The report presents a mixed picture. Over the past 25 years, there have been notable improvements in child well-being in the group of countries examined in this report: steady decline in child mortality, overall reduction in adolescent suicide and increase in school completion rates. But the last five years have …
The global use of untreated waste water from cities to irrigate crops is much more widespread than previously estimated, says a new report. According to this updated assessment, nearly 30 million hectares are now using untreated water within 40km of an urban centre Some 800 million people, including farmers, vendors …
The past decades have been characterized by a growing number of climatic anomalies. As these anomalies tend to occur suddenly and unexpectedly, it is often difficult to procure empirical evidence of their effects on natural populations. We analysed how the recent sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the northeastern Pacific …
A “unique” new species of parrot – described as “phlegmatic” with a call like a bird of prey – has been discovered by scientists, it has been revealed. Ornithologist Dr Miguel Gomez Garza and colleagues found the newly named blue-winged amazons while on a trip to a remote part of …
Mexico's energy regulator, CRE, gave the go-ahead on Monday to an increase in the ethanol content in gasoline for domestic consumption to as much as 10 percent, from 5.8 percent currently, even as environmental groups warned the action would worsen pollution. With the change, gasoline imported and sold in Mexico …
A strong earthquake hit southwestern Guatemala near the border with Mexico in the early hours of Wednesday, killing at least two people and damaging buildings, including a church and a border bridge, officials said. The 6.9-magnitude quake damaged buildings in the neighbouring southern Mexican state of Chiapas, authorities said, but …
An undersea earthquake measuring 7 magnitude struck off Mexico's southwest Pacific coast on Wednesday, said the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The Hawaii-based center said that based on available data there was no tsunami threat from the quake off the Chiapas state coast.
Renewable energy capacity around the world was boosted by a record amount in 2016 and delivered at a markedly lower cost, according to new global data – although the total financial investment in renewables actually fell. The greater “bang-for-buck” resulted from plummeting prices for solar and wind power and led …
One out of 3 people in the world is exposed to earthquakes, a number which almost doubled in the past 40 years; around 1 billion in 155 countries are exposed to floods according to the Atlas European Commission Joint Research Centre One out of three people in the world is …
Murky skies and high ozone levels have led authorities Mexico City to ban thousands of cars from the road AP Authorities in Mexico City have ordered cars off the streets and warned people about exercising outdoors as sprawling metropolis chokes in its worst smog for nearly two decades. Hundreds of …
Government-administered adulticiding is frequently conducted in response to dengue transmission worldwide. Anecdotal evidence suggests that spraying may create a “false sense of security” for residents. Our objective was to determine if there was an association between residents’ reporting outdoor spatial insecticide spraying as way to prevent dengue transmission and both …
The global human health impact of the diesel emissions scandal has been revealed by new research showing a minimum of 38,000 people a year die early due to the failure of diesel vehicles to meet official limits in real driving conditions. Researchers have created the first global inventory of the …
The epidemiological and nutrition transition of Latin American countries imposes a double challenge for nutrition and food security public policies. On the one hand, to continue the task of eradicating young child undernutrition and, on the other, to face the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity. The international relevance of …
The south-western United States is almost certain to experience a “megadrought” lasting decades if global warming continues unchecked, researchers have warned. The once-mighty Colorado river, which has regularly failed to reach the ocean since the 1960s, is already in the grip of the worst 15-year drought on record with the …
Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the least developed policy environments to support energy access, says a new World Bank report released on Wednesday. The report – RISE 2016: Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy – highlights that many countries globally – Mexico, China, Turkey, India, Vietnam, Brazil, and South Africa – …
Seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTF) are located in regions with alternating wet and dry seasons, with dry seasons that last several months or more. By the end of the 21st century, climate models predict substantial changes in rainfall regimes across these regions, but little is known about how individuals, species, …
Revenues derived from carbon have been seen as an important tool for supporting forest conservation over the past decade. At the same time, there is high uncertainty about how much revenue can reasonably be expected from land use emissions reductions initiatives. Despite this uncertainty, REDDþ projects and conservation initiatives that …
A new report by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) confirms the important role that the world’s biodiversity plays in ensuring the future of sustainable agricultural development. Biodiversity, including agricultural biodiversity, is the very foundation of life on earth and intrinsic to the whole sustainable development agenda. The …
Plans for independent checks of how much pollution new cars emit are being killed off by EU member states, according to leaked documents seen by the Guardian. After the Dieselgate scandal, the European commission proposed empowering its respected science wing, the Joint Research Centre, to inspect vehicles separately from national …
The Popocatépetl volcano in Mexico has been under observation since it violently spewed ash vertically into the air, startling locals. The explosion reached more than five kilometers above the volcano's crater and spread plumes of ash, reaching small towns and villages on the outskirts of the volcano. According to Mexico's …
Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere put shallow, warm-water coral reef ecosystems, and the people who depend upon them at risk from two key global environmental stresses: 1) elevated sea surface temperature (that can cause coral bleaching and related mortality), and 2) ocean acidification. These global stressors: cannot …
