Long-term uncontrolled mining has led to a steady decline in California’s groundwater levels, with groundwater basins in agricultural-intensive areas such as the San Joaquin Valley declining by an average of nearly 4 feet per year. At the same time, nitrate contamination, soil salinization, and natural elemental contamination (e.g., boron, mercury) threaten the safety of drinking…

On June 12, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) released its “Guidelines for Sustainable Procurement of Data Centers,” which address the surge in energy consumption in data centers brought about by AI and digital development, and propose measures to reduce the environmental impact through green energy use, water recycling, etc. The guidelines note that the…

In June 2025, extreme heat in Europe has reduced the flow of major rivers such as the Rhine and Danube to record lows. The Cologne section of the Rhine is less than 2 meters deep, reducing barge capacity to 25%, and the Federation of German Industries warns of a possible shortage of raw materials for…

On June 9, 2025, southern European countries such as Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy were hit by a rare heat wave, with temperatures exceeding historical extremes in many places, reaching over 40°C in some areas. The high temperatures led to frequent forest fires, which spread rapidly through dry vegetation, releasing large amounts of harmful gases…

The European Union ruled on June 5 that Greece is in breach of the Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive for failing to complete a river basin management plan and for substandard treatment of municipal wastewater. According to the ECJ, Greek beaches are heavily polluted with plastic, with an average of 464 pieces of…

Wildfires continued to spread across Canada, with 181 active wildfires across the country as at 2 June, 90 of which were out of control. The fire threatened to shut down oil sands operations in northern Alberta, covering more than 615 square kilometers and evacuating about 200 residents. The smoke spread southward in the winds, causing…

On May 26, mountain-burning activities in Myanmar and Laos caused PM2.5 concentrations in Yunnan’s border areas to soar to 15 times international standards, with visibility of less than 500 meters in Pu’er and Xishuangbanna. Satellite monitoring shows that the average number of fires in Southeast Asia is nearly 2,000 per day, and smoke is transmitted…

On May 17, multiple aerial disintegrations of birds occurred in Richmond, California, when 53 birds (including black orioles and starlings) suddenly burst in flight, scattering body parts across the street. Initial investigations ruled out electrocution, but found electrolyte abnormalities and overpressure damage to alveolar tissue in the birds, suggesting a possible link to chemical contamination…

2025 On May 27, the Japanese government announced that the Prime Minister’s official residence is to receive some soil from the vicinity of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which is said to be potentially used for landscaping in the residence’s flower beds.After the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident, the Japanese government launched a large-scale decontamination operation,…

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2025, short-lived pollutants such as black carbon and methane are contributing 45% of recent global warming. Black carbon accelerates the melting of polar ice, while methane continues to be emitted through agriculture and waste disposal. The report calls on countries to work multilaterally to reduce such…