Nearly 25% of land in Africa has been damaged – what’s to blame, and what can be done

Jun 04, 2024 06:33 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Land degradation is a huge issue across the continent of Africa. One of its biggest drivers is biological invasions. This is when invasive species (species that arent naturally found in the area) arrive and produce large...

Buying and selling forest carbon as a commodity is dangerous if it trumps other environmental and social uses – new report

Jun 04, 2024 06:31 am UTC| Nature

Forests are great carbon sinks they absorb more carbon from the atmosphere than they release. Globally, forests remove nearly all of the two billion tonnes of carbon dioxide that is currently being removed from the...

What’s that in my nest? How the evolutionary arms race between cuckoos and hosts creates new species

Jun 03, 2024 11:12 am UTC| Nature

How do new species arise? And why are there so many of them? One possible reason is the arms race between animals such as predators and parasites, and the victims they exploit. Many predators and parasites have evolved...

Space Science Series

Tonga’s volcanic eruption could cause unusual weather for the rest of the decade, new study shows

May 30, 2024 23:11 pm UTC| Nature

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai (Hunga Tonga for short) erupted on January 15 2022 in the Pacific Kingdom of Tonga. It created a tsunami which triggered warnings across the entire Pacific basin, and sent sound waves around the...

Climate Change Series

‘Cape of Storms’ – climate researchers explain Cape Town’s recent extreme weather

May 30, 2024 23:10 pm UTC| Nature

A severe storm hit South Africas Western Cape province between 6 and 9 April 2024, with extreme winds gusting at up to 135km/h. The storm left a trail of destruction across Cape Town and surrounding areas at least 1,500...

How extreme weather will affect the insurance and energy sectors

May 29, 2024 02:52 am UTC| Insights & Views Business Nature

When Storm Isha hit Northern Ireland and northern Britain in January 2024, wind gusts of almost 100mph caused widespread damage to property. This strong extra-tropical cyclone also influenced both the insurance and energy...

Horn of Africa droughts: how a network of groundwater bores could help – study

May 27, 2024 06:21 am UTC| Nature

The Horn of Africa recently suffered its worst drought in almost half a century, and its sixth failed rainfall season in a row. Fifty million people were directly affected and 100 million more were indirectly affected....