Burning biomass fuels like dry wood and rice husk for cooking can produce air pollution and contribute to toxic heavy metals buildup inside rural kitchens in Bangladesh, a new study finds.

Md. Badiuzzaman Khan, an environmental science professor at Bangladesh Agricultural University and the study’s lead author, said the research addresses a gap in understanding indoor pollution in rural communities.

“Local people use various kinds of fuels like cowdung, or branches of wood or agricultural byproducts like rice straw or jute sticks,” Khan said in an email to Mongabay. “Heavy metals may come to rice straw or jute sticks from the fertilizers used in the crop field. Heavy metals may also come from natural sources like soil.”

For this study, researchers collected dust samples from the walls and ceilings of 63 households in Bangladesh’s Haor and Charland regions, which both heavily rely on biomass fuel. They also analyzed 11 composite samples of biomass fuels used for cooking and examined their elemental composition. The study ran from November 2022 to March 2023.

Many low-income rural households use biomass, potentially exposing people to heavy metals and the health consequences associated with them. However, most pollution research in Bangladesh has largely focused on cities; little is known about rural exposure.

The study found that the heavy metals in household dust likely come from both human activities, such as farming and burning fuel, and natural sources such as soil and sediments carried by floods.

The types of metals found also differed between the two regions. In Haor, iron, manganese and zinc were particularly abundant, while Charland households had relatively higher levels of cobalt, chromium, copper, selenium and vanadium. The researchers suggest these differences could be related to the types of fuels people burn and how they cook, as well as metals already present in the local environment. In Haor, for example, households commonly burn cow dung cakes mixed with straw, which can release trace metals when burned.

The findings raise concerns about long-term exposure to metal-contaminated household dust and potential health impacts.

The study found that children faced higher noncancerous health risks from manganese in Haor compared with Charland. They also found levels of nickel, chromium and arsenic that “exceeded negligible levels,” suggest precautionary measures should be taken. Children are particularly vulnerable, as they frequently touch dusty surfaces and put their hands in their mouths.

The researchers recommend better kitchen ventilation, reduced reliance on high-emission biomass fuels, long-term monitoring and studies of health effects.

“Addressing these high-emission sources through national clean energy initiatives is not just an environmental goal but a critical public health necessity,” Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, a professor of environmental science at Stamford University Bangladesh who was not involved in the study, told Mongabay.

Banner image: A woman in Bangladesh cooks rice over a traditional earthen oven using biomass. Image by Zaheed Sarwer Khan via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Drone pilot Manish Maharjan has helped rescue teams in Nepal find people missing after last week’s catastrophic floods, sometimes using speakers mounted on the devices to call out to or play music for those stranded on hillsides.

But the search for hundreds of workers believed to be trapped in power plant tunnels — now a major focus of rescue operations — presents an entirely different challenge, he said.

“We found tunnels were filled with mud like toothpaste in a tube,” Maharjan said. “There was no hollow or empty space inside.”

Maharjan, who is also a filmmaker, joined the Nepal Army’s rescue efforts a day after the Aug. 26 flash floods, which have killed more than 1,000 people and left thousands missing in Nepal and Tibet.

“We used microphone speakers to call out to them. In some places, we even played songs and then waited for a response,” Maharjan said. “That worked in a few cases and helped us locate people.”

The torrent of water unleashed after a glacial collapse in the Himalayan region caused widespread damage to critical infrastructure, including roads, buildings, bridges — and hydropower plants. At least 900 workers are still missing from 12 hydropower projects buried under mud and debris. About 500 of them are believed to be trapped inside power plant tunnels.

Some workers in the tunnels managed to call for help when the disaster struck, according to Mohan Kumar Dangi, president of the Independent Power Producers’ Association. But it was unclear whether rescuers have had any contact with the trapped workers since the initial calls for help.

As time slips away, rescuers are finding it increasingly difficult to locate these missing people.

Maharjan, who has been operating thermal drones in the tunnels, said the searches were challenging because of their difficult access and the absence of any empty space.

“I can only fly drones in tunnels that are long and straight,” he said. “Once there are bends, turns or zigzags, it becomes much harder to operate and search effectively.”

At the Rasuwagadhi hydropower project on Monday, Maharjan managed to send a drone to search deep inside and all the way to the end of the tunnel but found no sign of any life.

“We checked repeatedly but it was filled with mud and debris,” he said. “Looking at it, I could only imagine the force of the flood.”

By Shristi Kafle and Aijaz Hussain, Associated Press

Banner image: This photo provided by the Nepal Army, shows Nepal army soldiers undertake rescue operation at the site of a hydropower project in Upper Trishuli, Nepal, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Image courtesy of Nepal Army via Associated Press.

A severe drought that has parched the Caribbean since May 2026 was fueled by human-induced climate change, according to a recent study.

The rapid analysis was released by World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global network of researchers who analyze the influence of climate change in extreme weather events.

In the Caribbean, the wet season runs from May-June to November-December. The researchers found that rising global temperatures due to human-induced climate change reduced rainfall during the early wet season, between May and July, by approximately 6% in Jamaica and 9% in Puerto Rico. They estimated this drop in rainfall has made extreme dry spells 40% more likely in Jamaica and 30% more likely in Puerto Rico, compared to the pre-industrial climate that was 1.4°C (2.5°F) cooler.

“This three-month rainfall event was, in today’s climate, approximately a 1-in-50-year event in Puerto Rico, and a 1-in-30-year event in Jamaica,” Theodore Keeping, a climate researcher at Imperial College London and coauthor of the scientific report, said during a virtual WWA press briefing.  

The impacts of the drought have accumulated across the region. San Juan International Airport in Puerto Rico registered its driest April-to-August period in 70 years, with precipitation 64% below average , according to Paul Miller, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Georgia, U.S., during the WWA briefing.

The study added that critically depleted reservoirs forced Puerto Rican authorities to implement 48-hour rotating water rationing, affecting 180,000 water service customers in the capital region. Meanwhile, Jamaica placed seven parishes under strict water prohibition orders, outlawing non-essential water uses.

“Drought impacts look much different in islands like Puerto Rico than they do in more continental settings,” said Miller during the briefing. “The lack of large rivers, big reservoirs, ample groundwater supply … drought impacts can accumulate especially quickly in these landscapes.”

According to research cited in the study, the Caribbean loses an average of 46% of its water to grid leakages, peaking at 60% in Puerto Rico, highlighting that infrastructure issues can compound the water crisis.

“Outdated water infrastructure, especially vulnerable drinking water systems with high leakages worsen shortages during droughts,” Karina Izquierdo Rofriguez, a vulnerability expert with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, said during the briefing. “Persistent exposure to climate hazards such as tropical storms can weaken infrastructure and coping mechanisms intensifying susceptibility to additional extreme events.”

Rodriguez further added that factors “such as pre-existing inequalities, infrastructure quality, land use patterns, and population density frequently influence whether a hazard escalates into a disaster or remains a manageable event.”

Imperial College London’s Keeping said their models showed that the North Atlantic Oscillation, a natural pattern of winds and atmospheric pressure over the North Atlantic, was the primary driver of this year’s early wet season drought in the Caribbean, but El Niño will exert a strong drying influence as the year progresses.

Banner image: A woman lifts a jug she filled with water from a tanker truck amid rationing caused by drought, in the Cupey sector of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Aug. 5, 2026. Image by AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo.

MIAMI (AP) — The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning on Monday for the Gulf of Mexico coast from the Galveston and Houston, Texas, area to the western parishes of Louisiana.

As of late Monday morning, the potential tropical cyclone was centered about 120 miles (195 kilometers) south-southeast of Morgan City, Louisiana, and 230 miles (370 kilometers) southeast of Port Arthur, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph). It was forecast to strengthen into a named tropical storm by Monday night and make landfall in Texas on Tuesday.

Forecasters are expecting 3-5 inches (7-12 centimeters) of rain in the greater Houston area, with some places getting up to 9 inches (22 centimeters). More than 4 inches (10 centimeters) per hour could fall, causing flash flooding, they said.

Meanwhile, the remnants of Hurricane Dolly brought rain and thunderstorms to parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the Turks & Caicos, and the Bahamas, the hurricane center said.

In the Pacific Ocean, Tropical Storm Lowell was about 785 miles (1,260 kilometers) southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, and moving west with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph). Forecasters said Lowell could rapidly intensify as a hurricane by Monday night or Tuesday and reach the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands later this week.

Elsewhere in the Pacific, Hurricane Karina strengthened Monday into a powerful Category 4 storm, but isn’t threatening land, forecasters said.

Karina has intensified quickly since becoming a hurricane Sunday, fueled by warm waters far from any shore. It was centered about 1,055 miles (1,700 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico and moving west, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph), the center said.

There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect, but waves were expected to affect Mexico and likely Southern California. Additional strengthening was possible on Monday, followed by fluctuations in intensity, the Miami-based center said.

By Associated Press 

Banner image: This satellite image released by NOAA shows Potential Tropical Cyclone Five forming over the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026.  Image courtesy of NOAA via Assocaited Press

Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries.

In the forests around Pemaluan in East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, researchers led by Wendy Erb at the Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics in the U.S. have placed audio recorders on mountains, beside caves, and among mangroves. Over 18 months, they sampled 20 sites, collecting the calls of gibbons, frogs, hornbills, insects, and other wildlife. They want to establish a baseline before Nusantara, Indonesia’s new capital city, alters the surrounding landscape, according to a video produced by Mongabay, Scientific American, and Project Multatuli.

Nusantara is being built in East Kalimantan province to relieve some of Jakarta’s congestion and pressure from land subsidence. Its planners describe a “smart forest city” where development and biodiversity can coexist. Roads, apartment buildings, a hotel, and a presidential palace have already appeared. Construction and chainsaws are becoming part of the local soundscape.

The recordings will allow scientists to compare conditions over time. They may show where species remain, where they decline, and whether development is pushing wildlife into other areas. The findings could also help identify places where conservation measures are most needed.

The project also records knowledge held by the Indigenous Balik people. Animal calls have long helped them interpret the forest. Gibbons marked the approach of dawn and, in unusual circumstances, were thought to warn of a death in the village. The great argus (Argusianus argus), a large pheasant native to the island’s forests, held particular importance. Some younger Balik children no longer recognize its call.

Local residents have helped select recording sites, explain the history of the landscape, and describe the connections between certain species, places, and customs. Abidin, who was born in Pemaluan and has never left, said he hopes the recordings will help him teach his children about the forest. He said he worries they may have to adjust to urban life without the education or skills needed to find work there.

The researchers said they do not expect the project to stop Nusantara’s construction. Nor can the recordings preserve the forest or document every part of Balik culture. They will provide evidence of which species were present and how the soundscape changed as building advanced. For the Balik, they will also preserve voices and knowledge that may become harder to encounter in the forest itself.

This video is a collaboration between Mongabay, Scientific American, and Project Multatuli. It was supported by the Pulitzer Center.

Banner image: A view of the presidential palace in Indonesia’s new capital, Nusantara. Image courtesy of Leah Varjacques.

Researchers have   a population of an extremely rare plant species, last recorded in Sri Lanka in 1855, growing in a lowland forest fragment along the Sitawaka Ganga River.

Documenting the finding in a recent study, researchers write that the plant, Indianthus virgatus, while officially listed as critically endangered in Sri Lanka, was presumed possibly extinct in the wild in the country.

I. virgatus, which has small white flowers, grows in the understory of wet tropical forests. It’s known from some 150 locations in India, but the only verified record of the plant in Sri Lanka is from a specimen collected in 1855, the study says.

Using a combination of historical records across India and Sri Lanka, and predictive habitat modeling to identify potential habitats, researchers looked for the plant in southwestern Sri Lanka, in Sabaragamuwa Province.

In January 2025, the research team successfully located a small population of I. virgatus of 70 to 100 individuals. This population was found in an area that researchers had predicted to be highly suitable for the species.

I. virgatus, which is the only species within the Indianthus genus, has unique evolutionary and biogeographical context, said Vivek Pandi, coauthor of the study and assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India.

The species has a disjunct occurrence across the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka, Pandi told Mongabay by email, meaning populations of the species are separated by a large geographical gap. This raises an intriguing question, he added, about whether an ancient geological event split the once-continuous population of the plant into two separate  groups; or whether the species reached Sri Lanka later through long-distance dispersal.

Though I. virgatus went unrecorded in the wild in Sri Lanka for 170 years, Pandi said the researchers think the species survived undetected in sheltered pockets of forest over the decades.

According to Pandi, these areas include small remnants of moist, shaded forest — typically around streams and sheltered slopes — that can retain stable microclimatic conditions despite severe disturbance in the surrounding landscape.

“The rediscovery of I. virgatus highlights why these seemingly small and isolated forest remnants can be important for conserving poorly known species,” Pandi said.

Protecting these micro-refugia is urgent, as most of the plant’s suitable habitats in Sri Lanka have been destroyed by tea and rubber plantations, the study notes. Populations of the plant in the Western Ghats also face habitat-related threats, Pandi said.

Effectively safeguarding the newly found population in Sri Lanka will require a combination of immediate local habitat protection and efforts to establish collections of the plant at national botanical gardens, the study’s authors write.

They add that the conservation status of I. virgatus also needs to be assessed for the IUCN Red List, so its protection can be integrated into national and regional biodiversity action plans.

Banner image of Indianthus virgatus growing along the shaded bank of a stream in lowland forest. Image courtesy of Vishnu et al., 2026 (CC BY-NC 4.0).