Environment

Australia urges people to flee as fires set to surge over the weekend

With roads blocked, sea transport and some airlifts are the only way out of the stricken town, although heavy smoke prevented flights on Friday.

Jan 4, 2020

Govt proposes waiving carbon tax on coal to finance pollution-curbing equipment

Modi's office has proposed waiving the carbon tax of 400 rupees ($5.61) per tonne that was levied on the production and import of coal. The move seeks to improve the financial health of utilities and distribution companies.

Dec 31, 2019

Evacuation order in Australia's south-east as bushfires rage, temperatures soar

With the mercury set to top 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in Melbourne, authorities urged an estimated 30,000 tourists to leave East Gippsland, an area half the size of Belgium.

Dec 30, 2019

Black day for India - December 26: The 2004 Tsunami that wiped away millions of people

One of the world's most deadly disasters, the tsunami was triggered after a 9.1 magnitude quake off northern Sumatra island on the morning after Christmas Day in 2004.

Dec 26, 2019

Massive bushfires send Australia's clean and green reputation up in smoke

Office workers wearing protective masks, previously a rarity, have become a common sight in recent weeks in downtown Sydney.

Dec 20, 2019

Major states snub calls for climate action as UN summit wraps up

The COP25 talks in Madrid were viewed as a test of governments' collective will to heed the advice of science to cut greenhouse gas emissions more rapidly.

Dec 16, 2019

Ferries halted, alarms triggered as Sydney choked by bushfire smoke

Sydney's air quality index readings in some parts of the city on Tuesday were 11 times the threshold considered hazardous.

Dec 10, 2019

Australian firefighters try to control bushfires ahead of hot days

There were 96 fires burning in New South Wales, home to Australia's largest city of Sydney, with only about a half contained and more than 1,600 firefighters deployed.

Dec 9, 2019

Climate change reaching 'point of no return': UN chief

Delegations from some 200 countries of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, NGOs and activists will meet in the Spanish capital to finalise rules of the 2015 Paris Agreement

Dec 3, 2019

Tamil Nadu rains: 15 killed in Coimbatore wall collapse; schools, colleges shut

Heavy rains are likely to lash several parts of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Puducherry in the next two days.

Dec 2, 2019

As sea engulfs coastline, Indonesians pay high price to shield homes

Indonesia, an archipelago of thousands of islands, has about 81,000 km (50,300 miles) of coastline, making it particularly vulnerable to climate change.

Dec 2, 2019

Amazon fires may enhance glacier melting: Study

According to the study aerosols from biomass burning, such as black carbon, can be transported by wind to tropical Andean glaciers.

Dec 1, 2019

Global temperature rises could bring 'destructive' effects, says UN

The head of the World Meteorological Organization said global temperatures could rise by 3-5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels this century.

Nov 27, 2019

Cut global emissions by 7.6% every year: UN report

UNEP's annual Emissions Gap Report says that even if all current unconditional commitments under the Paris Agreement are implemented, temperatures are expected to rise by 3.2 degrees Celsius, bringing even wider-ranging and more destructive climate impacts.

Nov 27, 2019