Environment

• Thursday, September 13th 2018 - 06:20 UTC

  “Extremely dangerous major” hurricane Florence advancing on the Carolinas

  

  Hurricane Florence, one of the strongest storms to threaten the East Coast of the United States in decades, continued to swirl in the Atlantic on Wednesday night on a path that is taking it dangerously closer to the Carolinas. Meanwhile, another storm system in the Atlantic gained strength on Wednesday and was named subtropical Storm Joyce.

• Thursday, September 13th 2018 - 06:02 UTC

  South Atlantic sanctuary for whales will have to wait for another meeting of IWC

  

  An effort to create a safe haven for whales in the South Atlantic was defeated at the meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Florianopolis, Brazil. The proposal, which was introduced by Brazil in 2001, received support from 39 countries but was opposed by 25, denying it the three-quarters' majority it needed to pass.

• Tuesday, September 11th 2018 - 09:29 UTC

  El Niño 2018/19 could be a repeat of 2015/16, cautions WMO

  

  There's a 70% chance of a recurrence of the El Niño weather event before the end of this year, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The last El Niño occurred in 2015-16 and impacted weather patterns around the world, but researchers say they are not expecting this new one to be as intense as 2015-16.

• Tuesday, September 11th 2018 - 09:06 UTC

  Japan insists with a “Sustainable Whaling Committee” to replace moratorium on whale hunting

  

  Pro and anti-whaling nations locked horns on Monday as the International Whaling Commission (IWC) began meeting in Brazil amid outrage over Japan's proposal to end a three-decade moratorium on commercial whale hunting.

• Monday, September 10th 2018 - 08:30 UTC

  Pro and anti-whaling nations clash in Brazil; renewed attempt to create a South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary

  

  Pro and anti-whaling nations are set for a showdown when the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meets in Brazil from Monday as Japan leads an assault on a three-decade old moratorium on commercial whale hunting. Tokyo heads into the biennial meeting as chair of the 88-nation body determined to shake-up what it says is a dysfunctional organization mired in dispute and unable to make key decisions.

• Saturday, September 8th 2018 - 09:01 UTC

  Giant iceberg “A68” takes off from Antarctica mainland to the Southern Ocean

  

  A large iceberg in Antarctica has calved off the Larsen C ice shelf as of July last year and budged only a little from the coast until recently. In the past two months, the iceberg, known as 'A68', has taken a drastic 90 degree swing away from the Antarctic mainland and into the Southern Ocean.

• Tuesday, September 4th 2018 - 08:34 UTC

  Falklands' penguins at risk from Brexit and an end to EU conservation funding

  

  The Falkland Islands have warned that a million penguins are at risk from a funding black hole caused by Britain’s exit from the European Union. The Islands rely on European conservation projects to care and protect the penguin colonies, rookeries, in its shores. But with the U.K. fast approaching Brexit Day in March 2019, Falklands' lawmaker Teslyn Barkman has urged clarity on the future of Islands’ flippered friends.

• Tuesday, August 21st 2018 - 08:40 UTC

  Snowfall across central Uruguay on Sunday

  

  A rare snowfall was seen across parts of Uruguay on Sunday while graupel resulted in an icy coating across parts of eastern Argentina.

• Tuesday, August 21st 2018 - 08:04 UTC

  Emus flock to towns as Australia continues to struggle with extreme drought

  

  Large numbers of emus have been flocking to an outback mining town in New South Wales as Australia continues to struggle with extreme drought. The flightless birds are desperately searching for food and water in Broken Hill, local animal rescue services say.

• Friday, August 17th 2018 - 10:10 UTC

  Eliminating glyphosate would be a “disaster” for Brazilian agriculture

  

  A potential ban on the popular herbicide glyphosate in Brazil over concerns it may cause cancer in humans would be a “disaster” for the country’s agricultural industry, Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said on Thursday.