Graph of the Day: Land surface temperature anomalies for Russia, the U.S., and Mexico, in July 2016

By Adam Voiland11 August 2016 (NASA) – Warm weather is expected in the summer, but the oppressive heat that affected several parts of the world in 2016 went well beyond warm. In June and July, people living in Siberia, the Middle East, and North America faced extreme heat waves. Parts of Siberia where cool weather […]

Increasing cases of enforced disappearances ‘just the tip of the iceberg,’ UN warns

16 September 2016 (UN) – In its latest report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances expressed deep concern and frustration at the rising number of cases, and underlined the need to prevent such acts and hold the perpetrators to account. “We are seriously concerned that […]

Crisis on high: In the Himalayas, a climate disaster is unfolding that will impact the lives of more than 1 billion people

By Matthew Carney; photography by Wayne McAllister25 July 2016 (ABC News) – Deep in the Himalayas sits a remote research station that is tracking an alarming trend in climate change, with implications that could disrupt the lives of more than one billion people and pitch the most populated region of the world into chaos. The […]

World Bank: Water scarcity poses a greater risk of turmoil under climate change – Global water shortages to deliver ‘severe hit’ to economies

By Pola Lem4 May 2016 (ClimateWire) – Water scarcity is expected to increase globally as populations boom and climate change sharpens uncertainty around the resource’s availability, according to a report by the World Bank. The conclusion adds to a growing body of research, and it comes days before this year’s Climate Action 2016 summit in […]

Food system shock: Global warming’s greatest threat to civilization

By Jeff Masters29 April 2016  (wunderground.com) – The greatest threat of climate change to civilization over the next 40 years is likely to be climate change-amplified extreme droughts and floods hitting multiple major global grain-producing “breadbaskets” simultaneously. A “Food System Shock” report issued in 2015 by insurance giant Lloyd’s of London outlined a plausible extreme […]

Greece begins refugee deportations under EU plan

ATHENS, Greece, 4 April 2016 (Associated Press) – Under heavy security, authorities on the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios deported 202 migrants and refugees on boats bound for Turkey — the first to be sent back as part of a controversial European Union plan to limit the amount of migration to Europe. The operation […]

The Panama Papers: Politicians, criminals, and the rogue industry that hides their cash

By The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists 3 April 2016 (ICIJ) – A new investigation published today by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100 other news organizations around the globe, reveals the offshore links of some of the planet’s most prominent people. In terms of size, […]

Four billion people face severe water scarcity, new research finds – ‘The results imply the global water situation is much worse than suggested by previous studies’

By Damian Carrington  12 February 2016 (Guardian) – At least two-thirds of the global population, over 4 billion people, live with severe water scarcity for at least one month every year, according to a major new analysis. The revelation shows water shortages, one of the most dangerous challenges the world faces, is far worse previously […]

Fears of extinction for West Siberian cranes due to cruel hunting in Iran and Pakistan

12 August 2015 (The Siberian Times) – Only a ‘few pairs’ of the West Siberian population of the Siberian crane now remain in the lower reaches of the Ob River, warned Dr Lev Vartapetov, deputy director of the Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals in Novosibirsk. ‘The last birds are killed during their passage […]

Worldwide displacement hits all-time high as war and persecution increase – Biggest increase ever seen in a single year, situation likely to worsen

GENEVA, June 18 (UNHCR) – Wars, conflict, and persecution have forced more people than at any other time since records began to flee their homes and seek refuge and safety elsewhere, according to a new report from the UN refugee agency. UNHCR’s annual Global Trends Report: World at War [pdf], released on Thursday (June 18), […]

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