London | Reuters — The fires that tore through the province of Quebec between May and July were made at least twice as likely by climate change, scientists said on Tuesday. Climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, also made the fires as much as 50 per cent more intense, according to the

Climate change made Quebec wildfires twice as likely, scientists say
Early snow disappearance led to earlier fires

More than half of world’s large lakes drying up, study finds
Gains in Great Lakes, Lake Winnipeg come from runoff, rainfall
London | Reuters — More than half of the world’s large lakes and reservoirs have shrunk since the early 1990s, chiefly because of climate change, intensifying concerns about water for agriculture, hydropower and human consumption, a study published on Thursday found. A team of international researchers reported that some of the world’s most important freshwater
Deforestation in Brazil’s Cerrado savanna hits seven-year high
Reuters – Deforestation in Brazil’s Cerrado savanna rose to a seven-year high, government data showed recently, destroying a vital habitat for threatened species and releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases that drive climate change. Destruction of native vegetation rose 25 per cent to 10,689 square kilometres, an area larger than Lebanon. The data from space

Climate impacts heading to ‘uncharted territories of destruction’ —UN chief
World Meteorological Organization says world headed ‘in the wrong direction’ on climate
Reuters – The impacts of climate change are “heading into uncharted territories of destruction,” U.N. secretary-general António Guterres warned on Sept. 13, with the release of a multi-agency scientific report reviewing the latest research on the subject. The report, led by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), warns that the world is “going in the wrong direction” on climate change. With greenhouse

World could see 1.5 C of warming in next five years, WMO reports
London | Reuters — The world faces a 50 per cent chance of warming of 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels, if only briefly, by 2026, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday. That does not mean the world would be crossing the long-term warming threshold of 1.5 C (2.7 F), which scientists have set

UN report highlights land use trends and costs of degradation
Restoration efforts would be costly, but a good investment, authors say
Reuters – Decades of deforestation, mining and industrial pollution have taken a toll on the planet, leaving as much as 40 per cent of its land degraded and putting economies at risk, a UN report says. Nearly half of the world’s land area is now taken up by agriculture, which has seen swathes of forest

U.N. to roll out global early-warning systems for extreme weather
London | Reuters –– With climate change fueling dangerous weather worldwide, the United Nations is pledging that early-warning weather monitoring will cover everyone on the planet in five years. “Half of humanity is already in the danger zone,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier this week. And yet, “one-third of the world’s people, mainly in
Extreme wildfires are here to stay — and multiply
From Canada to Argentina and beyond, two new reports warn of fiery global future
Reuters – Indonesia’s peatlands, Canada’s forests, and, now, vast swathes of Argentine wetland have all been ravaged by extreme wildfires, heralding a fiery future and the dire need to prevent it. With climate change triggering droughts and farmers clearing forests, the number of extreme wildfires is expected to increase 30 per cent within the next