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.

|ByREUTERS
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

Ben-Gurion University’s Prof. Lena Novack turns pollution, climate, and even drinking water into large-scale health data that is shaping national policy.

|ByRONNIE ROSENMAN, IN COLLABORATION WITH BGU
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

Rains also triggered landslides on the expressway connecting Mumbai with Pune, forcing its closure and disrupting traffic between the two cities.

|ByREUTERS
Illustrative image of a blazing sun.

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

El Nino is a periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, which typically lasts between nine and 12 months, that can drive up global temperatures.

|ByREUTERS

Technion develops fuel that could make Israel a superpower – Boeing wants to lead

Civil aviation worldwide still lags behind land transport, relying on harmful fuel. Israeli research will play a key global role in advancing sustainable aviation.

FEBRUARY 1, 2026ByYUVAL BAGNO/MAARIV
Boeing’s new 777X aircraft.

How a Ben-Gurion University scientist is filling climate science’s biggest blank spots

From desert soils to date palms, Prof. Ilya Gelfand tracks the gases shaping our climate, and asks why no one was looking before.

JANUARY 29, 2026ByRONNIE ROSENMAN, IN COLLABORATION WITH BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY OF THE NEGEV
The implications go beyond farming efficiency: Prof. Ilya Gelfand's research in Hatzeva.

Indonesia landslide death toll rises to 34 with 32 still missing

The landslide hit Pasir Langu village in Bandung Barat region early on Saturday, triggered by heavy rains starting a day earlier.

JANUARY 28, 2026ByREUTERS
Indonesian rescue members search for victims at the site of a landslide following heavy rains in Pasir Langu village, West Bandung regency, West Java province, Indonesia, January 27, 2026.

From Ukraine to Gaza, war's ecological toll sparks ecocide accountability push

As conflicts from Ukraine to Gaza ravage ecosystems, momentum is building to recognize environmental destruction as a war crime

JANUARY 27, 2026BySTEPHANIE L. FREID
Plumes of smoke rise after the IDF carried out house demolitions in the northern Gaza Strip in January. It is believed that between 80,000 and 200,000 tons of munitions were fired or dropped on Gaza over two years of war.

Environmental cooperation emerges as cornerstone for Middle East peace, experts say

Shared environmental needs could succeed in creating stability in the Middle East, experts say

JANUARY 27, 2026BySTEPHANIE L. FREID
An aerial view of the Jordan River flowing along the border between Israel and Jordan. Environmental experts are pushing for a plan that could build environmentally sustainable interdependence among countries in the region.

Israel's overlooked challenge: Environmental damage from two years of war - from the editor

As the war winds down, Israel faces a quieter crisis – environmental damage from Gaza to the Dead Sea, alongside long-neglected ecological failures now demanding urgent attention

JANUARY 27, 2026ByRUTH MARKS EGLASH
Visitors walk across salt formations along the receding shoreline of the Dead Sea, a stark sign of the region’s growing environmental crisis.

Seeing sinkholes: How the Dead Sea’s collapse became a tourist draw

How one of the region’s worst environmental disasters has become a popular tourist excursion

JANUARY 27, 2026ByRUTH MARKS EGLASH
Hikers trek past a cavernous sinkhole on the shores of the Dead Sea near Ein Gedi.

The land still burns: Israel’s damaged forests face long road to recovery after war

After two years of war, Israel is counting the environmental costs – from blackened forests in the North to degraded soil in the South

JANUARY 27, 2026BySAM HALPERN
An employee of Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority inspects a burnt tree following a rocket attack from bordering Lebanon, at the Tel Dan nature reserve in northern Israel in November 2024.

Gaza facing environmental catastrophe as 60 million tons of toxic war debris buried under rubble

As Gazans struggle to recover from the war – trash, sewage, and toxic debris are creating an environmental catastrophe

JANUARY 27, 2026ByDANA BEN-SHIMON
A man searches through piles of garbage in Gaza City.

Israel’s freshwater balancing act: The Kinneret under strain

Intensive management has saved the Kinneret from crisis, but rising salinity and ecological change pose growing risks

JANUARY 27, 2026BySAM HALPERN
An aerial view of the Kinneret. To the casual observer, the lake, also known as the Sea of Galilee, appears to be a rare environmental success story in an era of climate uncertainty.