Climate Change & Environment
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Death toll in southern Ethiopia mudslides rises to at least 157

At least 157 people were killed in mudslides in a remote part of Ethiopia that has been hit with heavy rainfall, many of them as they tried to rescue survivors of an earlier mudslide, local authorities said Tuesday.

Young children and pregnant women were among the victims of the mudslides in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district of southern Ethiopia, said Dagmawi Ayele, a local administrator.

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Frozen treats, showers and ice: Florida zoo tries to protect animals from summer heat

Malayan tigers and Aldabra tortoises are native to hot and humid lands, but that doesn't mean they don't enjoy a frozen treat on a hot Florida summer day.

Temperatures in South Florida this month have reached the upper 90s Fahrenheit (mid-30s Celsius) with humidity reaching 70%, combining for "feels like" temperatures regularly exceeding 100 F (38 C).

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Man dies after being struck by lightning on Germany's highest peak

A man died after being struck by lightning near the summit of Germany's highest peak, police said Monday.

The 18-year-old German resident was one of a group of three young men who took the mountain railway up the Zugspitze late Sunday afternoon and then continued to the summit, which is a climb of about 80 meters (260 feet) from a terrace used by many visitors.

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At least 25 killed, dozens missing in flooding and bridge collapse in China

Rescuers on Monday were searching for dozens missing after heavy rains caused flash flooding and a bridge collapse in different parts of China, killing at least 25 people.

Flash flooding tore through a village in southwestern Sichuan province in the middle of the night Saturday, and rescuers said 10 people died and they were searching for another 29 missing. Days of heavy rain swelled the river that runs through the village of Xinhua in Hanyuan county. The water swept away 40 houses on the riverbank, according to local media, while also breaking bridges and cutting off roads.

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Greenhouse effect: How an oft-touted climate solution threatens agricultural workers

To harvest tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, to clip herbs, to prune and propagate succulents, people work in oppressive heat and humidity. Some wring out shirts soaked with sweat. Some contend with headaches, dizziness and nausea. Some collapse. Some hover on the brink of exhaustion, backs straining, breathing heavily.

Many do so not out in farm fields, but indoors – under the roofs of greenhouses. In structures designed to control the growing environment of plants, some workers described humidity with temperatures sometimes soaring past 100 degrees Fahrenheit (nearly 38 degrees Celsius).

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Spain heats up under 1st heatwave of the year as Southern Europe swelters

Spain sweated under its first official heatwave of the year with temperatures expected to reach 40 degrees Celcius (104 Fahrenheit) in a large swathe of the country on Thursday, while Italy, Greece and other areas of southern Europe also struggled to stay cool.

After a relatively bearable spring compared to record heat in 2023 and 2022, millions of Spaniards will be sweltering at least through Saturday before feeling any relief. The nation's weather authority said the only areas to be spared will be the northwest and northern Atlantic coasts.

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Tons of dead fish cover major river in Brazil after alleged dumping of industrial waste

Several tons of fish have died along one of the main rivers in Brazil's Sao Paulo state after an alleged illegal dumping of industrial waste from a sugar and ethanol plant, environmental authorities and prosecutors said.

A preliminary analysis estimates that between 10 and 20 tons of fish died on the Piracicaba River in southeastern Brazil, Sao Paulo's prosecutors said in a statement.

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Severe storms pummel wide swath of US and Canada

Another wave of severe storms pummeled a wide swath of the United States and Canada, leading to flash floods and water rescues Wednesday in the Ozark Mountains, dropping a tornado that ravaged a community in upstate New York and stranding drivers in high water around Toronto.

The relentless series of storms has caused deaths or damage from the Plains to New England this week. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost power and air conditioning during days of sweltering heat.

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Greece shuts Acropolis, 2 firefighters killed in Italy as southern Europe swelters in heat wave

A heat wave across southern Europe forced authorities in Greece to close the Acropolis Wednesday for several hours and two firefighters died while putting out a fire in the Basilicata region in southern Italy, Italian authorities said.

Italy added Palermo, Sicily, to the list of 13 cities in the country with a severe heat warning. Elderly people in the city of Verona were urged to stay indoors, while sprinklers were set up to cool passersby.

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Cape Cod's fishhook topography makes it a global hotspot for mass strandings by dolphins

The recent stranding of more than 100 dolphins on Cape Cod, the largest such event involving dolphins in U.S. history, is partly due to the peninsula's geography, with its gently sloping sand flats, tidal fluctuations and proximity to productive feeding grounds, experts said.

The elements, along with the hook-like shape of the cape itself, make Cape Cod a global hotspot for dolphin mass strandings.

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