Mongabay
Brazil boosts budget and number of firefighters amid strong El Niño forecast
Brazil is mobilizing unprecedented firefighting resources ahead of what scientists warn could be one of the strongest El Niño events in over a century. The government has boosted wildfire spending and brought on a record number of federal firefighters to brace for extreme drought conditions in the Amazon. With the climate pattern historically linked to devastating fires across the region, the stakes for one of the world's most critical ecosystems could not be higher.
Read article →Guardian Environment
At least 25 people die in US as record heatwave scorches swaths of country
A deadly heatwave has claimed at least 25 lives across the United States as a sprawling heat dome pushed temperatures above 100F in more than 20 states during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The extreme conditions, attributed to climate change, exposed millions of Americans in the eastern half of the country to dangerous and record-breaking heat. The death toll underscores the growing public health threat posed by increasingly severe heat events.
Read article →Guardian Environment
Wildfires rage across southern Europe, forcing thousands to flee homes
Wildfires tearing through southern Europe have displaced thousands of residents across France, Spain, Portugal, and Greece, with conditions described as a "powder keg" following an intense early summer heatwave. The crisis has grown severe enough to prompt officials to ban spectators from a Tour de France stage, as hundreds of firefighters battle blazes that have already consumed nearly 20,000 hectares. The fires underscore the accelerating toll of extreme heat on the region, with no immediate relief in sight.
Read article →Guardian Environment
Extreme high temperatures double young people’s risk of mental health admissions, Australian research shows
Rising temperatures are not just a physical health threat — they're a psychiatric one. A University of Sydney study analyzing 720,000 hospital admissions found that extreme heat doubles the risk of young people under 24 being admitted for mental health conditions. With climate projections pointing to a 6–7.7% rise in heat-related admissions by century's end, the findings add urgent weight to calls for climate policy to be treated as a public health priority.
Read article →Grist
New research traces how ‘forever chemicals’ move through the Great Lakes and into people
PFAS contamination in the Great Lakes follows a traceable path through the food chain, according to a sweeping new study drawing on more than four decades of environmental data. Researchers mapped how these persistent synthetic chemicals accumulate and shift across species, from lower organisms to the fish that end up on dinner plates. The findings sharpen understanding of how human exposure is directly tied to ecosystem contamination—and raise fresh questions about the adequacy of current safety standards.
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