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‘Extremely grave’ situation in southern Indian state as more than 150,000 people displaced from their homes
The death toll from floods in the southern Indian state of Kerala has jumped to 164 and could grow further, with more rain predicted and thousands of people still awaiting rescue.
Roads are damaged, mobile phone networks are down, an international airport has been closed and more than 150,000 people have been left homeless after unusually heavy rain this month caused the most damaging floods in Kerala in a century.
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Trump administration forces some scientific funding to be reviewed by adviser who was high-school football teammate of Ryan Zinke
Prominent US climate scientists have told the Guardian that the Trump administration is holding up research funding as their projects undergo an unprecedented political review by the high-school football teammate of the US interior secretary.
The US interior department administers over $5.5bn in funding to external organizations, mostly for research, conservation and land acquisition. At the beginning of 2018, interior secretary Ryan Zinke instated a new requirement that scientific funding above $50,000 must undergo an additional review to ensure expenditures “better align with the administration’s priorities”.
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Just 30 of the prehistoric fish known to exist, raising fears oil wells will push it to extinction
Bright blue, older than dinosaurs and weighing as much as an average-sized man, coelacanths are the most endangered fish in South Africa and among the rarest in the world.
Barely 30 of these critically-endangered fish are known to exist off the east coast of South Africa, raising concern that a new oil exploration venture in the area could jeopardise their future.
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This week the Upside looks at a transformation of the environment in Africa, and other tales of hope
Is there any hope for the environment? We regularly get this question in emails from readers of this series. In the face of weekly stories on how humans have doomed our planet, some feel action is pointless. We’re certainly not here to distract from the scary news about our climate; it deserves everyone’s attention and we must make big changes now. But it’s arguable whether people are likely to act without hope.
This week we found one tale of hope on the border of the Sahara desert. We also looked at a possible antidote to social isolation among retirees (another frequent subject of reader emails), and a tale of solidarity and humanity from the Balkans.
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An anaesthetised polar bear, a surprising pine marten and a potty-mouthed parrot are among this week’s images
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Rangers in this Central African Republic nature reserve face an array of dangers in their bid to protect a rich variety of species
Deep in the heart of Africa, a dedicated group of rangers patrol the Chinko nature reserve. In baking equatorial heat, they are weighed down with body armour and camouflage fatigues. Beads of sweat run down their faces; mosquitos whine. The men keep watch over a vast patchwork of savanna and rainforest in the Central African Republic – a country mired in civil strife and one of the many frontlines of a poaching war that spans the continent and reaches across the globe.
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Khan writes to attorney general over girl who died during spikes in nitrogen dioxide
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has written to the attorney general asking him to back a new inquest into the death of a nine-year-old girl whose severe asthma attacks coincided with spikes in air pollution.
The mother of Ella Kissi-Debrah has fought a long campaign to highlight the role she believes illegal air pollution played in her daughter’s death in 2013.
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Jorginho Guajajara’s killing is believed by members of his tribe to be the result of conflict with loggers in their Amazon territory
Indigenous people in the Brazilian Amazon are mourning the murder of a community leader who campaigned to protect the forest from logging amid escalating violence in the region.
Jorginho Guajajara, a cacique,or leader, of the Guajajara people, was found dead near a river in the city of Arame, Maranhão state, at the weekend.
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On a planet of billions, nine represent the strong minority battling murder in the global corruption of land rights
Individually, they are stories of courage and tragedy. Together, they tell a tale of a natural world under ever more violent assault.
The portraits in this series are of nine people who are risking their lives to defend the land and environment in some of the planet’s most remote or conflict-riven regions.
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Eleven people protesting over pollution from a copper plant have been killed by police in Tamil Nadu in south India
Another person has been shot dead during violent protests in south India against a copper plant operated by a British mining giant residents say is polluting the local environment.
Opposition politicians in the state of Tamil Nadu have accused the police of committing mass murder against protesters opposed to the expansion of a copper smelting facility in the port city of Thoothukudi.
Continue reading...E-cigarettes are much less harmful than tobacco and shouldn't be treated the same way, MPs warn.
Moderate carbohydrate consumption is best for health and longevity, researchers say.
A 42-year-old woman was hit by a shuttlecock when she was 14 and thought the lens had fallen out.
A mother who lost four babies in four years says she went through a "harrowing experience" trying to get help.
It is harder to judge the deceased's wishes if there is no free choice in the decision, a study claims.
It has been nine months since the actress had a total hysterectomy to remove her womb.
The New York medical school will fund all students, due to fears of graduates' "overwhelming" debt.
A cancer drug can unlock the liver's ability to regenerate, early stage research suggests.
Half of neonatal units lack equipment to check babies are breathing properly, a study suggests.
Researchers reveal how chemicals in some vegetables can prevent bowel cancer.
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has picked up early signatures of a massive border of hydrogen around our solar system's edge.
A mini-moon has been orbiting our planet for around 100 years.
Swift foxes were once considered extinct in Canada, but they're making a comeback in the grasslands of Alberta.
The things home owners can do to ward off snakes should focus on removing places where they can hide and food opportunities.
The pine marten has crossed from Scotland into England, a good sign for the species and for the red squirrels trying to survive.
A neglected horse named Justice is suing his former owner in a groundbreaking animal cruelty case.
Dr. Sarah-Jeanne Royer at the University of Hawai'i discovered that plastic bags are contributing to global warming by giving off methane.
Mammals, primates and even birds have been seen grieving.
Harmful algal blooms pop up nearly every summer along the nation's coasts, creating problems for marine life and humans alike.
Take a brief pause from the modern world and soak in the soundscape of one of the world's most beautiful mountain ranges.
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