Month: September 2026

Mexico City has transformed sections of its busy highway infrastructure into lush vertical gardens, covering concrete pillars with thousands of plants in an effort to tackle pollution, rising temperatures and the shortage of green spaces. The project, known as Via Verde, was launched in 2016 by architect Fernando Ortiz Monasterio. It focuses on turning the massive concrete columns supporting the city’s Anillo Periférico ring road into living green structures. Instead of requiring new land for parks and forests, the initiative uses existing highway infrastructure as a framework for vegetation. What were once bare concrete pillars standing above some of Mexico City’s busiest roads have gradually been transformed into vertical gardens. The project gained public support after its prop...

  Scientists have discovered a possible way to activate an unusual form of magnetism in an ultrathin material, a breakthrough that could eventually help create smaller, faster and more energy efficient computer memory. Researchers from Rice University and collaborating institutions found that ruthenium dioxide a material normally considered nonmagnetic in its bulk form, can show signs of a recently proposed magnetic state known as altermagnetism when it is made only a few atomic layers thick and placed under strain. The findings were published in the journal Science Advances. Altermagnetism is considered a potentially important new form of magnetic behavior. Unlike conventional ferromagnets, where electron spins align in the same direction, or antiferromagnets, where neigh...

  1, September, 2026: A large scale sand mining operation in Mozambique’s Zambezia Province has been linked to the destruction of hundreds of hectares of mangrove forests, raising fresh concerns about the environmental impact of heavy mineral mining along the country’s coastline. An investigation found that mangrove loss in the Chinde district of the Zambezi River Delta is associated with activities carried out in an area controlled by Mozambique Heavy Sand Company VIII, which is linked to the Chinese mining group Jinan Yuxiao Group. Satellite imagery showed significant environmental changes between 2022 and 2026, including what appeared to be the blocking of a waterway near mining activity. The disruption may have cut off the connection between an estuary and the sea, changi...

  Scientists may have uncovered a major piece of the puzzle behind one of Earth’s long standing climate mysteries: why Antarctica became covered in ice millions of years before the Arctic. A new international study published in Science suggests that powerful geological forces deep inside the Earth gradually lifted East Antarctica over more than 100 million years. The rising landscape created high mountains and plateaus cold enough for snow and ice to survive year after year, eventually helping form the vast East Antarctic Ice Sheet around 34 million years ago. The research led by the University of Southampton, challenges the idea that falling carbon dioxide levels and global cooling alone triggered Antarctica’s transformation into an icy continent. Scientists used computer...

  A new “smart” roof coating developed by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory could help homes stay cooler in summer and warmer in winter potentially cutting household electricity consumption by up to 10%. The experimental material, known as a temperature adaptive radiative coating, or TARC, automatically changes how it releases heat depending on the temperature. Unlike conventional cool roofs, it requires no electricity, sensors, wiring or batteries. The technology is based on vanadium dioxide, a material whose properties change dramatically at different temperatures. In its natural form, the material switches behaviour at around 67°C, making it impractical for everyday roofing. Researchers added small amounts of tungsten to lower the transition temperature ...

  JAKARTA: Corporate zero deforestation commitments adopted by palm oil companies in Indonesia may have helped reinforce efforts to protect forests but a new study has found little evidence that they produced additional reductions in deforestation beyond broader changes already affecting the industry. The research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences compared Indonesian palm oil concessions linked to companies with zero deforestation commitments with those not connected to such pledges. The findings showed that deforestation declined dramatically in both groups. During the 2018–2020 implementation period, annualised deforestation fell to around 0.5% in concessions linked to zero deforestation commitments as well as those without them. The estimated...

  Texas, September, 1, 2026: A massive coastal conservation effort in Texas has transformed more than 15,000 acres of the historic Powderhorn Ranch into a protected wildlife management area, safeguarding wetlands, coastal prairie and habitat for the endangered whooping crane. The 17,351 acre ranch in Calhoun County was purchased in 2014 for $37.7 million by a coalition of conservation organisations and government agencies. The broader conservation project, including habitat restoration, long term management and an endowment, was valued at around $50 million. A significant portion of the acquisition was funded through money linked to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation committed $34.5 million from its Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund,...

  From Antarctica ancient ice formation to energy saving roofs and ocean threats, new research highlights how geology, technology and nature can shape the climate future A series of recent scientific studies has revealed how forces operating deep inside Earth, innovative building materials and natural ecosystems could all play an important role in understanding climate change and developing solutions. Scientists have found a possible explanation for why Antarctica froze millions of years before the Arctic. Slow moving waves deep inside Earth gradually lifted large parts of East Antarctica, creating high mountains and plateaus where snow and ice could survive even when the global climate was much warmer. The research suggests that as Antarctica’s landscape rose over million...

  A deadly flash flood near Nepal’s border with Tibet may have been triggered when a large section of a glacier broke away and crashed hundreds of metres into the valley below, according to experts who analysed satellite imagery. Before and after images showed a previously green mountainside covered in debris and sediment following the disaster. Experts said the collapse may have created a powerful ice-rock avalanche that sent water, boulders and debris rushing through the Lhende, Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river systems. Scientists also observed signs of significant snowmelt in the 24 hours before the disaster, suggesting unusually warm conditions may have contributed. However, experts said it remains unclear whether an earthquake, landslide, glacier instability or climate cha...

Homes, roads, bridges and power plants swept away as rescuers battle heavy monsoon rains and fears grow of further flooding At least 157 people have been killed and hundreds are missing after devastating flash floods struck the Himalayan border regions of Nepal and Tibet, causing widespread destruction and triggering flood alerts in parts of India. According to officials, 403 people were reported missing in Nepal including 341 foreign nationals from countries such as India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea and Malaysia. More than 100 of those missing were reportedly religious tourists travelling on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet. The disaster struck after a powerful surge of mud, water and debris swept through the region, destroying homes, road...