Month: February 2026

    More than 500,000 pangolins were seized globally between 2016 and 2024, according to a new report by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The figure an estimated 553,042 animals across 2,222 seizure incidents lays bare the industrial scale of trafficking in the world’s most heavily traded mammal. The report, released around World Pangolin Day 2026, identifies at least 74 countries as linked to the illegal trade, operating across 178 distinct routes. China and Viet Nam emerged as the principal alleged destinations for seized consignments, while Nigeria, Mozambique, Cameroon and the Congo were frequently cited as origin points. Researchers caution, however, that declared origins in seizure data do not always refle...

    Southern Australia’s worsening droughts and catastrophic bushfires are being driven by dramatic shifts in the upper atmosphere, according to new research published by academics from Australian universities through The Conversation. The study finds that powerful jet streams high above the continent have moved significantly southward in the past decade, dragging vital winter rain systems away from southern coastlines and leaving major population centres increasingly dry and vulnerable. Upper Atmosphere Changes Reshape Australia’s Climate Researchers identified a marked shift in fast-flowing jet stream air currents located about 8 to 10 kilometres above Earth’s surface. These currents, which typically steer rain-bearing cold fronts across southern Australia, have ...

    Spain has announced sweeping new measures to combat climate disinformation and hold digital platforms accountable, positioning itself at the forefront of Europe’s effort to protect the public from false narratives during climate-related emergencies. The move follows growing concern over the rapid spread of misleading claims after a major blackout struck the Iberian Peninsula on April 28, 2025. False allegations circulating online blamed renewable energy for the outage echoing misinformation that followed the 2021 Texas power crisis despite evidence pointing elsewhere. The new reforms, highlighted by advocacy group Climate Action Against Disinformation, aim to shift responsibility from content moderation alone to structural accountability within technology companie...

    With floods, droughts and storms increasingly straining public budgets and disrupting livelihoods, countries are rethinking how to finance climate resilience at scale. From performance-linked sovereign bonds to pre-arranged disaster insurance and sweeping fiscal reforms, governments are deploying new financial tools to protect economies from intensifying climate shocks. A new analysis from the United Nations Development Programme highlights three major shifts shaping how nations are funding adaptation linking finance to climate performance, managing risk before disasters strike and reforming financial systems to unlock larger flows of capital. Rewarding Climate Performance Through Sovereign Bonds One of the most notable innovations has emerged from Uruguay, whi...

    A new artificial intelligence-driven forecasting system is transforming how scientists predict conditions in the Mediterranean Sea, delivering detailed 15-day forecasts in just seconds a task that traditionally required more than an hour of intensive computing. Developed by researchers at the Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), the high-resolution system known as SeaCast integrates ocean and atmospheric data to generate faster, more energy-efficient predictions. The breakthrough study detailing the model has been published in Scientific Reports. SeaCast operates at a resolution of approximately 4 kilometres (1/24°), matching the scale of CMCC’s Mediterranean operational forecasting system, MedFS, which is delivered through the Copernicus Mar...

    Fresh claims about hidden structures beneath one of Egypt’s most iconic monuments have reignited debate among archaeologists and researchers worldwide. An Italy-based research group says satellite radar imagery reveals large underground features extending deep below the Pyramid of Khafre on the Giza Plateau. The findings, first reported in March 2025, rely on remote sensing rather than excavation and have not yet been verified through on-site investigation. Radar Imaging Suggests Shafts and Chambers The research team used Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data collected by orbiting satellites to analyze subsurface density variations beneath the pyramid. By processing reflected radar signals through mathematical modelling, they produced composite images that appear...

    The conservation status of the southern elephant seal in South Africa has improved from near threatened to least concern, following decades of legal protection and minimal disturbance at key breeding colonies on remote sub-Antarctic islands. The reassessment, published in the 2025 Mammal Red List for Southern Africa, estimates that approximately 5,500 southern elephant seals now inhabit Marion Island and Prince Edward Island a sharp rise from about 3,000 individuals recorded in 2016. Nearly 1,400 pups were counted in 2023 alone, signaling sustained reproductive success. The species, known scientifically as Mirounga leonina breeds on these two islands, which form part of South Africa’s protected marine territory in the Southern Ocean. Four Decades of Protection ...

    Scientists have identified a symbiotic bacterium with the smallest genome ever recorded, raising fresh questions about where a microbe ends and a cellular organelle begins. The newly studied bacteria live inside specialized insect organs known as bacteriomes and have shed vast portions of their DNA over hundreds of millions of years. Their extreme genetic reduction mirrors the evolutionary path of ancient microbes that eventually became mitochondria the energy-producing organelles found in nearly all complex cells. The research, led by Piotr Lukasik of Jagiellonian University, focuses on symbiotic bacteria inhabiting planthopper insects, including Callodictya krueperi. Fluorescent imaging revealed two key microbial partners Vidania and Sodalis living within the in...

    Delhi is among 17 States and Union Territories that do not have a dedicated electronic waste recycling facility, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT), raising fresh concerns about the capital’s capacity to manage mounting e-waste. In a status report submitted to the tribunal, the CPCB stated that Delhi currently relies on agreements between bulk waste generators and registered recyclers located outside the city, primarily within the National Capital Region (NCR), to process its electronic waste. No In-City Recycling, No Interstate Tracking The matter was heard by a Bench led by NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member A. Senthil Vel, which had earlier sought an action-taken report on e-waste ...

    Even as global temperatures continue to climb, the natural world appears to be changing more slowly not faster according to a major new study by researchers at Queen Mary University of London. The research, published in Nature Communications, challenges a long-held assumption among ecologists that accelerating climate change would trigger equally rapid ecological reshuffling. Instead, scientists found that the rate at which species replace one another in local ecosystems known as species “turnover” has declined by roughly one-third since the 1970s. Biodiversity’s Engine Is Losing Momentum For decades, researchers believed that rising temperatures and shifting climate zones would push species out of old habitats and into new ones at increasing speed. The expect...