Indonesia’s fires burn on drained, logged land, and each blaze leaves it more flammable
Peatland drainage and logging have dried out forests that rarely burned, and Central Kalimantan’s emergency alert runs to 31 October.
Cape Town’s Helderhoop plant is the first metro-built solar and storage station in South Africa
The R220 million Atlantis plant is still in commissioning, a year after the first power was due, and the City has a 70MW follow-up planned.
State Grid plans record 4 trillion yuan spend to move surplus clean power
Two grid operators are expected to spend close to 5 trillion yuan by 2030, nearly double the 13th Five-Year Plan period, as western renewables outrun the wires.
Queensland’s Teebar battery picks Valo as supplier, with construction due to start 20 October
The 1,600 MWh Fraser Coast battery reached financial close on 2 October and is due to begin commercial operation in late 2028.
4,292 loggerhead nests set Georgia record, up from 358 in 2004
The state’s sea turtle count passed the 2022 high of 4,071 in late July, and state biologists say full recovery is still about a decade away.
Malaysia closes schools for 2 million children as Indonesian fire smoke blankets region
Kuala Lumpur’s air pollution index hit about 170 on Friday, and Singapore topped the world’s most-polluted list ahead of its Formula One weekend.
Tropical forests took months of extreme heat and drought in the 2023-24 El Niño
A study of 15.9 million square km of forest finds conditions like these could become routine within 20 years, even outside El Niño years.
Tropical forests worldwide baked through six months of record heat and drought
A study in Earth’s Future finds 75% of tropical forests had compound heat and drought in 2023-24, and warns the same conditions could become routine within two decades.
Just 30 to 50 plants of a new giant water lily survive in Colombia’s Inírida
Victoria colombiana was found with satellite maps, Indigenous guides and a late-night boat trip, ten hours before the team’s departure.
80% by 2028: Asian plastic rules now make producers pay for packaging waste
The Philippines will require its largest firms to recover 80% of their plastic packaging by the end of 2028, one of several national rules replacing the stalled treaty.
