On May 10th, a fire broke out in an industrial warehouse in Catalonia, Spain, resulting in the leakage of nearly 70 tons of chlorine-containing chemicals and the release of highly toxic chlorine gas. The incident affected about 150,000 residents in five neighboring municipalities, and civil defense authorities asked residents to keep their doors and windows…

On May 6, 2025, the U.S. Senate passed the Congressional Review Act, repealing key protections in the Clean Air Act for 1,800 heavy polluters such as chemical plants and oil refineries. These businesses will be reclassified as “minor sources” and exempted from the obligation to monitor and control emissions of seven highly toxic substances, including…

The American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report shows that nearly half of Americans inhale air pollutants at dangerous levels, and more than 156 million Americans live in communities with substandard air quality – a 16 percent increase from the previous year and the highest level in a decade – and that people…

The cumulative number of confirmed Lassa fever cases across Nigeria in January-April 2025 was 674, with 127 deaths, representing a mortality rate of 18.8%, a slight increase from the same period in 2024 (18.5%). The outbreak covers 21 of the 36 states in the country, and it is noteworthy that the youth group aged 21-30…

In April 2025, the South African Supreme Court ruled that the government’s failure to comply with the Highveld Air Quality Management Plan had resulted in an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 65 µg/m³ (the WHO standard is 10 µg/m³) in the industrial region, which was responsible for the premature deaths of 10,000 people per year.…

In April 2025, heavy rains in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, cause flooding that paralyzes traffic, cuts off water and electricity, and kills 33 people. The government activates the military to evacuate the population and launches water ferries to secure airport operations. Floods in the country killed 100 people in…

In April 2025, 72 people were poisoned and 1 person died at a boxed lunch supplier in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, after an employee was asymptomatically carrying norovirus. The incident exposed hygiene loopholes in the food processing chain, and the government urgently revised regulations to require food workers to undergo regular screening for the virus. Experts…

In March 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to rescind dozens of regulations, including the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, including overturning the 2009 “Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Determination,” which leaves carbon emission controls without a legal basis. The move could lead to a rebound in power plant pollution, threatening the health…

The European Times, April 3 – The French Ministry of Ecological Transition recently released the State of the Environment in France 2024 report, which shows that despite increased spending on pollution control, pollution levels in France remain too high, with fine particulate matter causing 40,000 premature deaths a year, while biodiversity is declining due to…

UNESCO set up the first “World Glacier Day” in March, data show that global glaciers melt 267 billion tons per year, and at the current rate, 80% of small and medium-sized glaciers will disappear before 2100. The retreat of Himalayan glaciers has led to the double risk of floods and droughts in Nepal, India and…