March 26
Tanzania: Waste Being Used to Tackle Erosion Poses a Health Risk - an Anthropologist Explains the Dilemma
I was standing with a waste management supervisor - let's call him David - at the back of a major fruit and vegetable market in Dar es Salaam, the biggest city in Tanzania. David… Read more »
March 25
Western Sahara: Climate Change Is Altering Saharan Dust - and Europe Is Downwind
In recent years, residents of Spain, France and the UK have looked up to see an eerie sight: deep orange sunrises and skies thick with a yellowish haze. These hazy skies often… Read more »
March 24
Africa: The World's Waste Mountain Is Rising At an Alarming Rate
The world is struggling to deal with ever-growing quantities of waste. Read more »
March 26
South Africa: Ice Shock Is a Novel About Passionate Love in a Time of Climate Crisis
South-African born writer and world literature scholar Elleke Boehmer's sixth novel, Ice Shock, is a breathtaking story about two lovers who, soon after they meet, find themselves… Read more »
March 25
Africa: Heatwaves Will Be Worst for Rural Parts of Africa - New Model Shows Tens of Millions Face Dangerous Warming By 2100
Ask people where heatwaves hit hardest and most will probably say cities, which trap heat in concrete and metal and generate warmth from traffic and industry. Read more »
South Africa: Carbon Capture in Rural South Africa - Projects Show How Fighting Climate Change Can Create Rural Jobs - Research
Across the world, climate governance bodies are finding ways to capture greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere and store them in a place where they can't escape and warm up… Read more »
March 24
South Africa: South Africa Needs R250 Billion Just to Meet Basic Climate Adaptation Needs Over the Next Decade
South Africa needs investments worth R250 billion (US$15.64 billion) over the next 10 years to adapt to climate change. This amount would get the country to just a minimal level of… Read more »
Kenya: Kenya's Double Climate Crisis - It Needs Funds to Adapt, and Disaster Aid Is Damaging the Environment
Over the last two decades, economic losses from extreme weather (such as the damage caused by floods, mudslides and drought) has amounted to trillions of dollars. Read more »
March 23
Africa: What Is 'Air Hunger'? and Can It Be Treated?
Can you hold your breath until you're almost bursting to take another breath in? This urgent feeling that you need to get more air is called "air hunger". Read more »
South Africa: Striped Mice Survive Harsh Drought By Slowing Down and Not Getting Stressed
For decades, ecologists lumped everything bad for animals under one word: stress. But what if animals don't experience harsh environments as stressful at all? What if it is the… Read more »
Africa: Why Africa Needs a Green Bank to Fund Climate Action and Build Its Own Renewable Technology
Climate change is a profound challenge to the livelihoods of many people in African countries who have contributed so little to its cause. More frequent extreme weather events… Read more »
March 19
Lesotho: The Lesotho Highlands Water Project Is 40 Years Old and Going Strong - but History Weighs On Its Successes
Big projects bring big hopes and big dreams. They also bring big disappointment when they don't deliver on all the promises. Even when the projects work as they are supposed to. Read more »
South Africa: A Water Solution for Drought-Prone South Africa - We Designed Systems to Replenish Aquifers Simply and Cheaply in Five Towns
South Africa is the 30th driest country in the world. Over 400 towns, especially in the western and central parts of the country, rely on water from aquifers that they pump out of… Read more »
March 18
Africa: Climate Change Could Pose a Major Risk to Cassava in Africa - Study Sets Out What Can Be Done Now
Cassava is a starchy, tuberous root, introduced to sub-Saharan Africa by Portuguese traders centuries ago. It is a nutrition lifeboat for over 800 million people worldwide. Read more »
March 17
Madagascar: Tourist Visits to Madagascar Help Conserve Some Forests, but Others Suffer - Study Suggests What to Do
Madagascar is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots. The island country is well known for its diverse and endangered range of wildlife. This includes over 100 species of lemurs… Read more »
March 16
Africa: Sea Levels Around Africa Are Rising Faster Than the Global Average - What's Behind This Alarming Trend
For over three decades, satellites orbiting Earth have measured the height of the ocean surface with remarkable precision. These measurements are crucial because changes in ocean… Read more »
Africa: Climate Finance Has Failed Africa Twice Over - How to Fix It
The effects of climate change are no longer a future risk for Africa. They are a present crisis. Read more »
March 11
Africa: Crocodiles Can Have Extra Growth Cycles in a Year - Why This Matters for Estimating the Age of Dinosaurs
In biology and palaeontology (the study of extinct organisms) there are a few ways to estimate the age of an animal's skeleton. One is the extent of fusion of sutures in the… Read more »
Africa: Africa Needs 50 Million New Homes, but Building Is Bad for the Environment - How to Finance 'Green' Solutions
The future of housing raises some serious environmental concerns. Construction has been linked to 39% of global carbon emissions, and the concrete industry alone is responsible for… Read more »
March 01
Tanzania: The Hidden Enemy On Mount Kilimanjaro - Safely Dealing With Low Oxygen At High Altitude
Last October, my daughter Elizabeth and I stood at Londorossi gate (elevation 2,250 metres), the western entrance to Mount Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania, ready to begin the… Read more »
February 27
Africa: A Virus Hiding Inside Bacteria May Help Explain Colorectal Cancer
The gut bacterium Bacteroides fragilis has long presented researchers with a paradox. It has been associated with colorectal cancer, yet it also lives quite happily in most healthy… Read more »
February 23
Africa: Scrapping Business Class Could Halve Aviation Emissions - New Study
Air travel is famously one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise, and the number of air passengers keeps increasing. Electric planes and "sustainable" aviation fuels are still a… Read more »
February 26
South Africa: Leopards Adapted to South Africa's Cape So Successfully That They're Genetically Unique - Study
Animals of the same species don't always look the same. From birds with different beak shapes to mammals that vary in size or colour, populations living in different places can… Read more »
February 24
South Africa: South Africa's Carbon Tax Should Stay - Climate Scientists Explain Why
The South African minister of electricity and energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, is proposing to suspend the country's carbon tax after experiencing pressure from fossil fuel lobbies. Read more »
February 23
Africa: Can African Penguins Be Brought Back From the Brink? Better Designed No-Fishing Zones Could Help
South Africa is home to 88% of the world's colonies of African penguins (Spheniscus demersus). The species is classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for… Read more »
