From noon to midnight on May 16, strong winds swept up dust from deserts and farmlands in California’s Imperial Valley—including cities such as El Centro, Calexico, and Brawley—triggering a severe dust storm. PM10 levels skyrocketed, and the Air Quality Index (AQI) reached hazardous levels.

On May 14, a Ukrainian military drone exploded approximately 100 meters from the perimeter fence of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, injuring two plant workers. The incident could lead to a radioactive leak, contaminating the Dnieper River and the Black Sea and affecting water sources and the food chain across a wide swath…

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has declared May 13 an Ozone Action Day, as ground-level ozone (smog) concentrations have surged to hazardous levels, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeding 150 in many areas and approaching 200 at times.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health issued an emergency announcement stating that high concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) have been detected in the drinking water systems of San Jose and surrounding towns in the Bay Area, exceeding the standard by 42 times and affecting the water safety of approximately 120,000 residents.

A distribution accident at a company in Allinges, Haute-Savoie, France, resulted in 200 liters of red water-based ink flowing into the Ponfiolet River, which then emptied into Lake Geneva, creating a 57,000-square-meter red-stained area.

On May 12, Mount Dukono in North Maluku erupted, sending a column of ash 2,000 meters into the air and releasing sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. On the same day, Mount Semeru in East Java erupted, sending a column of ash 800 meters into the air, with volcanic ash spreading to five surrounding provinces.

Recently, a meeting of China’s National Leading Group on Ozone Layer Protection was held to review the country’s compliance achievements in 2025, which included phasing out over 98% of hydrochlorofluorocarbons and fulfilling its commitments to the Multilateral Fund ahead of schedule. The meeting also outlined plans for 2026 to collaborate with the United Nations Environment…

On May 13, Vietnam’s environmental authorities reported that lead and cadmium levels in 30% of the Mekong Delta’s rice paddy soils exceeded safety standards, with heavy metals detected in 65% of the rice harvested there. This pollution stems from industrial wastewater discharges upstream and the excessive use of pesticides.

On May 11, Vietnamese police uncovered that a large-scale pig farm operated by New Hope Group in Thach Quang Commune, Thanh Hoa Province, had been using a hidden discharge channel since 2023 to directly discharge 6 million kilograms of untreated pig manure and solid waste into hillsides and low-lying areas, covering an area of over…

On May 9 local time, a major fire broke out at a large plastic recycling plant in Henry County. The blaze burned for over 12 hours, sending thick, toxic black smoke into the air that spread over 10 kilometers.