Environment

European data record over 10,000 excess deaths during record-breaking heatwave

The vast majority - more than 9,000 - were among people aged 65 and above, according to data published by EuroMOMO, a network backed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and WHO.

Smoke billows from a wildfire that has been ravaging mountain vegetation for several days, amid a heatwave affecting a large part of the country, at sunset near Die in the Drome department, France, July 9, 2026.
Prof. Lena Novack at Soroka Medical Center

Breathing Data: How environmental data is rewriting public health in Israel

A worker clears fallen trees after heavy rainfall in Mumbai, India, July 5, 2026.

At least 14 killed in India, Bangladesh as heavy rainfall wreaks havoc across South Asia

 Illustrative image of a blazing sun.

Strong El Nino will develop rapidly over coming months, says UN weather agency


'A world that is ablaze': Pope Leo laments war, environmental destruction, in Ash Wednesday service

Before sprinkling ashes on the heads of participants, a sign of mortality, the pope said the ashes could represent "the weight of a world that is ablaze, of entire cities destroyed by war."

POPE LEO XIV puts ash on a faithful's head during the Ash Wednesday Mass at the Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome, Italy, February 18, 2026.

Wild storm in New Zealand disrupts flights, thousands without power

Heavy rain and strong winds disrupted flights, roads, and power supply across New Zealand’s North Island, leaving tens of thousands without electricity.

An Air New Zealand Boeing 787 at O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, pictured in 2018; illustrative.

Rare giant phantom jellyfish found near Argentina during early February mission

The jellyfish has a bell size of up to one meter in diameter, and its four arms can reach lengths of up to about ten meters.

 A jellyfish is seen near a boat by the coast of Haifa at the Mediterranean sea, Israel July 25, 2022.

UN begins clearing wartime landfill burying Gaza City market

Alessandro Mrakic, head of the UNDP Gaza Office, estimated the volume of the dump to be more than 300,000 cubic meters (390,000 cubic yards) and 13 meters (14 yards) high.

PALESTINIANS WALK near a landfill, in Gaza City, February 11, 2026.

Iran’s poorly maintained ‘dark fleet’ poses major risk for oil spill in Mideast - Guardian

Five of the ships were aging, very large crude carriers capable of holding about 300,000 tons of oil, meaning a single accident could dwarf past disasters, the report noted.

 US military forces boarded the crude oil tanker Aquila II in the Indian Ocean after pursuing it from the Caribbean. The vessel was accused of breaching Washington's blockade on sanctioned vessels traveling to or from Venezuela. February 9, 2026.

Blue and white pride: An Israeli development bringing the vision of a green economy closer

Researchers from the Technion and Sweden’s Chalmers University developed a new palladium-based method to improve hydrogen storage for clean transport, industry, and energy.

Are We on the Way to a Green Energy Revolution?

Trash burning in Palestinian towns poses severe health risk to nearby Israelis, local leaders claim

Trash burning throughout Israel and the West Bank accounts for 75% of carcinogenic chemicals in Israel's air and around 30% of fine particulate pollution.

 Fire at illegal trash dumping ground caused dangerous air pollution level in Binyamin region of the West Bank on August 7, 2023.

INPA releases Red Book for Butterflies detailing extinction, endangerment threats

Dr. Dotan Rotem, an open space ecologist at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, explained that "butterflies are excellent bioindicators of the health of the ecosystem."

A Levantine Vernal Copper (Tomares nesimachus) butterfly

The quiet revolution in waste: How smarter recycling reshapes local economies

.

Tu Bishvat: From tax to hope, from the tree to the human being - opinion

In days of local and global upheaval, Tu Bishvat invites us to pause, to look closely, and to remember: the world has been entrusted to us.

 Israeli kids plant trees for the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat in Haifa on February 9, 2017. Tu Bishvat is also called literally "New Year of the Trees." In contemporary Israel the day is celebrated as an ecological awareness day and trees are planted in celebration.