Climate Change & Environment
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South China floods force tens of thousands to evacuate

Major flooding has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in southern China, with more rain expected.

The manufacturing hub of Guangdong suspended classes, office work and public transport amid rising waters and the threat of landslides.

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Europe wildfire risk heightened by early heat waves, drought

Extended drought conditions in several Mediterranean countries, a heat wave last week that reached northern Germany and high fuel costs for aircraft needed to fight wildfires have heightened concerns across Europe this summer.

And it's only June.

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India, Bangladesh floods destroy homes, lives

Early and strong monsoon rains have brought heavy flooding to northeastern India and Bangladesh, killing dozens of people, forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes and cutting millions off from crucial supplies.

In the particularly hard-hit area of Sylhet in Bangladesh, villagers waded, swam and paddled makeshift rafts or small skiffs to a boat delivering aid that had moored to one shelter, its ground floor covered halfway to the ceiling with water.

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Arizona fires sweep land rich with ancient sites, artifacts

As Jason Nez scans rugged mountains, high desert and cliffsides for signs of ancient tools and dwellings unique to the U.S. Southwest, he keeps in mind that they're part of a bigger picture.

And, fire is not new to them.

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UN biodiversity summit moved from China over COVID-19 policy

A United Nations summit on biodiversity will be held in Canada instead of China, organizers announced Tuesday, the second major international event to be moved from China because of its strict anti-coronavirus policies.

The U.N. secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity and China's environment ministry said in separate statements that the meeting will be held in December in Montreal, where the secretariat is based.

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For Iraqis a sweltering summer of 'hell' has begun

Umm Mohammed, 74, waves a fan back and forth to cool down, but in the blistering heat of Iraq's southern city of Basra there is nothing but stiflingly hot air.

While Basra is used to scorching summers, this year it has started sooner than expected, bringing misery to residents in a city also plagued by chronic electricity shortages. 

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China's mass testing mantra is building a waste mountain

Hazmat-suited workers poke plastic swabs down millions of throats in China each day, leaving bins bursting with medical waste that has become the environmental and economic levy of a zero-Covid strategy.

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Airlines seek govt. support for net-zero pledge

World airlines on Monday called on governments to support the industry's goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

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Spain, Germany battle wildfires amid unusual heat wave

Firefighters in Spain and Germany have struggled to contain wildfires amid an unusual heat wave in Western Europe for this time of year.

The worst damage in Spain has been in the northwest province of Zamora, where over 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) have been consumed, regional authorities said, while German officials said that residents of three villages near Berlin were ordered to leave their homes because of an approaching wildfire Sunday.

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Food, water concerns as floods continue to batter Bangladesh

Floods in Bangladesh continued to wreak havoc Monday with authorities struggling to ferry drinking water and dry food to flood shelters across the country's vast northern and northeastern regions, officials and local media said.

More than a dozen people died across the country since the monsoon began last week, authorities said. The government called in soldiers Friday to help evacuate people.

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