In today's news roundup, record-setting rains cause deadly flooding in China's Henan province, the Tokyo Olympics are set to open tomorrow in spite of coronavirus challenges, and the Milwaukee Bucks win their first NBA title in 50 years.
Published in “Environment”
In today's news roundup, fire fighters struggle to control over 70 wildfires in the western United States, Germany and other European countries are starting to recover after massive flooding, and crowds rush to see a tiny cow in Bangladesh.
Western Canada and the northwestern United States have been facing record-breaking high temperatures for days. An unusual weather system has created a "heat dome" of trapped hot air in the area. The heat is expected to last for several more days.
A fire at a chemical factory in Rockton, Illinois has been burning since early Monday morning. Fire fighters have decided to let the fire burn itself out, which could take days. For safety, people living near the factory have been moved away.
In today's news roundup, the Keystone XL pipeline has been permanently cancelled, McDonald's BTS Meal is so popular in Indonesia that several restaurants had to be closed, and cicadas prevent a plane for White House reporters from taking off.
Today NFK looks at three recent stories about whales. Endangered Atlantic right whales are shrinking in size; an endangered Pacific gray whale makes a record-setting trip; and scientists use bomb detectors to find an unknown group of pygmy blue whales.
Sea life near Turkey is being threatened by a layer of slimy brown foam on the ocean's surface. The foam, which many people are calling "sea snot", is natural, but it's triggered by pollution and global warming.
Recently, scientists have found examples of two kinds of animals that were thought to be extinct. One is a kind of tortoise last seen in 1906, the other is a river otter that scientists thought no longer existed in Argentina.
Last week was a tough one for fossil fuel businesses. Large oil producing companies in the Netherlands and the United States had some major defeats. The pattern suggests that fossil fuel companies are facing difficult times ahead.
Huge amounts of plastic waste have spilled from a burning ship off the coast of Sri Lanka. The waste is covering the country's best known beaches with plastic. A cleanup effort has begun, but there are worries that the pollution could grow worse.
Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo erupted on Saturday night, forcing tens of thousands of people in the city of Goma to leave their homes. The lava reached the edge of the city, but did less damage than some people had feared.