News

After a punishing summer of unprecedented heat, Japan has introduced a new word—“kokushobi”—to describe days when temperatures hit 40°C or higher. The term, which conveys a sense of “severe” or “cruel” heat, was chosen through a public vote, reflecting how ordinary language is evolving to keep pace with extraordinary weather. What was once rare is […]

In the misty slopes of the Himalayan foothills in Darjeeling, one of the world’s most prized teas is undergoing subtle but significant changes as the climate shifts. Growers report that rising temperatures, irregular rainfall, and more frequent dry spells are altering the delicate balance of conditions needed for high-quality tea leaves. Darjeeling tea—famous for its

As global investment in renewable energy accelerates, criminal and corrupt networks are increasingly finding new opportunities inside the sector, according to law enforcement and financial crime analysts. Large-scale projects in wind, solar, hydrogen, and battery infrastructure—often backed by public subsidies and rapid permitting—are becoming attractive targets for fraud, procurement manipulation, and illicit financing. Because clean

The European Union’s oil security is built on a strict “buffer system” rather than a continuous domestic supply. Under international energy obligations, countries across the bloc collectively maintain emergency petroleum stocks equal to about 90 days of net imports or consumption. This means the EU is effectively sitting on roughly three months of fuel—diesel, gasoline,

Reducing deaths linked to air pollution is not simply a matter of lowering emissions—it also depends on how vulnerable populations are protected and how health systems respond. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide, and ozone are responsible for millions of premature deaths globally each year, according to major global health assessments. But the same level

In a major step toward building a domestic clean energy supply chain, Agratas—the battery manufacturing arm of the Tata Group—is fast-tracking its 20 GWh lithium-ion battery plant in Sanand, western India. The facility is part of India’s broader strategy to reduce dependence on imported battery cells and strengthen its electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem. Recent construction

A new generation of water filtration technology is showing strong results against PFAS—widely known as “forever chemicals” because they persist in the environment and the human body for years. Recent lab studies on advanced adsorbent and membrane-based systems found they can remove up to around 98% of key PFAS compounds under test conditions, including heavily

In one of the world’s most ambitious ecological restoration projects, China has been steadily transforming the edges of the Taklamakan Desert—the largest shifting sand desert in Asia—into a managed green buffer zone. Since the late 1970s, large-scale afforestation and sand-control programs have reportedly led to the planting of tens of billions of trees and shrubs

In a surprising twist, researchers studying microplastic pollution have found that part of what they were measuring wasn’t environmental contamination at all—but particles coming from their own lab equipment. The issue came to light when teams analyzing samples under microscopes detected polymer types commonly used in disposable laboratory gloves. Many labs rely on gloves made

A group of more than 65 leading scientists across the United Kingdom are warning that plans to approve new oil and gas projects in the North Sea could seriously derail climate progress. In a joint statement, they argue that opening new fossil fuel fields goes directly against the science of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.