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WASHINGTON – As wildfires increasingly encroach on urban areas, a new report highlights a critical gap in traditional wildfire risk modeling. For decades, these models have focused on how fire spreads through natural vegetation like forests and grasslands. However, recent urban fire disasters in Lahaina, Hawaii, and Los Angeles have exposed a need for next-generation models that can accurately predict how fires spread from home to home. Wildfire models primarily reflect fire behavior in natural settings and do not yet fully account for the complex factors of the built environment. According to a report from Headwaters Economics, in partnership with Pyrologix and the U.S. Fire Administration, the intense heat, embers, and debris from burning structures and vehicles are driven by local fa...

SYDNEY – Scientists have developed a groundbreaking biosensor using modified bacteria to quickly and affordably detect microplastics in water, a significant step toward addressing the global plastic pollution crisis. The world generates around 400 million tons of plastic waste each year, with microplastics now found in nearly every corner of the environment. The new sensor, detailed in a recent study, uses modified bacteria that are sensitive to microplastic particles. When the bacteria were added to filtered seawater samples, the water's fluorescence intensity indicated a microplastic concentration of up to 100 parts per million. Raman spectroscopy further confirmed that a portion of these particles were biodegradable plastics. "Our biosensor offers a fast, affordable, and sensitive...

SYDNEY – Buying a home in Australia is a high-stakes decision, yet many households are doing so without a clear understanding of a property's exposure to climate-related risks, particularly flooding. A new analysis highlights that Australia is a significant outlier among comparable countries for not making property-level flood risk data easily accessible to the public, despite this information already being used by the insurance industry to set premiums. Flooding is a growing and financially damaging problem in Australia. Experts say a property's flood risk is a complex interplay of topography and hydrology, and this information is often hidden from the public. While resources like Queensland's Property Level Flood Information Portal exist, they are fragmented and not available nationwi...

LEH – The cold desert region of Ladakh has experienced an unprecedented weather event, with Leh recording its highest monthly rainfall in 52 years during August 2025. The Meteorological Centre Leh reported a staggering 80.2 mm of rain, a figure that nearly doubles the previous record and has led to widespread flash floods, soil erosion, and infrastructure damage across the region. The continuous and intense downpour is a stark deviation from the area's typical arid climate. According to Sonam Lotus, director of the Meteorological Centre Leh, the recent rainfall was a combined effect of strong monsoon currents and moisture from western disturbances. While the region is accustomed to some rainfall during the monsoon months of July and August, the intensity this year has been "unusually hi...

ADDIS ABABA – The second UN Climate Week of 2025 (CW2), currently underway in Addis Ababa, is working to elevate Africa's climate priorities and challenges onto the global stage. The event, which runs from September 1-6, is a key platform for preparing for the upcoming Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) and the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, later this year. Organized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Ethiopian government, CW2 focuses on a range of critical issues, including finance for climate adaptation, forest action, and agriculture. Organizers stated that the week’s purpose is to "unlock financial resources" and "facilitate further climate actions" that are tailored to Africa's development context. Mensur Desse, ...

NEW DELHI – A potent and unusual combination of weather systems has been identified as the cause of the catastrophic rainfall, floods, and landslides that have ravaged northern India in recent weeks. A report by Down To Earth details how an abnormally high number of western disturbances during the monsoon season, coupled with a peculiar northward push of moisture-laden winds from the Arabian Sea, created a "concoction" of weather that has led to a rainfall catastrophe. According to the analysis, the normal monsoon rains have been exacerbated by the frequent presence of western disturbances. These are non-monsoonal storms that typically originate over the Mediterranean region and bring winter and spring rainfall to the Indian subcontinent. However, data from the India Meteorological Depa...

SRINAGAR – The flood situation in most parts of the Kashmir valley has eased as water levels in the River Jhelum and other water bodies receded below the danger mark on Friday, following a significant improvement in the weather. According to officials, there has been very little rainfall across the valley in the past 24 hours. The receding water levels have brought a sigh of relief to residents after days of heavy rainfall had triggered a flood threat. The water level in the Jhelum at Sangam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district and in Srinagar’s Ram Munshibagh is now below the danger mark. While some areas are still experiencing water levels above the danger mark, they are receding, and officials are maintaining close monitoring. All tributaries of the Jhelum are also flowing below d...

ISLAMABAD – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced on Friday that it has postponed by-elections for nine constituencies across the country, citing the devastating floods that have damaged infrastructure and displaced voters. The decision affects five National Assembly and four Punjab Assembly seats, with a new schedule to be announced once the situation normalizes. According to a report by Dawn, the ECP's decision comes as the floods have damaged public and private infrastructure, including schools and government buildings designated as polling stations and for storing election records. The civil administration and law enforcement agencies are heavily engaged in ongoing rescue and relief operations, making them unavailable for election-related duties. The Punjab government ...

NEW DELHI – Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Friday, September 5, 2025, visited a flood relief camp in Shastri Park, northeast Delhi, and criticized what he described as delays in the government’s relief efforts for flood-affected residents. Kejriwal, a former chief minister, urged the Delhi government to provide adequate relief materials, including food and tents, to those displaced by the recent floods. Speaking to reporters at the camp, Kejriwal highlighted the hardships faced by the affected families. "I can see that people are facing issues. They are not getting food on time. There are mosquitoes everywhere. It has been raining, but tents were only put up yesterday," he said. "This is a natural calamity. We urge the government to provide facilities to people. It is th...

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court on Thursday, September 4, 2025, raised a serious concern about widespread illegal logging in the Himalayas, citing repeated flash floods and huge numbers of tree logs seen flowing in swollen rivers. The court warned that if the situation continues, India will be left with "no forests." A bench comprising Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice Vinod Chandran voiced deep anguish over the recent floods in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Punjab. The court highlighted media visuals of countless logs being swept away by floodwaters, suggesting that illegal felling of trees in the ecologically fragile Himalayan forests is rampant amidst the natural disasters. “This is a very serious issue. Logs are seen flowing with the floodwaters....