Life

Flood watches in California as more storms forecast

by Huw GRIFFITH  Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Flood watches were in place over a swathe of California on Thursday after a powerful storm dumped several inches (centimeters) of rain, with forecasters warning of yet another incoming front. Central and northern parts of the state were walloped overnight Wednesday as a bomb cyclone, fueled by a moisture-laden atmospheric river, unleashed torrents of rain on already-soaked ground. The rainfall resulted in localized flooding, […]

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Bomb cyclone smashes into California

by Huw GRIFFITH Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A bomb cyclone smashed into California on Wednesday, bringing powerful winds and torrential rain that was expected to cause flooding in areas already saturated by consecutive storms. Authorities issued ominous warnings of threats to life and property for a vast stretch of the most populous US state, focused around San Francisco and Sacramento. Forecasters said gusts of up to 70 miles (110 kilometers) an […]

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Rate of scientific breakthroughs slowing over time: study

by Daniel Lawler and Juliette Collen Agence France Presse Paris, France (AFP) — The rate of ground-breaking scientific discoveries and technological innovation is slowing down despite an ever-growing amount of knowledge, according to an analysis released Wednesday of millions of research papers and patents. While previous research has shown downturns in individual disciplines, the study is the first that “emphatically, convincingly documents this decline of disruptiveness across all major fields of science and technology,” lead […]

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Coral bleaching causing ‘unnecessary’ fish fights

Paris, France (AFP) by Daniel Lawler Fish that have lost food due to mass coral bleaching are getting into more unnecessary fights, causing them to expend precious energy and potentially threatening their survival, new research said Wednesday. With the future of the world’s coral reefs threatened by climate change, a team of researchers studied how a mass bleaching event affected 38 species of butterflyfish. The colourfully patterned reef fish are the first to feel the […]

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Beijing slams ‘unacceptable’ Covid rules on travellers from China

BEIJING, China (AFP) – China on Tuesday condemned fresh Covid test requirements by around a dozen countries on passengers travelling abroad from its territory, warning it could take “countermeasures” in response. The United States, Canada, France and Japan are among a number of countries that now require travelers from China to show a negative Covid test before arrival, as the country faces a surge in cases. “Some countries have taken entry restrictions targeting only Chinese travelers,” […]

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What is the link between winter storms and global warming?

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The world is getting warmer, winters included. The United States, however, has experienced severe winter storms in recent years, and experts are taking a closer look at the link between these extreme cold events and climate change. While the link between global warming and heat waves is very direct, the behavior of winter storms is governed by complex atmospheric dynamics that are more difficult to study. Even so, “there are certain […]

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Top Thai conservation official arrested on corruption charges

A top Thai conservation official was arrested on corruption charges on Tuesday, with police saying he was caught receiving a bribe and that $144,000 in cash was found in his office. Rutchada Suriyakul na Ayutya, director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, was appointed in February. He managed efforts to protect the kingdom’s environment and endangered animals, overseeing more than 150 national parks. “The officials have arrested him while the money […]

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US digs out from monster storm as death toll passes 50

by Joed Viera, with Daniel Stublen in Washington Agence France-Presse BUFFALO, United States (AFP) — The monster storm that killed dozens in the United States over the weekend continued to inflict misery on New York state and air travelers nationwide Tuesday, as stories emerged of families trapped for days during the “blizzard of the century.” The number of deaths attributed to the winter storm rose to more than 50 after officials confirmed three more fatalities […]

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Weather extremes becoming ‘new normal’, warns UK’s National Trust

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s National Trust on Wednesday said nature and wildlife at the charity’s sites had been harmed by extreme weather in the past year and warned it could become the “new normal”. The heritage conservation charity’s climate change adviser Keith Jones said it was a “stark illustration of the sort of difficulties many of our species will face if we don’t do more to mitigate rising temperatures”. “We’re going to experience […]

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‘Blizzard of the century’ leaves nearly 50 dead across US

by Joed Viera Agence France-Presse BUFFALO, United States (AFP) — Emergency crews in New York were scrambling Monday to rescue marooned residents from what authorities called the “blizzard of the century,” a relentless storm that has left at least 25 dead in the state and is causing US holiday travel chaos. Blizzard conditions continue to prevail in parts of the US Northeast, the stubborn remnants of a massive sprawl of extreme weather that gripped the […]

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From robot fireflies to okra plasters: 2022’s nature-inspired solutions

PARIS, France (AFP) – Even as animals and plants face widespread extinction from human-driven causes like climate change, the natural world continues to inspire scientific discovery in unexpected ways. “Nature has spent hundreds of millions of years optimizing elegant solutions to extremely complicated problems,” said Alon Gorodetsky, a biomedical engineer at the University of California, Irvine. “So if we look to nature, we can shortcut our development process and get to a valuable solution right away,” […]

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Elderly Covid patients fill hospital wards in China’s major cities

by Laurie CHEN and Vivian LIN in Shanghai Agence France-Presse CHONGQING, China (AFP) — Elderly patients lined the wards of hospitals in major cities in China Thursday as the country battled a wave of Covid cases. The virus is surging across the vast Asian nation in an outbreak authorities say is impossible to track after the end of mandatory mass testing. And with cases soaring, Washington called on Beijing to share its Covid outbreak data, […]

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