The discovery of 52 critically endangered geckos on the UAE’s east coast has raised hopes for the survival of the threatened species. The Emirati leaf-toed gecko – Asaccus caudivolvulus – was thought to be on the brink of extinction but a 2022 expedition found the geckos in five locations despite heavy development in the area. Geckos play a crucial role […]
The heads of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank said on Thursday that the two bodies will enhance joint efforts to tackle the “existential threat of climate change”, as the world continues to grapple with economic challenges. “Climate change is a threat to global peace, security, economic stability and development,” Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF, […]
The UAE has launched a month-long cloud-seeding campaign aimed at improving technologies used to boost rainfall across the country. The National Centre of Meteorology has joined forces with Stratton Park Engineering Company, a US-based climate research specialist, to conduct key experiments. The Cloudix initiative – cloud-aerosol-electrical interactions for rainfall enhancement experiment – will capture the effectiveness of various cloud-seeding […]
The UN’s weather agency has warned that the hazards of air pollution arising from climate change are being overlooked in the battle against global warming. The World Meteorological Organisation, an intergovernmental group promoting international co-operation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics, said air quality goes “hand-in-hand” with higher temperatures. On Wednesday, it published its […]
A major UAE initiative has been praised for improving lives after boosting access to safe drinking water for 9,000 people in Ethiopia. Beyond2020, a humanitarian drive supported by local and international organisations, installed six shallow wells with solar pumps to serve three needy villages in the Dirashe district of the African country. The assistance aims to reduce […]
As the world grapples with climate change, a high-resolution model that can more accurately predict extreme weather will be crucial in improving the resilience of vulnerable countries, the UAE’s senior meteorologist has said. The proposed model would offer definitive predictions for weather such flash floods, tropical storms, tornadoes, rising sea levels, glacial changes and convective clouds, said Dr […]
A major investment which will help to restore Britain’s lost rainforests and reintroduce key species to their natural habitats has been revealed. The new funding will play an important role in helping the nation achieve its target of protecting a third of its land and sea by 2030. The Wildlife Trusts announced the launch of […]
Rainfall will decrease markedly in the Middle East by 2040, sparking worsening food security, Oxfam warned on Wednesday, as it published a report warning of the humanitarian cost of increased water scarcity. The report, Water Dilemmas, describes how a water security crisis, in large part driven by global heating from greenhouse gas emissions, will fuel hunger and […]
On the heels of devastating weather across the US, President Joe Biden on Wednesday emphasised “the existential threat” of climate change, but dodged questions on whether he would declare a climate national emergency. When pressed about declaring a national emergency, Mr Biden sidestepped, asserting that “we’ve already done that … practically speaking”. “We’ve conserved more land, […]
A study has discovered there is less plastic littering the ocean than scientists previously thought, but what is there could persist for a long time. The study estimated that more than 95 per cent of plastic floating on the ocean are pieces bigger than 2.5cm. Most plastic particles in the ocean are very small and the total mass of these microplastics, […]
