Unpredictable weather decimates India’s salt production
India's salt production, concentrated in Gujarat's salt pans, is facing a grim future due to erratic weather patterns, putting the nation's self-sufficiency in salt at risk. For centuries, the Agariya community in Gujarat's Kachchh district has relied on the region's arid climate and vast salt marshes to produce salt, a...
Current in Planet
The fight to save the African Penguin
The African penguin, ‘Spheniscus demersus’ is an iconic species native to the coasts of South Africa and Namibia. These charismatic birds face a multitude of threats, primarily from human activities and climate change. In the last century, the African penguin’s population has plummeted, pushing them dangerously close to extinction. Human activities...
Could record-breaking global temperatures finally be dropping?
Predictions from the EU Copernicus Climate Change Service suggest our year of prolonged planetary heat is coming to an end. Still, this news doesn’t indicate that climate change is easing up. As we emerge from what felt like an especially long winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it might be easy...
Will the growth of offshore oil scupper COP28 pledges?
The recent surge in offshore oil projects raises concerns about the possibility of achieving numerous COP28 pledges. Let's look at the stats. ‘Deepwater is back in vogue’. Those remarks by Pablo Medina, Head of New Ventures at Welligence, highlight the oil and gas industry's narrow focus. It is no secret...
Venezuela the first country in modern history to lose all its glaciers
The South American nation was home to six glaciers in the Sierra Nevada de Mérida mountain range, five of which have disappeared within the last century. Its only remaining one, known as La Corona, has now shrunk so much due to climate change that scientists have reclassified it as...
Scientists expect temperatures to rise to at least 2.5C
Hundreds of experts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) believe that global heating will blast past internationally agreed targets, with disastrous consequences for humanity and the planet. According to a recent report, hundreds of the world’s leading climate scientists expect our planet to breach the internationally agreed 1.5C...
Thousands of free trees given to Belgian citizens in new initiative
The local council in Belgium’s capital city is handing out 2,000 trees to residents with a garden or unpaved space available to plant them in. Aiming to create a greener urban landscape in Belgium’s capital city, Antwerp’s local council is embarking on a project that invites citizens to get involved in re-greening their surroundings. Through an initiative named ‘Neighbourhood in Bloom’ (Buurt in Bloei), Antwerp will see its residents gifted 2,000...
Investigation reveals scope of Big Oil’s deception and greenwashing
A US Democrat committee has found that Big Oil deliberately downplayed the dangers of fossil fuels. Its major players have also reportedly lobbied against climate laws they backed publicly for years. Big Oil is at it yet again. The latest scoop courtesy of US Democrats reveals that fossil fuel giants have long played a shady game of publicly supporting climate initiatives while dismissing them entirely in private. The word greenwashing...
Decade-long study shows conservation efforts are succeeding
A study published in the journal Science has revealed numerous success stories from conservation groups around the world. With so many negative news stories regarding the state of our planet swirling around, it’s easy to believe that decades of reckless human activity are causing the survival of our natural world to hang by a thread. While our planet is indeed under immense pressure, the lack of airtime afforded to the individuals...
Why did Earth Day choose to prioritise plastics this year?
Every year, Earth Day picks a specific environmental theme to focus on. Why did it select plastics for 2024? Did you take part in Earth Day this year? As part of its annual events and activism, this environmental movement places emphasis on a specific theme. In 2024, plastic was the central focus, with Earth Day’s website providing plenty of statistics on the damage and dangers of disposing of our rubbish...
