Continued threats from climate change and nuclear arsenals prompted the scientists who maintain the Doomsday Clock, a symbolic countdown to global catastrophe, to keep the clock at three minutes to midnight.Jan 27, 2016
New York State officials are considering turning off the American Falls, one of three waterfalls that make up the Niagara Falls, for several months in order to replace two old stone arch bridges, reported Buffalo news.Jan 26, 2016
Mexicos Popocatepetl volcano erupted on 24 and 25 January, belching ash and smoke across red-tinted skies. A huge column of water vapour could be seen rising above the volcanos crater.Jan 26, 2016
Mexicos Colima or Fire Volcano spewed a large column of gas and ash some 2,500m high into a blue sky on 19 January. According to officials, the latest eruption took place at 8.30am local time. The morning explosion was preceded by an eruption of incandescent rock at the volcanos mouth at 11pm local time on 18 January.Jan 20, 2016
China may have found itself once again in the news for the choking smog which blanketed many of its cities over the past month, but pollution in the worlds number two economy actually eased in 2015, data compiled by Greenpeace shows. The data, which covers 367 cities, showed average PM2.5 levels dropping by 10 percent in 2015 compared with the previous year. However, even with the improvement, 80 percent of the cities in the survey still failed to meet national air quality standards.Jan 20, 2016
Vultures in Lima are being equipped with GPS tracking devices and GoPro cameras to help environment officials crack down on illegal waste dumps surrounding the Peruvian capital. Ten trained vultures wearing purpose-designed vests have already started to monitor the city from above with the help of GPS trackers as part of the Vultures Detect programme.Jan 19, 2016
California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency on 6 January, following a gas leak that sent huge clouds of methane into the skies. The gas leak in Los Angeles has been sickening nearby residents for more than two months. Footage handed out by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) showed infra-red footage of the gas leak.Jan 8, 2016
Flash flood warnings remained in effect in the San Diego area on 6 January as an El Niño-strengthened storm brought widespread rain to drought-stricken California. Several abandoned cars were seen almost entirely submerged at a flooded intersection, as heavy rains flooded parts of San Diego County.Jan 7, 2016
Guatemalas Fuego volcano belched black ash high into the sky on 3 January, as an eruption that began last week intensified, but authorities have not ordered the evacuation of nearby villages.Jan 5, 2016
Residents in the Bolivian city of El Alto, a chaotic sprawl high in the Andes, were surprised when heavy winds hit the city on 29 December. Local media reported that 90 houses were partially destroyed in three neighbourhoods of District Eight, due to the gale force winds.Dec 31, 2015
