Spain issued extremely poor air quality ratings for Madrid and a large swath of the country Tuesday after a mass of hot air from the Sahara dumped dust after crossing the Mediterranean.

The national air quality index qualified as "extremely unfavorable" — its worst rating — the capital and large parts of the southeast coast.

Walter de la Cruz scrambled down a large sand dune in the fog to reach a rock overlooking the Pacific Ocean, where he has fished for three decades. He cast a hook into the waters off Peru's coast several times, with no luck. One attempt yielded a piece of plastic stained with oil.

De la Cruz, 60, is one of more than 2,500 fishermen whose livelihoods have been cast into doubt as a result of a large crude-oil spill at the Spanish-owned Repsol oil refinery on Jan. 15.

An appeals court on Tuesday overturned a groundbreaking ruling that Australia's environment minister had a duty to protect younger people against climate change.

Three Federal Court judges ruled for a variety of reasons that the court should not impose on Environment Minister Sussan Ley a duty of care.

A few months ago, Choucri Asmar decided he wasn't ready to give up hope. So he led a group of residents in "a peaceful demonstration to protect the trees" of his Cairo neighborhood.

Egyptian authorities were planning to clear out a large avenue of ficus, acacia and palm trees — part of sweeping urban redevelopment projects that are transforming much of historic Cairo.

U.S. wildlife officials reversed their previous finding that a widely used and highly toxic pesticide could jeopardize dozens of plants and animals with extinction, after receiving pledges from chemical manufacturers that they will change product labels for malathion so that it's used more carefully by gardeners, farmers and other consumers.

Federal rules for malathion are under review in response to longstanding concerns that the pesticide used on mosquitoes, grasshoppers and other insects also kills many rare plants and animals. A draft finding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last April said malathion could threaten 78 imperiled species with extinction and cause lesser harm to many more.

Dripping flaming fuel as they go, a line of workers slowly descends a steep, snow-covered hillside above central Colorado's South Platte River, torching piles of woody debris that erupt into flames shooting two stories high.

It's winter in the Rocky Mountains, and fresh snow cover allowed the crew of 11 to safely confine the controlled burn.

Today on March 8, International Women’s Day, the United Nations celebrates the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are "leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all," a U.N. statement said.

"We are not only celebrating their efforts to alleviate the severe and lasting impacts of climate change on our environmental, economic, and social development, but also their integral role in sustaining viable communities," the statement said.

Thirty-one foreign ambassadors to Lebanon have co-authored an op-ed on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, entitled "Climate Justice Requires Gender Justice: a Call to Action for Leaders in Lebanon This International Women’s Day".

Below is the full text of the op-ed as received by Naharnet:

France will soon propose concrete measures to ensure the safety and security of Ukraine’s five main nuclear sites, the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday.

The safeguards will be drawn up on the basis of International Atomic Energy Agency criteria, a statement from the French presidency added.

The walls of Saifullah's home in northern Jakarta are lined like tree rings, marking how high the floodwaters have reached each year -- some more than four feet from the damp dirt floor.

When the water gets too high, Saifullah, who like many Indonesians only uses one name, sends his family to stay with friends. He guards the house until the water can be drained using a makeshift pump. If the pump stops working, he uses a bucket or just waits until the water recedes.