Struck early this year by the annual haze scourge, Malaysia has proposed to amend the Environmental Protection Act so that the state can seize badly burning land, often set alight by…
A major heatwave caused by the ongoing El Niño weather phenomenon continued across Malaysia this week after fires and haze pollution damaged air quality and sent temperatures soaring as high…
n a sweltering February afternoon, the muffled cries of a baby resounded from a thatched pole and dagga hut in the Marange area of eastern Zimbabwe. Villagers in this part…
“We're no longer the men of the lake. If the lake goes, we will too.” With these words, Simiano Valero expresses his sadness over the disappearance of Poopó Lake, the second…
The impacts of climate change on the Amazon basin is a subject of much scrutiny due to the region’s rich biodiversity and the important role of rainforests in maintaining a…
Researchers published a paper last month in the journal Nature Climate Change predicting widespread death of needleleaf evergreen trees in the Southwest United States by the year 2100 due to…
Though increased precipitation thanks to the El Niño event heating up Pacific waters has provided some small relief, California is still in the grip of a four-year drought, the impacts…
By the end of this century, as climate continues to warm, dry seasons could become longer and more intense in the Amazon region. Droughts could become more commonplace. But the…
This year’s El Niño weather event has intensified dry conditions in both Indonesia and Brazil, providing ideal conditions in the normally wet tropics for fires to burn unchecked.
On October 4, 2015, satellite images revealed that there were over 900 fires burning in the Brazilian Amazon. That figure was reported by Brazil’s Institute for Space Research, known as…
Sao Paulo, Brazil’s most populous city, is currently suffering from a severe drought. Meanwhile, over the past year, record floods have hit other parts of Brazil. Though Sao Paulo is…
While fires in Borneo and Sumatra are garnering most of the headlines for the choking air pollution they are causing across Southeast Asia, New Guinea is also experiencing widespread fire…
On April 1, California Governor Jerry Brown stood in a Sierra Nevada meadow atop parched, brown grass — at an elevation of 6,800 feet, where there would normally be five…
Researchers find 80 percent chance of megadrought in American West due to climate change this century Dust storm in Texas during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. New research finds…
Jungle in Belize. New research finds Belize has been drying out for over a century, likely due to pollution from burning fossil fuels in the northern hemisphere which has left…
Palm tree and termite mound: typical scenery in Okavango Delta in Botswana. Photo by Tiffany Roufs. Some termite species erect massive mounds that look like great temples springing up from…
A new study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examines how California’s forests have changed since the 1930s--and, according to its authors, can help us understand…
The most important environmental and wildlife stories from the last year Also see our Top 10 HAPPY Environmental Stories of 2014 1. The Year of Zero Deforestation Pledges: In 2014,…
The Amazon Rainforest. Photo by Rhett Butler. Parts of the Amazon rainforest are getting considerably less rain, leading trees to absorb less carbon, finds a study published this week in…
Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink I moved to San Francisco six months ago and my umbrella hasn’t left its dusty sleeve yet. Scientists and politicians, everyone…
Fires on deforested land trigger massive GHG emissions, haze Light haze over a drained and deforested peat forest in Riau, Sumatra in February 2014. Photo by Rhett Butler. Air pollution…
Climate extremes are dramatically cutting the ability of trees to sequester carbon, threatening to convert some forests from carbon sinks into carbon sources, finds a study published this month in…
The Congo, the world's second largest rainforest, is losing its greenness, finds a new study published in Nature. The research, based on analysis of NASA satellite data, reveals the impact…
From 1999-2010, nearly three percent of the Amazon rainforest burned, and climate forecasts indicate dry conditions conducive to fire will only become more commonplace in the future. Scientists had long…
Harrison Ford with orangutan in Years of Living Dangerously. Photo from: Years of Living Dangerously/Showtime. Although Showtime's landmark new climate change series doesn't premiere until Sunday, the network has released…
Mali elephant family group which consist of females and their offspring. They are headed by a matriarch who has decades of experience and memories to depend on, including where to…
With more than 140 cities implementing water rationing, analysts warning of collapsing soy and coffee exports, and reservoirs and rivers running precipitously low, talk about the World Cup in some…
New research published in Nature adds further evidence to the argument that drought and fire are reducing the Amazon's ability to store carbon, raising concerns that Earth's largest rainforest could…
The Amazon rainforest. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. Analysis of satellite imagery has cleared up a controversy over whether the Amazon rainforest 'greens up' during the dry season. The study,…
Animation: The 2013-2014 California drought. By Rhett A. Butler using NASA imagery. A pair of satellite images released this week by NASA reveal the shocking impact of California's drought, which…
