Environment

Half of China hit by drought in worst heatwave on record

Half of China's vast territory is now experiencing drought, including parts of the frigid Tibetan Plateau, official data showed -- with more high temperatures forecast Thursday for hundreds of millions of people enduring the country's hottest summer on record.. A chart from the National Climate Centre showed Wednesday that swathes of southern China -- including the Tibetan Plateau -- were experiencing "severe" to "extraordinary" drought conditions.

Wed, Aug 24, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Trouser snakes: US smuggler admits carrying reptiles in pants

A man who hid snakes and lizards in his trousers as he tried to sneak them into the United States as part of a $750,000 reptile smuggling enterprise faces decades in prison, officials said Wednesday.. Jose Manuel Perez masterminded the six-year scheme from his home in southern California, which involved bringing 1,700 animals into the United States from Mexico and Hong Kong.

Wed, Aug 24, 2022 1 mins read

Environment

California set to ban fossil fuel cars by 2035

All new cars sold in California by 2035 will have to be zero emission under plans set to be adopted by the state this week, as the biggest economy in the United States drives a nationwide fossil fuel evolution.. Biden and his Democratic Party are rushing to make up climate policy ground they feel was lost under former president Donald Trump, who yanked the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord and reversed what many environmentalists viewed as already-weak progress in combating the fossil fuel emissions that drive global warming.

Wed, Aug 24, 2022 1 mins read

Environment

Oldest human relative walked upright 7 mn years ago: study

The earliest known human ancestor walked on two feet as well as climbing through trees around seven million years ago, scientists said Wednesday after studying three limb bones.. The new research on the limb bones demonstrates that walking on two feet was its "preferred mode of getting around, depending on the situation," he told a press conference. 

Wed, Aug 24, 2022 3 mins read

Environment

Heatwave triggers 'false autumn' in UK

Searing summer temperatures in the UK have not just parched the earth and dried up rivers, lakes and reservoirs but are also seeing trees shed their leaves early.. The early leaf fall -- dubbed a "false autumn" -- is a sign of stress, as trees shed their leaves to try to retain moisture.

Wed, Aug 24, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Flood toll tops 800 in Pakistan's 'catastrophe of epic scale'

Record monsoon rains were causing a "catastrophe of epic scale", Pakistan's climate change minister said Wednesday, announcing an international appeal for help in dealing with floods that have killed more than 800 people since June.. "It is a climate catastrophe of epic scale," Rehman said, adding three million people had been affected.

Wed, Aug 24, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

An overview of NASA's Artemis 1 mission to the Moon

NASA's Artemis 1 mission, scheduled to take off on Monday, is a 42-day voyage beyond the far side of the Moon and back.. It will take several days to reach the Moon, flying around 60 miles (100 kilometers) at closest approach.

Wed, Aug 24, 2022 3 mins read

Environment

All systems go for Artemis 1 mission to Moon

Fifty years after the last Apollo mission, the Artemis program is poised to take up the baton of lunar exploration with a test launch on Monday of NASA's most powerful rocket ever.. A complete failure would be devastating for a program that is costing $4.1 billion per launch and is already running years behind schedule.

Wed, Aug 24, 2022 3 mins read

Environment

China warns of 'severe' threat to harvest from worst heatwave on record

China's autumn harvest is under "severe threat" from high temperatures and drought, authorities have warned, urging action to protect crops in the face of the country's hottest summer on record.. "The rapid development of drought superimposed with high temperatures and heat damage has caused a severe threat to autumn crop production," the statement said.

Wed, Aug 24, 2022 2 mins read

Environment

Whistle blows in Germany for world's first hydrogen train fleet

Germany on Wednesday will inaugurate a railway line powered entirely by hydrogen, a "world first" and a major step forward for green train transport despite nagging supply challenges.. Europe's enduring reliance on gas from Russia amid massive tensions over the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine poses major challenges for the development of hydrogen in rail transport.

Wed, Aug 24, 2022 3 mins read