps filter out ultraviolet rays from the sun, in […]
Scientists sound alarm as ocean temperatures hit new record
PARIS: The world’s oceans, which have absorbed most of the excess heat caused by humanity’s carbon pollution, continued to see record-breaking temperatures last year, according to research published Wednesday.Climate change has increased surface temperatures across the planet, leading to atmospheric instability and amplifying extreme weather events such as storms.Oceans absorb about 90 per cent of […]
4 out of 5 glaciers may be lost by 2100: Study
WASHINGTON: Over 80 per cent, or 4 out of every 5 glaciers by number, could well disappear by the end of this century, if fossil fuel use continues unabated, according to a study.The findings showed that the world could lose as much as 41 per cent of its total glacier mass this century – or […]