Said Al-Ajani looks proudly over his lush date plantation, which recently survived a plague of red weevils -- a destructive insect wreaking havoc across the Middle East and North Africa.

"The flora and fauna of the lagoon have not changed during lockdown. What has changed is our chance to see them," says zoologist Andrea Mangoni, plunging his camera into Venice's normally murky waters to observe life. 

Massive wildfires have ravaged Poland's largest nature reserve, the Biebrza National Park, as the country faces its worst drought in years. 

Last year was the hottest in history across Europe as temperature records were shattered by a series of extreme heatwaves across the continent, the European Union's satellite monitoring surface said Wednesday. 

It's a scene that seems almost surreal today -- adventure filmmaker Alison Teal paddle surfing along the River Thames in bubblegum-pink swimwear, fishing out plastic rubbish from the murky waters.

"Minuscule traces" of the new coronavirus have been found in Paris's non-potable water -- such as the supply used for cleaning streets -- but drinking water is at no risk of contamination, a city official said.

Gone are the softball games, horse-drawn carriages and hordes of tourists. In their place are pronounced birdsong, solitary walks and renewed appreciation for Central Park's beauty during New York's coronavirus lockdown.

Nepal's government on Friday rejected calls to use the pandemic lockdown of Mount Everest to stage a cleanup of the world's highest mountain.

Anglo-Dutch oil giant  Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050, matching a commitment by rival BP.

Nations' failure to fulfill the promises they made in the Paris climate agreement to make drastic emissions cuts could cost the global economy as much as $600 trillion this century, a new analysis has suggested.