Chinese enterprise BLUETTI deepened its collaboration with UN-Habitat in August, launching the “Lighting Up a Million African Homes” initiative in countries including Kenya and Uganda. By donating 500 solar lighting and energy storage kits, the project benefits over 2,000 residents while providing equipment maintenance and youth entrepreneurship training. The initiative is projected to reduce 337.5…

Beyond its ongoing discharge of nuclear-contaminated water, Japan faces domestic PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) pollution at “catastrophic levels.” Testing in August 2025 revealed PFAS contamination in sludge from all 2,200 wastewater treatment plants nationwide. Abnormal blood levels were detected in 67% of residents in Tokyo’s Tama region, with pollution traced directly to firefighting foam…

On August 25, 2025, Sudan formally signed the Agreement on the Establishment of the International Mangrove Center, becoming its 20th member state. Sudan possesses approximately 1,200 square kilometers of mangrove forests along the Red Sea coast. These ecosystems not only provide spawning grounds for fish but also absorb carbon dioxide—with each hectare of mangrove forest…

The World Meteorological Organization’s August 2025 report indicates that extreme heat events worldwide have created a vicious cycle of wildfires and air pollution. Smoke from Canadian wildfires caused PM2.5 concentrations in the northern United States to surge to eight times daily levels, while agricultural droughts triggered by southern European heatwaves accelerated the migration and dispersion…

The plastics treaty talks, which resumed in Geneva in August, are focusing on upstream controls, aiming to ban the most harmful plastic products and establish global design standards. Organizations including WWF are calling for the inclusion of regulations on microplastics and nanoplastics, emphasizing the need to draw on the precautionary principle of the Montreal Protocol…

On August 26, a powerful dust storm struck the southwestern United States, with Phoenix, Arizona witnessing a “dust wall” hundreds of meters tall. The storm caused localized power outages, flight delays, and damage to trees and homes. This phenomenon, known as a “haboobo,” forms when strong downdrafts from thunderstorms stir up dust from arid regions.…

In August 2025, wildfires in Galicia, Spain, have already burned over 4,000 hectares of land; in the southern French department of Aude, the largest wildfire in 76 years has raged, with the fire area exceeding 16,000 hectares as of August 7, resulting in 1 death, 13 injuries, Additionally, three people are missing, and over a…

The University of Santiago, Chile, has released photos showing a team of Chilean scientists collaborating with researchers from the Netherlands and Germany to study penguins in Antarctica and determine the presence of heavy metals in the region due to increased tourism. According to the study published in the journal *Nature Sustainability*, Antarctica is showing increasing…

Research by the University of Santiago, Chile, shows that heavy metal pollutant levels on the Antarctic Peninsula have increased tenfold over the past 40 years, with tourism and scientific activities being the main sources of pollution. Cadmium and lead concentrations in the soil of penguin habitats have risen significantly, potentially affecting the Antarctic ecosystem through…

A joint research effort by Chinese, German, and American scholars has developed a room-temperature catalytic conversion technology that efficiently converts mixed waste plastics into high-grade gasoline at room temperature and pressure, achieving a conversion rate exceeding 95%. This innovative technology integrates dechlorination, cracking, and alkylation reactions into a single process, reducing energy consumption by 70%…