Environmental activists and experts are increasingly concerned about the impact that military activity by India, China and Pakistan is having on the unique biodiversity and pristine ecosystems of Ladakh, an Indian-administered region high in the Himalayas. Simmering tensions between India and China since a deadly border confrontation in 2020 have led to a surge in … continue reading -> “India-China Military Buildup Threatens Fragile Himalayan Ecosystems “

Every few years, the Pacific Ocean gets a fever, and the symptoms spread all the way around the world. It’s happening again. El Niño is back, and it looks like it’s going to be a big one. That raises the odds of droughts in Brazil and southern Africa, and floods in East Africa and the … continue reading -> “El Niño is Here; Get Ready for a Big One”

As the planet warms, mosquitoes are slowly migrating upward.  The temperature range where malaria-carrying mosquitoes thrive is rising in elevation. Researchers have found evidence of the phenomenon from the tropical highlands of South America to the mountainous, populous regions of eastern Africa.  Scientists now worry people living in areas once inhospitable to the insects, including … continue reading -> “Amid Climate Change, Mosquitoes Migrate; Will Malaria Follow? “

Italy put 23 cities on red alert as it reckoned with another day of scorching temperatures Wednesday, with no sign of relief from the wave of extreme heat, wildfires and flooding that has wreaked havoc from the United States to China. The heat wave has hit southern Europe during the peak summer tourist season, breaking … continue reading -> “Europe Battles Heat, Fires; Sweltering Temperatures Scorch China, US”

The U.S. has suspended funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese research laboratory at the center of the debate over the origins of the coronavirus that has killed nearly 7 million people worldwide.    The lab has not received any U.S. funding since 2020, but for months the U.S. Department of Health and … continue reading -> “US Suspends Funding for China’s Wuhan Lab”

People who have a particular genetic variant are twice as likely to never feel sick when they contract COVID-19, researchers said Wednesday, offering the first potential explanation for the lucky group dubbed the “super dodgers.” Those who have two copies of the variant are eight times more likely to never get any symptoms from COVID-19, … continue reading -> “Why Do Some People Not Get Sick From Covid? Genetics Provide a Clue”

Childhood immunization has rebounded following a significant decline during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, but at an uneven rate with too many children in low-income countries still missing out on the life-saving products, according to a joint World Health Organization-UNICEF report. The agencies say that four million more children were immunized against killer … continue reading -> “Childhood Immunization Rebounds after COVID-19 Pandemic Setback”

Climate change is a “universal threat” that should be handled separately from broader diplomatic issues, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry told Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng on Wednesday after two days of what he called constructive but complex talks.  Acknowledging the diplomatic difficulties between the two sides in recent years, Kerry said climate should be treated … continue reading -> “US Envoy John Kerry Tells China to Separate Climate From Politics”

As global warming intensifies and deadly heatwaves spread across the world, becoming the “new normal,” the World Meteorological Organization is calling on governments to adopt heat action plans to protect “hundreds of thousands of people dying from preventable heat-related causes each year.” WMO’s protective policies incorporate early warning and response systems for urban and nonurban … continue reading -> “Hundreds of Thousands of People Dying From Preventable Heat-Related Causes”

The heatwave engulfing the northern hemisphere is set to intensify this week, causing overnight temperatures to surge and leading to an increased risk of heart attacks and deaths, the World Meteorological Organization said Tuesday. “Temperatures in North America, Asia, and across North Africa and the Mediterranean will be above 40°C for a prolonged number of … continue reading -> “WMO Warns of Risk of Heart Attacks, Deaths as Heatwave Intensifies “

The United Nations said Tuesday vaccinations for children have generally rebounded since a drop during the COVID-19 pandemic but warned that vaccination rates in many smaller and poorer countries are not experiencing the same progress. The U.N. said 20.5 million children missed one or more routine vaccinations in 2022, an improvement from 24.4 million the … continue reading -> “UN Says Childhood Vaccination Rates Improving, But Trail Pre-Pandemic Levels”

The excavator tore into the remnants of the damaged building in southeast Turkey, bringing it crashing down into a cloud of dust — the latest menace facing survivors of the deadly February quake that ravaged the region. Extending to the horizon, a cocoon of fine grey dust envelops the city of Samandag in the south … continue reading -> “Turkey Quake Survivors’ Latest Menace: Dust”

A review of the status of a vanishing species of whale found that the mammal’s population is in worse shape than previously thought, federal ocean regulators said Monday. The North Atlantic right whale numbers less than 350, and it has been declining in population for several years. The federal government declared the whale’s decline an … continue reading -> “Vanishing Whale’s Decline Worse Than Previously Thought”

In the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines, a debate is raging over whether to teach teenagers about contraceptives. Comprehensive sex education is required in public schools but not all schools are following through. Dave Grunebaum has the story. …

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency posted air quality alerts Sunday for several states stretching from Montana to Ohio because of smoke blowing in from Canadian wildfires. “Air Quality alerts are in place for much of the Great Lakes, Midwest, and northern High Plains,” the National Weather Service said. “This is due to the lingering thick … continue reading -> “Canadian Wildfires’ Smoke Creates Unhealthy Conditions in Large Swath of US”

As much of the world swelters in record temperatures, spare a thought for Issam Genedi, who ekes out a living washing cars in one of the planet’s hottest regions, the Gulf. Pausing from his work at an outdoor carpark in Dubai, the Egyptian migrant says the United Arab Emirates’ furnace-like summer feels even hotter this … continue reading -> “‘We Cannot Work’ — Why Gulf Summer Feels Even Hotter Than Usual”

The U.K.’s oldest medical union Saturday hit out at government plans to increase the amount migrant workers pay to use the state health care service, to cover public-sector wage increases.   Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government this week approved recommendations to boost wages of teachers, doctors and police by between 5.0 to 7.0 percent.   Sunak ruled … continue reading -> “UK Immigration Health Fee Hikes Face Criticism”

United Nations agencies said Friday that millions of Sudanese cannot obtain treatment for emergency and chronic health conditions because fighting has brought the country’s fragile health system to near total collapse.    The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement violence and “shortages of supplies, damage or occupation of facilities and … continue reading -> “UN: Sudan Health Care Near Collapse Due to Conflict”

Visitors to Las Vegas on Friday stepped out momentarily to snap photos and were hit by blast-furnace air. But most will spend their vacations in a vastly different climate — at casinos where the chilly air conditioning might require a light sweater. Meanwhile, emergency room doctors were witnessing another world, as dehydrated construction workers, passed-out … continue reading -> “Vegas Could Break Heat Record as Tens of Millions Across US Endure Scorching Temperatures”

Countries at this year’s U.N. climate summit must face up to how far behind they are on climate change targets and agree to a plan to get on track, the United Arab Emirates’ incoming president of the event said on Thursday.  In a speech laying out the country’s plan for the COP28 summit, to be … continue reading -> “UAE’s COP28 President Lays Out Plan for ‘Brutally Honest’ Climate Summit”

Health care providers in Zimbabwe are leaving the country in droves for better work abroad. The government is scrambling to fill the gaps by better equipping hospitals, as Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare, Zimbabwe. …

An Indian rocket hurtled into space Friday to land a robotic rover on an unexplored area of the moon – a challenging feat India was unable to accomplish on a mission four years ago.    Only three countries, the U.S., China and Russia, have made what is called a “soft” or “controlled” landing on the … continue reading -> “India Launches Second Moon Landing Attempt”

Leading global health agencies report consumers who limit their intake of aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are at little risk of getting cancer. “The occasional level of exposure, which is far from the acceptable daily intake, is safe and is not producing appreciable health risk,” said Francesco Branca, World Health Organization director, department of nutrition … continue reading -> “WHO: Occasional Artificial Sweetener Intake Poses Low Risk of Cancer”

HIV/AIDS can end as a public health threat by 2030 if nations can muster the political will and critical financial support to completely defeat it, a new report published Thursday says. The deadly disease has killed 40.4 million people since the start of the epidemic in 1981. “The data in this report show that the … continue reading -> “Report: Ending AIDS Is Political, Financial Choice”

The World Health Organization’s cancer agency has deemed the sweetener aspartame — found in diet soda and countless other foods — as a possible cause of cancer, while a separate expert group looking at the same evidence said it still considers the sugar substitute safe in limited quantities. The differing results of the coordinated reviews … continue reading -> “Sweetener Aspartame Listed as Possible Cancer Cause but Still Considered Safe “