The United Nations has raised alarm over a major outbreak of cholera in southern Somalia. Aid groups are already scrambling to help people suffering from severe drought and mass malnutrition. The UN is urging immediate action and aid to avert the crisis. Al Jazeera got access to a hospital in Baidoa in the badly-hit southern … Read more
With a skyline crowded with ever-more luxury towers, the construction of another Manhattan skyscraper wouldn’t normally be remarkable. But the American Copper Buildings going up on the East River — a complex of two towers with 764 apartments, panoramic views and a huge entrance hall with a doorman — is different. Planned just after deadly … Read more
Australians are bracing for the worst cyclone in the country’s northeast in several years, with residents evacuated and schools closed amid forecasts of destructive winds and rain. Cyclone Debbie has been forming off the coast of Queensland state in recent days, the official Bureau of Meteorology said Sunday, with its “very destructive core” expected to … Read more
Sydney’s Opera House and the Harbour Bridge plunged into darkness to mark Earth Hour on Saturday night, but it seems the remainder of the city didn’t get the memo. The event originated in Sydney in 2007 with 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses switching off their lights for 60 minutes in a bid to highlight climate … Read more
More than 250 people have been killed so far in this rainy season as floods have left remote communities isolated. ZIMBABWE’S FLOODS Tropical Storm Dineo made landfall in Mozambique in February It moved across parts of southern Africa leaving a path of destruction In Zimbabwe more than 70 bridges were damaged More than 250 people … Read more
For the last decade, American photographer James Balog has been on a mission to document climate change through his camera lens. His effort has taken him to the farthest reaches of the world, from Antarctica to the northern ends of Greenland, where he has captured the movements and melts of immense glaciers. The results of … Read more
A spike in water temperature lasting only days bleached all the coral in a South China Sea atoll, and killed 40 percent of the tiny organisms within weeks, researchers reported Thursday. The six degree Celsius (10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) surge at Dongsha Atoll in June 2015 was produced by a perfect storm of factors: the time … Read more
The sea ice cover in the Arctic and Antarctic hit new record lows for this time of year, marking the smallest polar ice caps in the 38-year satellite record, US government scientists said Wednesday. In March, the Arctic ice sheet should be at its biggest, but on March 7 the ice cover reached “a record … Read more
Indonesia said Wednesday a cruise ship on a voyage organised by a British company had damaged about 18,900 square metres of coral reef, increasing the estimate of the devastation caused when the vessel ran aground. The accident happened this month in Raja Ampat, eastern Indonesia, one of the most biodiverse marine habitats on Earth and … Read more
Low-oxygen areas of the ocean known as dead zones threaten hundreds of coral reefs worldwide, fragile ecosystems already struggling because of climate change and pollution, researchers said Monday. Although dead zones are not typically considered top killers of coral reefs, they may be far more common than previously thought, according to a study in the … Read more
Ghana’s tourism sector is expected to rake in more foreign exchange following the discovery of Coral Reefs in its marine waters. Coral reefs are diverse underwater ecosystems, similar to a forest reserve which serves as a habitat for different aquatic species. Coral reefs represent unique habitats with high biodiversity, and are believed to be important … Read more
Indonesia summoned the British ambassador Friday after a cruise ship on a voyage organised by a London-based company smashed into coral reefs in a popular tourist spot and caused extensive damage. Raja Ampat in eastern Indonesia is one of the most biodiverse marine habitats on Earth, and attracts intrepid travellers and divers to its palm-fringed … Read more
The death toll from Saturday’s landslide at a vast dump in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, has now risen to 113 people, local officials say. A search operation at the Koshe landfill will continue overnight. As many as 150 people are believed to have been at the site during the landslide. Meanwhile, the funerals of some … Read more
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef may never recover from last year’s warming-driven coral bleaching, said a study Wednesday that called for urgent action in the face of ineffective conservation efforts. Record-high temperatures in 2015 and 2016 drove an unprecedented bleaching episode, which occurs when stressed corals expel the algae that live in their tissue and provide … Read more
From rising levels of air pollution to increased water contamination and a widening range for disease-carrying mosquitoes, climate change is making people sick, a coalition of 11 US medical groups said Wednesday. Known as the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, the group represents more than half of US doctors, and aims to help … Read more
Indonesia on Wednesday vowed to take action after a British-owned cruise ship smashed into pristine coral reefs and caused extensive damage, as residents of the popular tourist site lamented “paradise” had been ruined. The foreign ministry in Jakarta said the damage caused by Caledonian Sky could amount to a criminal act, and that authorities may … Read more
Almost six million Adelie penguins are living in East Antarctica, more than double the number previously thought, scientists said Wednesday in findings that have implications for conservation. Research by an Australian, French and Japanese team used aerial and ground surveys, tagging and resighting data and automated camera images over several breeding seasons, which allowed them … Read more
China can avoid three million premature deaths each year if it slashes a type of fine particle air pollution to UN recommended levels, a study said Wednesday. The average daily particle concentration in 38 of China’s largest cities between January 2010 and June 2013 was about 93 microgrammes per cubic metre (ug/m3) of air, researchers … Read more
Ghana Football Association President Nyantakyi is up against Tanzania’s Leodegar Tenga for a seat on the FIFA Council in Thursday’s crucial election in Adis Ababa, Ethiopia. Nyantakyi who was voted onto the new council some few months ago must beat Tenga to become a member of the powerful FIFA council for a four-year mandate. The … Read more
A British-owned cruise ship has smashed into pristine coral reefs, causing extensive damage in a remote corner of Indonesia known as one of the world’s most biodiverse marine habitats, researchers and officials said Tuesday. Raja Ampat in eastern Indonesia has long been a top attraction for intrepid travellers and avid divers, home to palm-fringed islands … Read more