Environment

Friday, January 10th 2020 - 10:30 UTC
Bush fire in Falklands sets off dangerous .50 caliber rounds explosions

Fifty calibre rounds exploded in burning bushes as the Falkland Islands Fire and Rescue Service battled a gorse-bush fire in the early hours of January 6. Watch Manager Gene Berntsen told Penguin News this week that the rounds were heard by members of the public exploding before the arrival of the Fire Service and by fire-fighters as they tackled the fire.
Friday, January 10th 2020 - 09:49 UTC
Fires in the Amazon rainforest grew 30.5% in 2019; below the historic average

The number of fires in the Amazon rainforest grew 30.5% in 2019 from the previous year, according to data released by space research agency INPE. The agency said the number of fires detected in the Amazon region was 89,178 in 2019 compared with 68,345 fires in 2018.
Friday, January 10th 2020 - 09:15 UTC
One of Mexico's most dangerous volcanoes belched ash and rock into the sky

Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano dramatically spewed a fiery cloud of ash and rock into the sky on Thursday, though it did not prompt authorities to raise their eruption alert level.
Thursday, January 9th 2020 - 09:50 UTC
Italian cities combat harmful emissions and smog by curbing traffic

More than a dozen cities and towns across Italy introduced traffic curbs on Wednesday in a bid to cut harmful emissions following a spike in pollution. A prolonged period of sunny weather with little rain or wind has pushed up air pollution across the country, triggering smog alerts in more than 60 municipalities.
Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:26 UTC
Australia warned to prepare for another wave of evacuations as temperatures again begin to rise

Australian authorities warned people on Wednesday to prepare for another wave of evacuations as temperatures in the country's southeast began to rise after a days-long cool spell, bringing the danger of revitalized blazes.
Wednesday, January 8th 2020 - 09:23 UTC
Australian bushfires smoke reaches Uruguay and the South of Brazil

Smoke from bushfires raging across Australia reached Brazil on Tuesday, an arm of the National Institute for Space Research said on Twitter. Referring to satellite images, the agency's Department of Remote Sensing said the smoke had arrived in Brazil's southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul.
Tuesday, January 7th 2020 - 09:40 UTC
Australia cloud smoke reaches Chile, Argentina and is expected in Uruguay

The cloud of smoke caused by raging bushfires in Australia has been spotted more than 12,000km away in Chile and Argentina, weather authorities in the South American countries said on Monday. Meteorologists in Uruguay expect the cloud in the next 24 hours.
Monday, January 6th 2020 - 09:24 UTC
Bushfires in Australia threaten the dairy industry; “thousands of cattle have been lost”

Bushfires across Australia's east coast are set to pile on more pain for the country's dairy industry, already hurt by a prolonged drought, as processors in one of the world's largest exporters face tightening milk supplies.
Monday, January 6th 2020 - 09:23 UTC
Australian troops deployed to help in three states; bushfires destroyed an area the size of Ireland

Reserve troops were deployed to fire-ravaged regions across three Australian states on Monday after a torrid weekend that turned swathes of land into smoldering, blackened hellscapes.
Monday, January 6th 2020 - 08:41 UTC
New Zealanders rush to try and save a pod of stranded whales

About 1,000 people rushed to a New Zealand beach over the weekend to try to save a pod of whales that stranded overnight, overwhelming conservation workers who were appealing for specialist assistance.