In September 2025, Bali, Indonesia, experienced floods and landslides triggered by days of torrential rain, resulting in at least 23 deaths and the collapse of hundreds of infrastructure sites. Despite Bali’s thriving tourism industry, insufficient investment in flood prevention and drainage system construction and maintenance has resulted in outdated drainage infrastructure with design flaws. Furthermore,…

Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, has been ranked among the world’s ten most polluted cities by air quality monitoring agencies. A survey revealed that 27% of respondents have already chosen to relocate from Hanoi due to air pollution, while another 58% expressed willingness to move if circumstances permit. Sakseena, a researcher at the U.S.-based East-West Center, pointed…

September 2025 Update: Since the 1950s, chemical companies have built refineries and plants between New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana, an area dubbed “Cancer Alley.” The petrochemical industry drove white residents away, leaving predominantly Black communities behind, many of whom suffer from severe illnesses. Louisiana ranks among the top three U.S. states for cancer…

On September 5, massive floods triggered by monsoon rains and glacial melt in northern Pakistan claimed 897 lives and displaced 1.5 million people. Agricultural fertilizers, industrial wastewater, and household waste carried by floodwaters have surged into the Indus River, causing nitrate levels in the drinking water supply of the downstream city of Lahore to exceed…

September 4, 2025 Report: Following California wildfires this January, hexavalent chromium concentrations 200 times higher than normal levels were detected in Los Angeles air. This carcinogen likely originated from flame retardants, with particles smaller than 0.056 micrometers capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier. Although the South Coast Air Quality Management District deemed “health risks limited,”…

In mid-August, northern Pakistan experienced historic monsoon rains, triggering flash floods, landslides, and glacial lake outbursts. The Karakoram Highway was severed in multiple locations, leaving thousands of trucks stranded and causing a complete breakdown of power and communications. Research by the World Weather Attribution Organization indicates that climate change has increased the intensity of monsoon…

A study conducted by the National University of Singapore in August 2025 found that the surfaces of microplastics at Changi Beach were colonized by over 400 types of bacteria, with one-third of them being pathogenic, including Vibrio corallivorus, which causes coral bleaching, and Toxoplasma gondii, which triggers gastroenteritis in humans. Once ingested by marine organisms,…

In the early morning of August 7, an explosion occurred at the Kanto Denkan Industrial Plant in Shibukawa City, Gunma Prefecture, resulting in one death and one injury. The accident resulted in the leakage of highly toxic etching gases, such as nitrogen trifluoride and tungsten hexafluoride, and the surrounding 2-kilometer area was cordoned off as…

In July 2025, a drone attack on the Shekinoyazot chemical plant in Russia’s Tula region caused a fire to break out in a methanol storage tank, damaging the production facility and releasing toxic gases. The plant is Russia’s main supplier of methanol, which is used not only in industry but also in military fuel production.…

On July 30, 2025, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, triggering a trans-oceanic tsunami that affected many countries in the Pacific Rim, posing multiple threats to marine ecosystems and coastal environments. The earthquake was the strongest in the Kamchatka Seismic Zone since 1952, with tsunami waves 90…