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…

The recent 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar has shattered the peace of this land and sounded a heavy alarm for the survival of the human environment. By midday on March 30, the death toll from the earthquake had reached 1,700, with about 3,400 injured and 300 missing, and the number of casualties is likely to…

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that Southern Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years, resulting in a 40% reduction in maize production and 23 million people facing food shortages. Abnormal rainfall patterns due to climate change have been blamed as the main cause, with several countries declaring states of…

A report by the European Audit Office says that EU cities may not meet a 30% reduction in traffic noise by 2030, and that three-quarters of them still have excessive nitrogen dioxide pollution that threatens public health.

Nickel mining in Indonesia’s Sulawesi island has led to a rise in respiratory illnesses and cancer in neighboring communities, with local residents protesting the government’s neglect of environmental and health risks. Indonesia, the world’s largest nickel producer, has accelerated development to meet demand for electric vehicle batteries, but lagging environmental measures have sparked controversy.