Arsenic contamination in drinking water poses a critical global public health hazard. Prolonged exposure to inorganic arsenic—predominantly present in groundwater as arsenate, where arsenic exists in its +5 oxidation state—can lead to severe dermatological lesions, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers. To mitigate these health risks, the World Health Organization has established a strict provisional safety guideline […]
How much ice is stored in the world’s glaciers? And where exactly is it located? A new study led by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, in collaboration with the Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISP), provides an updated global map of glacier ice volume. The study introduces IceBoost v2.0 […]
Authors: María-Luisa Chas-Amil, Catedrática de Economía Aplicada, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela and Julia María Touza, Professor of Environmental Economics, University of York As the flames advanced towards the village of Bédar, in the Almería province of Andalusia, the mayor gave a desperate order to ring the church bells to warn residents. It was not […]
For millennia, farming in Switzerland did not reduce plant diversity but helped increase it, researchers have shown in a detailed reconstruction covering the past 7000 years. Only recent decades paint a different picture. The fall of the Roman Empire and major plague outbreaks: These events not only affected people but also reduced plant diversity on […]
The world’s population is growing, people are living longer, and industry continues to expand. These changes bring many benefits, but they can also increase risks to human health. Over time, people are exposed to many substances in the environment, some of which may be harmful. At the same time, greater industrial activity means more chemicals […]
Climate change and sea level rise are altering the chemistry of Biscayne Bay in ways that could threaten South Florida’s coastal ecosystems, water resources, fisheries, and recreation, according to a study led by scientists from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and Miami-Dade County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management […]
Authors: Sarah Foster, Program Leader, Project Seahorse and Senior Researcher, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia and Amanda Vincent, Professor, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia Bottom trawlers extract one-quarter of the world’s fisheries catches by weight and raise significant ecological, economic and social concerns. Given that […]
Methane is the second-largest greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. According to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, anthropogenic methane emissions account for nearly 45% of current net warming, making it an important factor in global warming. An international research team led by a scholar from City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) has broken through the […]
Author: Hossein Hashemi, Senior Lecturer, Division of Water Resources Engineering & Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University 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 deposit “blood rain”, rust-colored […]
Wildfires are becoming more frequent and are ravaging new parts of the world due to global warming. A study led by researchers from the University of Gothenburg shows that this change is increasing the vulnerability of thousands of plants, animals and fungi. As global temperatures rise, the incidence of wildfires is increasing in many regions […]