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Historic hearing will receive submissions from people whose human rights have been affected by climate changeJulian Medina comes from a long line of fishers in the north of Colombia’s Gulf of Morrosquillo who use small-scale and often traditional methods to catch species such as mackerel, tuna and cojinúa.Medina went into business as a young man but was drawn back to his roots, and ended...

Anticyclonic conditions have allowed temperatures to reach 35-45C across much of the countryMexico has been undergoing its first heatwave of the season. The heatwave started on Sunday 14 April, when Mexico City saw a new date record with a high of 32.9C, surpassing the previous record of 32C from 1998.Anticyclonic conditions over the region have been responsible for this heatwave by inhibiting cloud formation,...

Notorious for drawing large crowds, Emerson was removed by officials who were surprised to find him back in Victoria in a weekLast week, gun-wielding conservation officers stuffed a 500lb elephant seal in the back of a van, drove him along a winding highway in western Canada and left him on a remote beach “far from human habitation”.The plan was to move the young seal...

El Niño weather phenomenon depletes reservoirs and limits output at hydroelectric plantsEcuador has begun to ration electricity in the country’s main cities as a drought linked to the El Niño weather pattern depletes reservoirs and limits output at hydroelectric plants that produce about 75% of the nation’s power.“We urge Ecuadorians to cut their electricity consumption in this critical week,” the ministry of energy said...

Bogotá brings in water rationing with El Niño weather phenomenon meaning city could run out in under two monthsCouples in Bogotá are being asked to shower together as water supplies are rationed in the Colombian capital.Major neighbourhoods were cut off from the water grid on Thursday to preserve dangerously low water levels at reservoirs that have been starved of rain by the weather phenomenon...

Country had previously turned the tide on deforestation but armed rebels have revoked banDeforestation in the Colombian Amazon is surging and could be at a historic peak as armed groups use the rainforest as a bargaining chip in peace negotiations with the government.Preliminary data shows that deforestation in the region was 40% higher in the first three months of this year than in 2023...

Advocates fear situation could escalate in Javari valley, a region plagued by violence and poor healthcareMore than 100 Indigenous people in Brazil’s Javari valley have been diagnosed with flu-like symptoms, raising fears that the situation could escalate into an epidemic.The valley, where Indigenous advocate Bruno Pereira and journalist Dom Phillips were killed in 2022, is home to the largest population of Indigenous people in...

Heavy rainfall brings landslides to country’s south-east. Elsewhere, a wild temperature fluctuation in IberiaBrazil was hit by devastating floods over the weekend that have so far claimed 20 lives in the resultant landslides and mudslides. There was heavy rainfall in parts of the south-east, including Rio de Janeiro, Petrópolis and the larger Espírito Santo region, with hourly rainfall totals of about 20mm recorded in...

Year of devastating wildfires meant Canadians were breathing worse air than southern neighbours for first time everCanada’s pristine air quality has been long praised by its citizens and prized by its government. But the thick plumes of smoke and miles of haze released by a record-breaking season of wildfires deteriorated the country’s air so much that it has fallen behind the United States for...

Decision by premier Danielle Smith further pits Canadian province against environmental groups pushing green energyAlberta will block renewable energy projects on “prime” agricultural land and limit the placement of wind turbines to preserve “pristine viewscapes”, a decision that increasingly pits the western Canadian province against environmental groups pushing green energy – and the companies investing in it.The decision, announced by the premier, Danielle Smith,...

Xinjiang in north-west recorded minus 52.3C, while Badu in south recorded 38C – the largest temperature contrast recorded in a single countryChina’s Xinjiang region, in the far west of the country, experienced record-breaking low temperatures of -52.3C on 18 February, surpassing a 64-year-old record for the region. The figure was just shy of the lowest national temperature of -53C, which was recorded in the...

The environment minister Susana Muhamad says nature is a ‘pillar’ of fighting the climate crisisThe next round of global biodiversity negotiations will put nature at the heart of the international environment agenda, Colombia’s environment minister has said, as the country prepares for the Cop16 summit.Susana Muhamad, Colombia’s environment minister, who is expected to be the Cop16 president, said the South American country would use...

Fuel continues to leak from overturned and abandoned barge as stain spreads into the Caribbean SeaAn oil spill that has stained Tobago’s coastline in the Caribbean is entering Grenada’s waters and could affect neighboring Venezuela, authorities have warned.Eight days after Trinidad and Tobago’s coastguard first spotted the oil from an overturned and abandoned barge, the vessel continues to leak fuel, and portions of the...

Bears use ice to access food, but study of animals in Canada shows them struggling to adapt to more time on land amid climate crisisPolar bears in Canada’s Hudson Bay risk starvation as the climate crisis lengthens periods without Arctic Sea ice, despite the creatures’ willingness to expand their diets.Polar bears use the ice that stretches across the ocean surface in the Arctic during...

Upturned and largely submerged vessel of unknown origin is leaking hydrocarbon off south-west coast or TobagoTrinidad and Tobago’s prime minister has said that a large oil spill near the twin-island nation has caused a “national emergency” and vowed that the government will spare no expense to help rehabilitate the island’s beaches.Oil from the spill has coated numerous beaches on Tobago’s south-west coast, and the...

Experts say the endangered insect numbers fell by 59% this year, blaming pesticide use and climate change for the reductionThe number of endangered monarch butterflies at their wintering areas in Mexico has dropped by 59% this year to the second lowest level since record keeping began, experts said, blaming pesticide use and climate change.The annual butterfly count doesn’t calculate the individual number of butterflies,...

Temperatures could be 10-15C below seasonal average in some areas, with Calgary and Edmonton experiencing low of -30CArctic air will sweep across western Canada and parts of the US early this week, leading to a cold snap that will probably last through the rest of this week and possibly beyond.By Wednesday, temperatures in western Canada could be as much as 10-15C below the seasonal...