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Global warming makes French reservoir a winter resort for migrating cranes

The Lac du Der was once just a passing glimpse for hundreds of thousands of cranes flying from Scandinavia in search of sunshine, but with global warming the French reservoir has become an attractive winter retreat.

'I'm out of here': French town waits for flood to recede

Residents of a flooded French town on Thursday waited for the water to drain away from its streets, after a nearby river did not rise out of its bed quite as high as expected.

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'Total embarrassment': Denmark slams climate fund failure

Denmark, an active foreign aid donor, on Tuesday slammed as a "total embarrassment" the fact rich nations have failed to raise a promised $100 billion a year to help poor countries battle climate change.

Cyclone Freddy kills four in 'rare' return to Madagascar

Tropical storm Freddy returned to Madagascar in what meteorologists described on Monday as a "rare" loop trajectory, killing four people, including two children as it hit for the second time in as many weeks.

New treaty plots conservation course for high seas

Protecting life in the vast expanse of ocean beyond national jurisdictions finally has an international roadmap after UN states agreed a landmark high seas treaty at the weekend.

Treaty ahoy! UN states finally agree deal to protect high seas

UN member states finally agreed Saturday, following years of talks, to a text on the first international treaty to protect the high seas, a fragile and vital treasure that covers nearly half the planet.

After sleepless night, marathon UN high seas talks continue

UN member states struggled Saturday to nail down a long-awaited agreement on the high seas, after a sleepless night of negotiations on a treaty to protect a fragile and vital treasure that covers nearly half the planet.

Treaty ahoy? Talks to protect high seas enter last day

UN countries will try to overcome their differences on Friday to finally agree a treaty to protect the high seas, a fragile and vital treasure that covers nearly half the planet.

Earthquakes, back-to-back cyclones batter Vanuatu

The Pacific nation of Vanuatu was under a state of emergency Friday, after two earthquakes and two cyclones hit in as many days.

Macron says era of French interference in Africa is 'over'

President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said the era of French interference in Africa was "well over" as he began a four-nation tour of the continent to renew frayed ties.

Tropical deforestation significantly reduces rainfall: study

From the Amazon to the evergreen forests of Africa and Southeast Asia, large-scale deforestation threatens reductions in rainfall across the tropics, according to new research.

Long lost Madagascar songbird seen again in wild

Conservationists were celebrating Wednesday the first sightings in 24 years of the dusky tetraka, a yellow-throated songbird native to Madagascar for which ornithologists had feared the worst.

La Nina ending but warming El Nino may strike soon: UN

An exceptionally long La Nina weather phenomenon that intensified drought and flooding is finally ending, the United Nations said Wednesday -- but what comes next might bring its own problems.

Snow blankets Mallorca as cold grips Spain

Snow blanketed Spain's holiday island of Mallorca on Tuesday as a winter storm brought strong winds and freezing temperatures to large parts of the country.

New York gets biggest snowfall of unusually mild winter

New Yorkers woke Tuesday to something they have barely seen this winter: snow.

In Sierra Leone, the people fighting the sea to build a home

Off a path in Cockle Bay, a slum in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, lies the squat, tin-roofed house where Lamrana Bah lives and works.

Sea ice in Antarctic at record low: US data center

Antarctic sea ice likely shrunk to a record low last week, US researchers said Monday, its lowest extent in the 45 years of satellite record-keeping.

Carbon credits: a contested tool to fight deforestation

Planting trees or safeguarding tropical rainforests have become popular tools for companies seeking to offset their carbon emissions and proclaim their commitment to the environment.

Extinct-in-the-wild species in conservation limbo

For species classified as "extinct in the wild", the zoos and botanical gardens where their fates hang by a thread are as often anterooms to oblivion as gateways to recovery, new research has shown.

Heavy snow hits parts of southern California

Heavy snow fell in southern California on Friday, as the first blizzard in a generation pounded the hills around Los Angeles, with heavy rains threatening flooding in other places.

Heavy snow hits southern California

Heavy snow fell in southern California on Friday, as the first blizzard in a generation pounded the Los Angeles area, with heavy rains threatening flooding in other places.

Brazil storm death toll rises to 50

Brazilian authorities said Thursday evening that the death toll from floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains in the country's southeast had risen to at least 50, with emergency workers continuing to dig through the wreckage.

Lake Garda tourists flock to island reconnected by drought

On foot or by bike, visitors stream across the narrow path connecting the small island to the edge of Lake Garda, a symbol of the winter drought hitting northern Italy.

Heavy snow snarls travel as winter storms hit US

Powerful winter storms lashed the United States on Wednesday, with heavy snow snarling travel across wide areas, even as unusual warmth was expected in others.

Cyclone Freddy heads to Mozambique after killing 5 in Madagascar

A powerful cyclone was barrelling towards Mozambique on Wednesday after battering Madagascar where it killed five people but left less devastation in its wake than feared, emergency officials said.

Brazil storm death toll rises to 48

At least 48 people were killed in floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains in southeastern Brazil, authorities said Wednesday, updating the death toll as the search for dozens of missing entered the fourth day.

Four dead after Cyclone Freddy crosses Madagascar

A powerful cyclone battered Madagascar on Wednesday, killing four people as it barrelled towards Mozambique but leaving less devastation in its wake than feared, emergency officials said.

Cyclone Freddy hits Madagascar, four killed

Powerful tropical Cyclone Freddy tore through parts of Madagascar on Wednesday, killing four people on the Indian Ocean island, disaster management authorities said.

Madagascar braces for Cyclone Freddy

Tropical Cyclone Freddy was poised to strike eastern Madagascar on Tuesday, slightly weakening after brushing Mauritius with powerful winds and heavy rain, monitors said.

Jane Fonda warns oceans are 'dying' amid UN treaty talks

Actor and activist Jane Fonda on Monday warned that humanity is "losing the ocean," as two weeks of negotiations begin at the United Nations on a treaty to protect the high seas.

'Everything was buried': Brazilians recount storm horror

Ankle-deep in muck, Brazilian domestic worker Patricia da Silva picks her way through the debris and mud of what used to be her home, trying to rescue what she can of her belongings.

Mauritius braces for intense Cyclone Freddy

Mauritius was battening down the hatches on Monday as an intense tropical cyclone moved closer, with flights cancelled and normal life at a standstill in the Indian Ocean island nation.

Cyclone recovery expected to cost New Zealand billions

New Zealand said Monday it was likely to cost billions of dollars to recover from Cyclone Gabrielle as the national state of emergency was extended by another week.

Concerns and impatience over mining the world's seabeds

The prospect of large-scale mining to extract valuable minerals from the depths of the Pacific Ocean, once a distant vision, has grown more real, raising alarms among the oceans' most fervent defenders.

The Japan Times - Weather (English)