Loss and damage: Displacements
Globally, disasters, mostly cyclones and floods, triggered most internal displacements, or movements, in 2021.
Opinion: Earthquakes are a boon for Earth
Earthquakes are natural but huge losses of life and property during the incidence of an earthquake are anthropogenic
Road to COP15: DTE’s coverage in the run-up to Montreal
The 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity will be held from December 7-19, 2022
James Webb Telescope captures clearest view of Neptune’s rings after 3 decades
Webb images vividly display Neptune’s fainter dust bands in addition to many brilliant, narrow rings
We’ve been tracking birds in a small Nigerian forest for 18 years: What we found & why it matters
Population changes locally for both migrant and resident bird species were similar, being reasonably stable or increasing
Basic water services in South Africa are in decay after years of progress
In South Africa, the right to water is enshrined in the constitution
Single-use plastic ban: Environment lessons India can learn from East Africa
Import, manufacturing or sale of single-use plastic bags in Kenya could earn a fine of $40,000 for companies and $500 for individuals
All that happened at UNCCD COP14
The 14th Conference of Parties in New Delhi saw delegates discuss desertification in detail. Here are the discussions they did and decisions they made
‘We expect to find more interstellar comets in the future’
Nasa scientist Davide Farnocchia, who was one of the first to make observations about the new interstellar comet, speaks to Down To Earth
‘Rejuvenation treatment can delay onset of heart diseases, cancer’
Steve Horvath, a geneticist who was able to reverse nine people’s biological clock recently, spoke to Down To Earth about the study
Pacific heatwave: ‘More research needed to find what causes this’
Down To Earth speaks to marine heatwave experts Nicholas Bond about the high sea surface temperature anomaly in the Pacific and its significance
Extreme anomalies
Between January and June 2019 extreme weather events across the world broke the century-mark
US biologist found dead during Crete conference, police suspect homicide
Suzanne Eaton was working as a developmental biologist at Germany’s Max Planck institutes
Five countries had zero malaria cases in 2018: WHO
While China and El Salvador reported no cases for second consecutive year; Iran, Malaysia & Timor-Leste had zero cases of the …
MIT researchers explore physics of evaporation
More than temperature, it's changes in pressure that influence how quickly liquid turns into gas
El Salvador recognises forests as living entities
The central American country has lost about 85 per cent of its native forests since the 1960s
Feathers came 100 million years before birds: Study
The structures formed 250 million years ago in the Early Triassic period not for display or flight, but purely for insulation
Meeting Paris climate goals can save lives. Here's proof
Paris Agreement, which aims to curbing emissions well below 2°C, can prevent 110 to 2,720 annual heat-related deaths in 15 US cities
World Earth Day: Colonialism’s role in the overexploitation of natural resources
Colonialists saw “new” territories as places with unlimited resources to exploit, with little consideration for the long-term impacts
Why women in economics have little to celebrate
Twenty five years ago around half of the students studying Year 12 economics were female. Today it is only a third.
Researchers find new carbohydrate in barley
Research in Australian varsity shows the polysaccharide occurs due to biosynthesis
Virginity not a scientific term, but a social construct: UN
In a move to end gender-based discrimination and violence, UN agencies have called for a world-wide ban on virginity testing
Yak and reindeer herders meet on top of the world
Yak herders from Bhutan, Nepal, and China met with reindeer herders from Norway, Russia and found surprising commonalities in the challenges they …
Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet
From Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former head of the Sierra Club Carl Pope comes a manifesto on how the benefits of taking action on climate …
Extreme Cities: The Peril and Promise of Urban Life in the Age of Climate Change
How will climate change affect our lives? Where will its impacts be most deeply felt? Are we doing enough to protect ourselves from the coming chaos?
