The United Arab Emirates, one of the world's biggest oil exporters, has launched a "strategic initiative" targeting carbon neutrality by 2050, ahead of a U.N. climate conference late this month. 

Google is taking action to stop climate change deniers from spreading misinformation or making money by blocking digital ads promoting false climate change claims from appearing alongside content on its platforms.

The company said Thursday in a blog post that it was rolling out a new policy for YouTube video creators. advertisers and publishers.

Chinese authorities have ordered dozens of coal mines to expand production amid a nationwide energy crunch, state media reported Friday.

Flash flood warnings were in effect Thursday for a swath of the southeastern U.S. after a stalled weather front drenched Alabama, leaving high water that covered roads, swamped a Piggly Wiggly, unleashed sewage and forced water rescues. A child's death was blamed on the floods.

As much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain fell in about a day as the low-pressure system lingered over Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. The forecast called for particularly intense rain Thursday in parts of metro Birmingham, which were under a flash flood watch, but meteorologists predicted another wet day for most of the state and parts of Florida.

The death toll from Cyclone Shaheen that crashed through Oman rose Thursday to 14 after the sultanate found the body of someone missing since the storm.

Omani state television made the announcement, raising the total number of dead in the country to 12.

When the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped record-breaking rain on the East Coast this month, staircases into New York City's subway tunnels turned into waterfalls and train tracks became canals.

In Philadelphia, a commuter line along the Schuylkill River was washed out for miles, and the nation's busiest rail line, Amtrak's Northeast Corridor running from Boston to Washington, was shut down for an entire day.

A powerful earthquake collapsed at least one coal mine and many flimsy mud houses in southwest Pakistan early Thursday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 200, an official said.

The death toll was expected to rise even further as crews searched in the remote mountainous area, said Suhail Anwar Shaheen, the local deputy commissioner.

Google on Wednesday said it is tweaking widely used tools for getting around, shopping and more to let users factor climate change into daily routines.

Google is among the Big Tech firms that have made pledges and investments to reduce the environmental impact of their operations with moves such as making power-hungry data centers carbon neutral.

Rescue teams saved two stranded whales along the Atlantic coast of Argentina Tuesday, the World Marine Foundation said. 

The animals were stranded on the beach of the seaside resort town of La Lucila del Mar, 220 miles (360 kilometers) south of Buenos Aires, just as spring arrives to the southern hemisphere.

Much of the world is unprepared for the floods, hurricanes and droughts expected to worsen with climate change and urgently needs better warning systems to avert water-related disasters, according to a report by the United Nations' weather agency.

Global water management is "fragmented and inadequate," the report published Tuesday found, with nearly 60% of 101 countries surveyed needing improved forecasting systems that can help prevent devastation from severe weather.