Planting certain kinds of trees can make cities hotter at night, not cooler, according to a new study. Trees can significantly reduce the temperature of cities during the day by providing shade, changing the airflow and through the evaporation of water from microscopic pores in their leaves. But a new study has found that tree canopies can trap heat, […]
More than three quarters of the Earth have become irreversibly drier over the past three decades, according to a UN report which says there is an existential crisis that could affect billions more worldwide. About 77.6 per cent of Earth’s land was under drier conditions during the three decades up to 2020 compared to the 30 years […]
Pesticides can be made more effective and environmentally friendly by improving how they stick to plant surfaces, thanks to new research led by Dr. Mustafa Akbulut, professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University. Akbulut and his research group have developed an innovative pesticide delivery system called nanopesticides. These tiny technologies, developed through a collaboration […]
New findings, published today in Royal Society Open Science, have revealed that changes in ocean density have a significant impact on the rate at which marine plankton incorporate carbon into their shells. This has profound implications for carbon cycling and the ocean’s ability to absorb atmospheric CO2 in response to climate change. Up to now, researchers have […]
“Sharks and rays are important predators, and their decline disrupts food webs throughout the ocean”, said one of the study’s authors. More than half of all sharks and rays have disappeared since 1970, but a new study shows a clear path to preventing their numbers from dwindling even further. Research reveals that overfishing has caused […]
More than $12 billion has been pledged to tackle the issue of land degradation at a major climate conference in Riyadh this week. The funding boost announced at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification at Cop16, which began on Monday, comes after an injection of $10 billion from the Arab Coordination Group, a strategic alliance of […]
As efforts to harvest clean water in arid regions continue, a team of scientists has developed crystals that create water from air without using energy. The team, from New York University Abu Dhabi’s Smart Materials Lab, Jilin University in China and the Centre for Smart Engineering Materials, developed elastic organic crystals – named Janus. Inspired by desert […]
An ice-free Arctic is possible by the summer of 2027, even earlier than previous pessimistic predictions by climate scientists. Arctic ice is shrinking at an unprecedented rate of 12 per cent every 10 years due to greenhouse gas emissions, potentially leading to its first ice-free day before the end of the decade. Such an event is expected […]
The talks were about phasing out plastic production, improving waste management, design requirements for plastic products and funding the global transition away from plastic. Talks to reach an agreement on how to tackle the epidemic of plastic waste have collapsed. Countries spent the past week trying to create the first ever legally binding treaty on […]
Dubai: DUBAI REEF, a sustainable initiative under Dubai Can, has officially commenced the deployment phase of its reef modules, which will form the world’s largest single purpose-built reef development. The launch event, marks a significant milestone for DUBAI REEF, the second major project launched under Dubai Can. Dubai Can is a pioneering citywide sustainability initiative […]
