As heatwaves scorch southern Europe, some tourists are heading to colder destinations. Could vacation spots with cooler temperatures be the trend of the future? The Swedish tourism association, Visit Sweden, is confident that going on vacation in colder regions is a new trend tha...

It's short-lived but its planet-heating effects are much stronger than CO2. Where does methane come from, and what can we do to stop it from getting into the atmosphere? What's colorless, odorless, is the main component of natural gas and traps massive amounts of heat in the atmo...

What role is climate change playing in extreme rainfall? Will floods get worse as global temperatures rise? These five visualizations will help you understand the connections. Dams burst and thousands were forced to evacuate as floods battered the south of Germany this month foll...

As worsening drought impacts the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, countries from Turkey to Syria and Iraq are dealing both with water stress and struggling hydropower plants. Severe drought and water scarcity is impacting communities from Africa to South America and the Middle East, ...

Young people across Europe are taking to the streets: For the last few years, activists from groups like Fridays for Future or Extinction Rebellion have been demanding more climate action. But there's also been protest by a very different group: European farmers went on strike, a...

From Cyclone Remal battering Bangladesh and India to tornados ripping through the central US, extreme weather is striking across the planet. What's the cause? Floods and heat waves across Africa, deluges in southern Brazil, drought in the Amazon and extreme heat across Asia, incl...

The WMO, the United Nations' weather observer, says a string of global temperature records have been broken and in some cases even smashed. The agency warned that sea ice loss was of particular concern. A World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report confirmed on Tuesday that 2...

Europe is the world's "fastest-warming continent," a new report has found. But it is underprepared to face the mounting threat caused by climate change. The European Environmental Agency (EEA) warned on Monday that Europe could suffer "catastrophic" consequences of climate change...

In 2019, Italy became the first country to make climate change a compulsory subject in the curriculum. But are children worldwide getting the necessary education in school on global warming and the environment? Monica Capo likes her pupils to get a little dirt under their nails. ...

For a whole year, the planet exceeded the key 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit. Does that mean we're on the path of no return to "climate chaos?" For the first time on record, average global temperatures were more than 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels for 12...

Opponents of climate science and fossil fuel backers have ways of sowing doubt around climate change. And that can restrict urgent action. Misinformation is when people share false information or selectively present data about fossil fuel emissions or climate change that doesn't ...

If the world is warming, why is it so cold? Well, it's not so simple. Climate change and weather patterns aren't the same thing. And here's why. When people talk about climate and the environment , they're referring to gradual shifts in temperatures and weather patterns over time...

DW highlights the trends providing grounds for optimism in the face of the climate crisis. From cheap renewables to lucrative green investments there is lots of progress and innovation according to experts. With carbon emissions set to reach record highs this year and global clim...

Our planet is heating, up and many people are experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis. DW asked people in Africa how the climate has changed and altered their lives. The climate is changing. Temperatures have risen an average of 1.2 degrees Celsius over the preindustrial a...

Our planet is heating up and many people are experiencing the climate crisis firsthand. DW asked people around the world how rising temperatures have altered their lives. The climate is changing. Temperatures have risen an average of 1.2 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-indust...

After six record-breaking months, the year 2023 is set to be the hottest on record. But as key figures meet at the UN climate conference in Dubai, the use of fossil fuels shows no sign of stopping. The Earth has set new heat records for six months in a row, putting the planet on ...

After a year of record temperatures, deadly floods and devastating wildfires, oil giant UAE is hosting world leaders in Dubai at the annual UN summit to stave off climate catastrophe. The annual UN summit aimed at averting climate disaster kicks off this week, with the oil-rich U...

An array of climate funds promise to help poorer countries either stop climate change or adapt to its consequences. But what do they actually cover, and why is it all so contentious? Fossil fuels powered the industrial revolution and the economic success of many countries. But bu...

A new study has found that 41 out of 42 indicators are significantly behind in their efforts to reach the goal of limiting global warming by 2030. The measures taken to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius are "lagging significantly," according to a new research released o...

2023 is "virtually certain" to be the warmest in 125,000 years, the EU climate monitor said as data showed last month was the world's hottest October. This October was the hottest on record globally, the European Union's climate agency said on Wednesday, making 2023 "virtually ce...

The air is thick at the Cricket World Cup in India. Extreme smog is causing problems for athletes and fans. Environmental issues are affecting elite sport more and more. The view from the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the heart of Delhi is milky. On the field, Bangladesh are on their w...

A three-year drought in the region was made far more likely due to climate change, a new study has found. And it will probably get worse in the coming years. Climate change exacerbated a severe drought in Syria, Iraq and Iran and made it far more likely to occur, scientists found...

The Alps remain a hallmark vacation destination, but climate change and mass tourism have taken their toll. Will tourism as we know it still be possible in the region? Wonderful views, long mountain slopes, solitary peaks and snow-covered tranquility Europe's Alpine region is th...

From ice mummies to baby mammoths a number of sensational archeological finds can be put down to climate change. At the same time, other precious discoveries risk being lost forever. Climate change is rarely associated with anything positive. Archaeology is one field, however, t...

As extreme heatwaves, storms and wildfires increase in severity and frequency, a comparatively new kind of research called weather attribution studies determines whether they are linked to human-caused climate change. From prolonged periods of extreme heat in South America , coas...

A two-year evaluation of the 2015 Paris climate agreement goals found the world's efforts are falling woefully short. The UN warns "the window of opportunity" to tackle global warming "is rapidly closing." The world is way off course to decrease global warming, the United Nations...

What can we expect? And what can science do about it? We accompany research teams investigating glaciers, treetops and peatlands. The climate change secrets hidden in ancient ice Reading ice as if it were a book thats Margit Schwikowski's job. She's one of the few female scienti...

Reports circulating on social media claim that some cities plan to fight climate change by enforcing radical controls on consumption, such as banning meat. DW sets the record straight. "One hundred cities want to ban meat, dairy products and private cars by 2030," reads the headl...

The coastal waters off Florida's dream beaches are becoming a nightmare: Temperatures have topped 37 degrees Celsius, killing corals. The extremely high water temperatures are a consequence of both climate change and the weather phenomenon known as El Nino. They are devastating o...

The wildfires raging in northern Greece are causing unprecedented devastation to nature reserves and livelihoods. Some Greeks have accused migrants of starting the blaze. Valia Kelidou still can't get to grips with what has happened. Before the wildfire came, her family owned ove...

Climate shocks are already disproportionately affecting war-torn countries, a report from the IMF has shown. Many also bear the least responsibility for climate change. Fragile countries, and those impacted most by conflict, are already being unevenly hit by the effects of climat...

As worsening wildfires emit record levels of carbon, global forests could become a source rather than a store of the planet-heating greenhouse gas. As human-made climate change brings more heat and drought , wildfires are burning longer, hotter and more often in forests from Cana...

The race against climate change is in full swing. Can cities be a solution? The UN says that by the year 2050, some 70 per cent of all people will be urban dwellers. But how can cities sustainably accommodate as many people as possible and still offer a good quality of life? "Urb...

Anyone who has experienced a flood or wildfire is at high risk of mental illness and post-traumatic stress. The more helpless people are made to feel, the worse it is for their mental health. It is not unusual for soldiers who have fought in a war to suffer from post-traumatic st...

As rivers dry up and rainfall declines, water stored underground is more important than ever in the climate-change-impacted Middle East. The problem is: Nobody really knows how much is left. It is the invisible ingredient responsible for this year's bumper wheat harvest in Iraq, ...

Frequent heat waves, droughts, and forest fires are wreaking havoc on Mediterranean countries this summer, which will have an impact on the future of tourism. Although devastating wildfires rage each year around the Mediterranean , heat waves bring temperatures above 40 degrees C...

Young environmental activists sued the US state for allowing fossil fuel development which they argue harms their physical and mental health. The trial is believed to be the first of its kind in the US. A judge in the US Republican-dominated state of Montana ruled on Monday in fa...

Youth plaintiffs have won a rare victory against a US state government for promoting climate-killing fossil fuels. A tsunami of climate-related lawsuits are set to follow. A landmark judgement in the US state of Montana has seen its Environmental Policy Act ruled unconstitutional...

The return of the El Nino weather phenomenon is likely to amplify the problems of the climate crisis. El Nino a natural, cyclical climate pattern that causes hot weather has heightened the risk of food, water and health security in some parts of the world, scientists have warne...

From north to south, Europe is again battling extreme weather events, with floods in Slovenia, wildfires in Portugal, a heat wave in Spain and landslides in Norway. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited flood-hit Slovenia on Wednesday to offer EU support, as ...

The EU's climate conservatory has said the new record for the hottest month ever recorded on Earth is significantly higher than the previous record set in July 2019. July was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, the EU's climate observatory confirmed on Tuesday. Marked by he...

Artificial intelligence is an exciting and fast-changing technology. But it has a big CO2 footprint and is being used to boost activities that make climate change worse. The field of artificial intelligence is booming, thanks in part, to the hype surrounding new tools like ChatGP...

Rice prices have soared to the highest in a decade as India curtails exports and erratic weather wreaks havoc on Asian rice fields. It is likely to worsen food insecurity in many countries that rely on rice as a staple. Rice prices have seen a sharp surge in recent months as majo...

Authorities started evacuating people from several Catalan villages as the forest fire spreads near the French border. Strong winds have fanned the flames while preventing water-bombing planes from taking off. Almost 140 people were evacuated in Spain's northeastern Catalonia reg...

DW travel reporter Benjamin Restle crossed the Alps this summer. In the mountains, the consequences of climate change are especially tangible and even dangerous. On a July morning shortly before 9 a.m., my adventure of crossing the Alps began. Along with my father and a handful ...

July was a recording breaking month for both land and sea temperatures, according to EU climate observers Copernicus. Water temperatures in the Mediterranean considered a climate hotspot also soared. At first glance, the news published by the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Serv...

A new study has shown that Germans still find tackling climate change important, but the data also revealed discrepancies over what people are actually willing to do about it. The vast majority of people in Germany are in favor of the economy being made more climate-friendly, acc...

The British Prime Minister's large North Yorkshire home has been hit by an environmental protest. Rishi Sunak was on holiday in California at the time. Activists from the environment group Greenpeace carried out a protest on top of the country estate belonging to UK Prime Ministe...

The discount supermarket chain Penny is selling nine products in Germany for a price that reflects their impact on the environment. They are now significantly more expensive. But what impact will the campaign have? Almost all of the products that the German discount supermarket P...

Iran's government has declared a national holiday Wednesday and Thursday as the country smolders under ever-higher temperatures. The situation in the south is especially dire and compounded by pollution and sandstorms. The Iranian government on Tuesday declared a two-day national...

Solar energy in Kenya is being hailed by experts as a game-changer. Generating power from the East African nation's sunshine can potentially revolutionize its energy sector in terms of cost-effectiveness and scalability. Solar power is experiencing a significant surge in Kenya . ...

Jim Skea, the new head of the UN's IPCC, said it's not helpful to imply that a temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius is an existential threat to humanity. He calls for a balanced approach to the climate change debate. The newly appointed head of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel...

Scientists confirmed July was on track to be the worlds hottest month ever recorded. They agree the extra heat is primarily caused by fossil fuel use. July was "extremely likely" to be the hottest month on record globally , the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service a...

Wildfires continue to rage throughout the Mediterranean from the Canary Islands to North Africa and Turkey. DW has the latest on the areas affected and what is being done to fight the fires. The summer vacation season in resorts across the Mediterranean has turned into a nightmar...

The hot spells in parts of Europe and the US would not have occurred without human-made global warming, researchers say. This month is likely the hottest the Earth has seen in about 120,000 years, according to some. Human-made climate change appears to be overwhelmingly to blame ...

Drought is forcing thousands of rural Iraqis migrate to cities for work, bringing with them their own cultural ideas. This has caused community conflicts, sometimes even violence, in big cities like Baghdad and Basra. In Baghdad, the arguments usually start off small, says Marama...

It sounds like science fiction, but a group of researchers believe blocking out the sun could save us from climate change. Others see it as a dangerous distraction. It's simple physics if we spray aerosols into the stratosphere for long enough, eventually they will start to refl...

Rescue teams were battling heavy rain while looking for survivors of a deadly landslide in India's state of Maharashtra. Bad weather is expected to continue. At least 26 people have died and dozens are suspected to still be trapped under the debris after a massive landslide hit a...

The extreme temperatures across continents are no surprise, say NASA's top scientists. They believe theres a "50-50 chance" that 2023 will be the hottest year on record, with next year likely even warmer. July of 2023 is likely to be the warmest month on record in "hundreds, if n...

Health authorities have issued warnings to keep cool after record heat was recorded in Europe, Asia and North America. In Greece, wildfires continued for a third day with another heat wave in the forecast. Health warnings are in place in parts of Europe, Asia and North America as...

The high-pressure weather system known as Charon will continue to bring extreme heat to southern Europe. The UN has warned that the overall trend of extreme heat is not decreasing. For more DW coverage of heat waves around the world, click here Local temperature records were set ...

US climate envoy John Kerry said the world's two largest polluters could lead the way when it came to curbing climate change. This, he said in China, could redefine the often troubled relationship between the nations. US climate envoy John Kerry told senior Chinese officials on T...

President Yoon Suk Yeol called for a complete overhaul of the country's approach to extreme weather caused by climate change, as rescue workers continued to search for survivors in the Cheongju underpass. The most destructive storm to hit South Korea this year continued on Monday...

John Kerry, Washington's top climate envoy, was set to prepare with his Chinese counterpart for the COP28 summit. The talks come amid political tensions between the two countries on multiple fronts. US climate envoy John Kerry met his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in Beijing on...

Blistering heat is scorching many parts of Europe, North and South America and Asia....

As torrential rains cause flash floods and landslides in India, the country grapples with an environmental crisis. The heavy rain comes after an unbearable heat wave. Intense monsoon rains have lashed parts of northern India over the past few days, leaving a trail of death and de...

Climate change has been blamed for extreme global heat waves and it made the Canadian wildfires more likely. Yet online climate misinformation is thriving despite platforms like TikTok banning climate denial. Record global temperatures on July 3 kicked off the hottest week ever ...

Heavy rains brought destructive floods to northern India, triggering landslides and damaging houses. People are warned not to venture outside, as weather experts warned more rain is expected. At least 15 people died in the heavy monsoon rains that battered northern India , author...

This summer, record rainfall and flooding are inflicting devastating damage globally. Right now, Slovenia and China are among the worst hit. How can we adapt to and prevent flooding as the climate crisis worsens? Dangerous flooding has killed more than 40 people in northeast Chin...

Europe's biggest polluter is ditching targets in its climate law to cut emissions in individual sectors after mixed progress toward reaching those goals. The German government plans to scrap a key clause in its climate law that binds ministries to slash carbon pollution in the a...

Brussels says the bloc's trade with New Zealand could now grow by 80%. In a first for an EU trade pact, there is a section that commits both sides to targets to tackle climate change. On Sunday, the European Union signed a free trade deal with New Zealand after more than five yea...

As the two largest emitters of greenhouse gasses, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stressed the urgency for the US and China to work together to tackle climate change. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called for greater cooperation on climate financing between the United Stat...

The average temperature of the Earth might have hit record highs this week, according to an unofficial analysis. The news comes as several regions experience intense heat waves. Earth's average temperature again reached a record level on Thursday, according to satellite data and ...

The Copernicus Climate Change Service said June 2023 exceeded the previous record of June 2019 by "a substantial margin." It also reported "exceptionally warm" sea surface temperatures around the world. June 2023 was the hottest June globally on record, according to data released...

Peatlands are very often the setting for chilling folklore. But they serve an important function - for the climate and biodiversity. Theyre capable of absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide, thereby helping to mitigate the climate crisis. Nevertheless, bogs are sti...

Carbon capture technology is needed to clean up industries like cement and chemicals but today it is mainly used to suck more oil out of the ground. A key tool to stop climate change is costly and has for decades not worked as well as fossil fuel companies said it would. Experts...

As the climate gets hotter in South Asia, more women living in low-income households are expected to experience domestic violence. A new study shows the problem will be most extreme in India. A study published last week found that increasing temperatures in South Asia are connect...

The world's richest man has made public statements that deny basic science about the role of agriculture in heating the planet, say experts. Elon Musk, the wealthy owner of Twitter , has falsely claimed that farming has no major effect on the climate prompting corrections from s...

The next few weeks bring the start of the summer holidays, complete with traffic jams and crowded airports. With widespread travel come climate-related concerns and the German tourism industry is responding. According to a survey by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), 80% of G...

A summit on global finance has brought together world leaders, international institutions and NGOs in Paris. It could be the beginning of a policy shift in international finance. The " summit for a new global financial pact " could be seen as just another international meeting co...

Watch DW's Global Ideas explainers here - from habitat loss to plastic bottles, disappearing species to the importance of water. Global Ideas focuses on "best practice" climate and biodiversity protection projects that offer solutions. Global Ideas is supported by the German envi...

Foreign debt cripples countries vulnerable to extreme weather events, hindering climate change resilience. Reforming financial systems could help them combat climate change. Heads of state and high-ranking government officials from industrialized and developing countries are meet...

The Sino-German intergovernmental consultations, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Prime Minister Li Qiang, centered around the war in Ukraine, trade relations and the fight against climate change. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said direct talks between world leaders was more imp...

As big energy companies make record profits and expand production of climate-wrecking fossil fuels, activists are appealing directly to shareholders to demand rapid emission cuts. While some climate activists have made headlines in recent months for their acts of civil disobedien...

Almost 60% of Swiss voters have backed plans to severely cut emissions by 2050 despite opposition from the right-wing Swiss People's Party. In a second vote, 78.5% supported a minimum tax of 15% for multinational firms. Swiss voters on Sunday supported a new climate bill aimed at...

The latest El Nino climate phenomenon has arrived, threatening floods in some areas of the world and droughts in others. Previous disruptive weather patterns cost the global economy trillions and stoked inflation. El Nino, a natural climate phenomenon that alters global weather p...

After climate talks in Bonn were overshadowed by finance and equity, negotiators are looking ahead to the crucial COP28 summit in Dubai. Key to those talks will be the world's first global stocktake. Climate negotiators have wrapped up 10 days of talks in Bonn, Germany, with fina...

The UN chief urged fossil fuel companies to stop measures which seek to "knee-cap" climate progress. The comments come as the EU said average global temperatures at the start of June were unprecedented. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sharply criticized fossil fuel companie...

The EUs climate advisory board has recommended the bloc adopt ambitious targets for 2040. Researchers say there are multiple options to slash emissions, with plenty of political wiggle room. The EU aims to be climate neutral by 2050, but exactly how it's going to get there has be...

A Phase III human trial found the live chikungunya vaccine highly protective. Increased global spread of mosquito-borne illnesses due to climate change may render the shot necessary for wider populations. A new clinical study shows promising results of a Phase III chikungunya vac...

In the last 30 years, CO2 emissions have increased by 60 percent worldwide. The most pressing problem facing our civilization is global warming. What solutions could there be? This documentary accompanies activists in their efforts to combat climate change. According to scientist...

With an El Nino weather cycle set to amplify temperature extremes, TV meteorologists have a vital role in communicating the added impact of climate change. "As we go deeper into 2023 and El Nino intensifies, we should expect a stunning year of global extremes which boggle the met...

Can high-tech solutions help protect the climate? What would be the side effects of further human intervention in nature? Attempts are being made to reduce the CO2 in the atmosphere with technical solutions. For example, new carbon capture technology that can extract CO2 from air...

Human-induced warming was rising at an "unprecedented" rate, new research has again shown. Meanwhile, a look at various countries' commitment to their net-zero plans showed most polluters were lagging behind. Global warming has increased in the past decade by 1.14 degrees Celsius...

US scientists have warned that El Nino could bring extreme weather and temperature records. The warming effects of El Nino had last occurred from 2018 to 2019. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on Thursday that the expected, so-called El Nino...

In the year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the war's carbon footprint is similar to the entire emissions of Belgium, conflict emission experts say. Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine has been highly damaging, not only in terms of civilian and military casualties, and t...

Wine growers are split on what global warming means for the industry. Germany stands to profit, but is the country ready to seize the opportunity? "It's like tasting a dinosaur. With climate change , you can't recreate these wines." In a suit and tie, Dieter Greiner speaks from t...

Economic experts have slightly raised their expectations for global economic recovery based on fresh economic data. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Wednesday presented a slightly more optimistic outlook on growth in the world economy. A fall i...

Climate negotiators are meeting for the first time since governments agreed to set up a fund to pay for damage wrought by the fossil fuels polluting the planet. Diplomats from around the globe will meet in the German city of Bonn this week to hash out plans that are key to global...

As intense heat becomes more frequent, the Middle East will see a rise in heat-related deaths. Despite public health planning gaps, experts say the region can teach us a lot about extreme heat. When the thermometer threatens to rise over a baking 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenhei...

The far-right Alternative for Germany is flying high, reaching 18% support in two nationwide polls. The party has sharpened its profile by attacking the Green Party's climate policies. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been in an uproar for weeks. According to the opposition ...

People in rich countries can lead clean lives quicker if governments make it easy for them to ditch dirty habits. Some of the most powerful tools to stop the planet heating mean upending the way we eat, heat, move and shop. But lifestyle changes that cut demand for polluting prod...

Experts have called for urgent action to prepare vulnerable communities and protect them from the scorching heat's disastrous impacts. Blistering heat has taken a toll on people's lives in large parts of India as temperatures went as high as 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahren...

Women suffer increasing risks to their health in the wake of natural disasters, according to a UN report. Indian women tell the story of how Cyclone Amphan impacted their health. When Super Cyclone Amphan hit India's coast in 2020, 28-year-old Suchitra Jana, along with her family...

To see the economic consequences of global warming look no further than the Panama Canal. There, water levels are down because of less rain in Central America. Experts fear ordinary consumers may end up paying the price. The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacif...

Crackdowns on climate activists in Germany and Italy are evidence that protests are gaining attention. Authorities must navigate both public opinion and criminal law in their response. Over the last week, climate activists featured heavily in the European news cycle. Over the wee...

Police crackdowns on climate activists in Germany and Italy show that protests are gaining attention. Authorities are navigating both public opinion and criminal law in their response. Over the last week, climate activists featured heavily in the European news cycle. In Germany, ...

The protest organizer, Extinction Rebellion, said thousands joined the demonstration in the Hague. Police said 40 of those arrested would be prosecuted for "vandalism." Dutch police arrested over 1500 climate protesters after a climate protest garnered thousands of participants i...

The EU has accepted a historic bill to reduce agricultural emissions and promote biodiversity and sustainable land and soil use. But farmers fear that they will lose out. After the European Parliament accepted a key nature restoration law with a razor-thin majority on July 12, a ...

Genetically modified food remains controversial, especially in Europe. But for some experts, it's the best science-based method for a sustainable global food system amid biodiversity loss and a rising world population. Producing food is terrible for the environment. According to ...

Tuvalu, a small island state in the Pacific, is facing disaster due to rising sea levels. The island nation's special envoy told DW there could be "total inundation" of the island within the century. The low-lying Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is among the world's most vulnerab...

The path out of global crises "must start with the smallest yet most devastating common denominator: Hunger," writes Ute Klamert, Deputy Executive Director for Partnerships and Advocacy of the UN World Food Program. When the earth shook in Syria and Turkey in February, it also ...

As the climate crisis escalates, temperatures are soaring globally, putting millions at risk and worsening air quality. The heat isn't just uncomfortable it's a threat to health and breathable air. Cities are adapting. Temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere are smashing one rec...

Activists poured charcoal into the waters of Rome's most famous fountain, calling for action against climate change. Rome's mayor condemned the "absurd attacks." Climate activists in Italy blackened on Sunday Rome's famed Trevi Fountain (also known as Fontana Di Trevi) with charc...

Researchers of a new study say global warming and human consumption are causing the world's lakes to lose water. Over half of the world's lakes have shrunk, according to a new study published on Thursday. An international research team published their findings in the journal Scie...

The WMO says the combined effect of El Nino and greenhouse gases will cause temperatures to soar, and has warned: "We need to be prepared." The next five years are expected to be the warmest period on record, the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Wednesday. "...

The government's decision to approve a new coal mine comes after the Labor Party stood on a climate change platform. It has however restricted other, larger projects since coming to power. Australia's center-left Labor government on Friday said it will approve a new coal mine for...

With a focus on reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainable growth, India's central bank is preparing a roadmap to achieve its green transition targets. Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country's central bank, released a report saying India will spend an es...

As severe flooding and landslides again inflict heavy fatalities and displacement in Rwanda, one of the most climate-impacted nations on Earth struggles to adapt to global heating. At least 130 people died amid severe flooding and landslides in Rwanda in early May, while thousand...

Global warming is wreaking havoc in Western Canada where wildfires rage in Alberta and floods threaten to ravage British Columbia. Thousands of people were asked to leave their homes in western Canada on Friday as sudden, extreme heat has triggered wildfires in parts of Alberta, ...

Millions of years ago, the planet was much warmer than it is today. Yet it was teeming with life. So why does the climate crisis pose an existential threat to people? Back in the times when 25-meter-long ocean dinosaurs swam the seas and the T-Rex and Triceratops roamed the groun...

The planet has hit Earth Overshoot Day, meaning that humanity has already used more resources than it can regenerate this year. And the date is not equal around the world. The world has overreached its sustainable biological limits for the year, according to the US-based environm...

Record temperatures seen in recent years could become worse as El Nino increases warming. The UN has called for the world to prepare for more extreme weather. The UN's weather agency, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), warned on Wednesday that the return of the El Nino ...

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for countries around the world to ramp up their renewable energy targets and to have a global treaty on renewable energy. German Foreign Minister Annelena Baerbock on Tuesday called for a global target for the expansion of renewabl...

Climate activists from the Last Generation group say a meeting with German Transport Minister Volker Wissing was productive. However, there appears to be no end in sight to protests that have blocked Berlin's roads. German Transport Minister Volker Wissing met representatives of ...

Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have agreed to extend their cease-fire by 72 hours. Meanwhile, the UN is sending its top humanitarian envoy amid the "unprecedented" situation. DW has the latest. Sudanese Armed Forces agreed on Sunday to extend a temporary t...

Biofuels, alternative flight routes and newer, green aircraft technology can make flying better for the environment. How close are we to introducing these climate-friendly alternatives? Before the COVID-19 pandemic , when the global aviation sector was flying high in 2019, it con...

EU countries have given the final sign-off for a series of new climate change-related laws, which seek to create financial incentives for keeping emissions in check, and penalties for failing to do so. The 27 member states in the EU on Tuesday approved a revamp to the bloc's so-c...

The changing climate could bring a hotter, sunnier future for Europe along with extreme heat and drought. What does that mean for the continent's solar sector? Europeans are seeing more sunshine every year, a trend that contributed to 2022 being the continent's second-warmest ye...

Last Generation climate protesters have caused widespread traffic disruption in the German capital. "We will no longer accept that the government has no plan to stop the destruction of our livelihoods," the group said. Activists protesting at what they see as too sluggish governm...

Germans said they were prepared to cut their heat use and fly less to help tackle climate change. But most are reluctant to give up meat and their cars, according to a YouGov poll. Two-thirds of Germans are willing to make a personal sacrifice to protect the planet against climat...

The US government wants to turn domestic coalfields into green energy centers in an effort to combine climate protection with job creation. But those affected have little trust in the policy, reports Sabrina Kessler. Most travelers driving into Gilette want to leave the town as s...

The UN's World Meteorological Organization said saving glaciers was now effectively a lost cause. The annual report also recorded sea levels rising at an annual average of 4.62 millimeters in the past decade. The world's glaciers melted at dramatic speed last year , with global s...

As Extinction Rebellion gears up for its biggest protest yet, DW looked at millions of tweets to see what gets more attention on Twitter smearing food on art or a Greta Thunberg speech? The results may be surprising. Around the same time that climate protests were becoming synon...

An EU climate report has logged the most Alpine glacier retreat of any year and the continent's hottest summer on record in 2022. It also said the world's hottest year on record, 2016, might soon be eclipsed. More glacier ice melted in Europe's Alps last year than ever previously...

The space industry is one of the fastest-growing industries worldwide. Africa has long been considered a latecomer, but now a new space agency and a space port on the continent are on the horizon. "The chances are great that Africa will soon be able to build its own powerful spac...

The latest climate report from the IPCC is a stark reminder that time is running out to change course. But it confirms the tools are there to tackle rising temperatures. Rising temperatures, natural disasters and irreversible ecosystem degradation are becoming increasingly life-t...

The German economy could see a fivefold increase in average annual costs to cover damage caused by extreme weather by 2050, according to a new study by two ministries. Climate change could cost Germany up to 900 billion ($956.8 billion) by the middle of the century, government re...

Global temperatures are rising, and glaciers are melting. That's bad news for climate researchers who gather data from ice core samples. The Ice Memory Initiative collects and saves ice cores in glaciers, which contain valuable information on the history of the climate but are me...

The molecule can carry the energy needed to replace dirty fuels in polluting industries like steelmaking and shipping, but scaling it up fast enough will prove tricky. It is the most common element in the universe, one of the key building blocks of life and the fuel that makes st...

Wealthy people are responsible for far more greenhouse gas emissions than poorer people. To reduce carbon footprints and prevent the worst effects of the climate crisis, one climate researcher is proposing a CO2 cap and trade system for individuals. Disasters such as droughts, fi...

A natural shift in Pacific Ocean winds could push global temperatures even higher in 2023, wreaking havoc on weather across the entire world. If winds slow down over the Pacific Ocean, they will set a chain of events in motion that could see heavy rains batter California, heat wa...

There has been much dismay over the Green Party leadership's compromise with "big coal" that led to the demolition of the village of Lutzerath. Will this drive the environmentalist party to breaking point? After losing the battle for the little village of Lutzerath, many Green Pa...

We examine the impacts of climate change across the continent, and uncover the impacts of Kenya's brutal drought and examine the outcomes of COP27. Also: Kenya's most off-grid tech campus is offering new opportunities. Protecting Kenya's precious water amid a brutal drought After...

Christian "Flake" Lorenz, Rammstein's keyboarder, stars in a video with his daughter, Mimi, commenting on the destruction of the environment and criticizing the music industry. The 2-minute clip, created in collaboration with the Berlin city cleaning service (BSR), shows Rammste...

An international team of scientists believe severe flooding in Nigeria and surrounds was considerably worsened by climate change and believe the trend could continue. A new study has found that heavy rain and flooding in the Lake Chad region, which killed more than 800 people thi...

Halfway through the COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt, the latest Climate Change Performance Index shows where countries stand in terms of climate protection measures. Right at the top: Denmark, Sweden and Chile. While world leaders and negotiators are primarily concerned with the...

Global warming is leading to ever more extreme natural events and more damage. Countries in the Global South are demanding compensation for climate change they say wealthier nations, like Germany, caused. Eric Njuguna is angry. The 20-year-old environmental activist is witnessing...

The window to rein in climate-wrecking emissions and limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is fast closing, says a UN report. Societal transformation may be the only way to avoid a coming calamity. Despite a year of climate-change related extreme floods , storms and wildfires that...

Two reports warn about the utter lack of progress in efforts to tackle climate change and point out that the world faces devastating consequences as a result of inaction. Climate researchers sounded the alarm on Wednesday, saying too little was being done to contain temperature f...

Intense monsoons and fierce drought have one thing in common: the water cycle. Climate change and other human activity is disrupting this crucial system, which makes all life on Earth possible. Put simply, the water cycle also known as the hydrological cycle is the process by w...

As many as 36,000 people gathered in Berlin for demonstrations that were part of the global climate action movement. Other gatherings with thousands of people took place in major cities around the world. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web...

With time running out to avert climate disaster, the UN has called on world leaders to act now. Individual carbon footprints may be dwarfed by global fossil fuel companies, but we can still make a difference. With the UN's top panel of scientists warning that humanity is running ...

After devastating floods affected 33 million Pakistanis in August, a new study confirms that global heating had a probable impact. But overall climate vulnerability was a major contributing factor. When swathes of Pakistan were flooded last month due largely to unprecedented mons...

Africa generates less than 3% of all greenhouse gas emissions, but experts say it is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Wealthy nations say they'll do more to help African nations cope with climate shocks. Wealthy nations said they would spend about $25 billion (25 billio...

Heavy snowfall und subzero temperatures have wreaked havoc on the United States this holiday season. DW takes a closer look at how this and other types of extreme weather link back to climate change. New York authorities have called it the blizzard of the century." A ferocious sn...

The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the "Water Tower" of Asia, supplies freshwater to nearly 2 billion people. Experts fear that the region could see a near-total freshwater storage collapse by 2050. By the middle of this century, the entire Tibetan Plateau, also known as the "Wat...

Shifting wind patterns are making extreme weather events more likely. This is because the wind, which distributes areas of high and low pressure along the latitude lines of the Earth, is also being influenced by climate change. The wind is the motor for our weather. It brings us ...

Heat waves, drought, forest fires the past few weeks in particular have made us increasingly aware of climate change. To what extent is the travel industry contributing to this? When it's high season on the Spanish tourist island of Mallorca , it's not unusual to have up to 10 a...

Trees can be powerful allies in the fight against global heating because they can trap CO2 and lock it away. But planting billions more of them won't be enough to save the climate. Trees are majestic and mighty things. Not only are they impressive to look at, they also provide ti...

Erosion and tidal surges are threatening fishing communities in West Africa. As a result, many people are fleeing inland losing their livelihoods. The sea has already encroached two meters into the country's interior. Scattered scraggy palm trees blow in the sea breeze, and ston...

A five-yearly report by the Australian government said the country's flora and fauna was badly affected by bush fires, drought and global warming. It warned more species could head for extinction. Australia's unique wildlife is being devastated by bush fires, drought, habitat los...

A new study shows weather catastrophes triggered by climate change have cost Germany at least 145 billion over the last two decades. Leaders at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue are looking at ways to tackle the impact. Climate change has cost Germany an average of 6.6 billion ($6....

Climate change is the root cause of extreme heat waves, destructive storms and many other troubling phenomena. How is the tourist industry coping? If you want to see firsthand the impact of climate change, take a trip to Es Trenc, one of Mallorca's finest beaches. Here, massive c...

Some people still doubt the existence of climate change and question whether humans have really influenced global warming. What does scientific data say? Our fact check gives clear answers. A severe drought in Monterrey, Mexico; deaths after a fracture of the Marmolada glacier in...

Germany's long love affair with its high-speed freeways could hit a dead end as calls grow to stop autobahn extensions to combat climate change. When German electronic band Kraftwerk released the iconic song "Autobahn" in 1975, they were celebrating freedom of movement on freeway...

The global food system allows us to buy almost any product we want, whenever we want often at the cost of the environment. But are we even capable of changing our eating habits? Asparagus in winter, p ears from Argentina, Peruvian blueberries and Californian almonds these are j...

The degrowth movement want rich countries to stop chasing GDP in a desperate bid to stop the planet from heating but both supporters and critics are gambling on prosperity and climate stability for billions of people. It is one of the most daunting tasks humanity faces: stopping...

Australia has felt severe impacts from climate change in recent years, but until now had been well behind most other industrialized nations in its climate protection pledges. Newly elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday that his government had made an "e...

Despite government promises of a green COVID recovery, a new report says the world missed a "historic chance" to boost clean energy. Even with record growth in renewable energy last year, fossil fuels continue to dominate the world's energy use, with the overall share in global e...

The world's most climate vulnerable countries often also the poorest want rich, high-emission nations to pay for climate damages. But what exactly could such funds do? The United Nations' climate change conference in Bonn, Germany a dress rehearsal for the COP27 climate gather...

Countries from South Africa and Kenya to France and Spain are facing drought and long-term water shortage. That will only worsen as the planet warms. Ingrid Coetzee re calls what it was like to live through Cape Town's water crisis in 2018 when the taps almost ran dry and the Sou...

The burning of fossil fuels like coal and gas supercharged the heat wave that has scorched India and Pakistan in recent weeks, two separate attribution studies have found. Climate change has strengthened a heat wave that for several weeks has been scorching the homes of more than...

An organic farmer claims emissions from Volkswagen contributed to climate change and are responsible for damaging his farm. A German court has already expressed doubts as to the case's viability. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser...

Australia, a major coal exporter and one of the worst per capita emitters, goes to the polls Saturday. The result could be decisive for global climate goals, as voters demand lawmakers do more to cut emissions. The results of the Australian election this Saturday will set the cli...

The average global temperature could exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2026, UN meteorologists say. The threshold is one that international agreements are trying to prevent. Global temperatures have a 48% chance of reaching 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial...

High temperatures have caused deaths in eastern China. In Europe, a scorching heat wave has sparked wildfires. As extreme heat becomes more frequent around the world, how can affected areas adapt to remain livable? Flooding and extremely high temperatures have caused multiple dea...

Human activity has led to widespread land degradation and put our very survival as a species at risk. But by reversing course, we can tackle climate change and biodiversity loss and make a better life for billions. In what is a comparatively short time on the planet, humans have...

Does worrying about climate change keep you up at night? Growing numbers of people are struggling with eco-anxiety, or distress about the state of the planet. If you're one of them, these expert tips might help. Shrinking ice caps, disappearing biodiversity, fiercer bushfires, he...

Rapid decarbonization of energy is non-negotiable if we are to avert catastrophic global heating, says the latest UN climate report. In the final part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's ( IPCC ) sixth assessment on the state of global warming themed on climate mi...

Human behavior is changing the climate, and that affects us all. Here we look not only at how rising temperatures are impacting our lives, but at the solutions out there....

Kuwait, a wealthy oil producer, is among the world's hottest countries. But the climate crisis is largely ignored. When it comes to the climate crisis, Kuwait is a land of superlatives. The tiny, wealthy nation sandwiched between Iraq and Saudi Arabia is among the world's top oil...

The government must commit resources to fight the most pressing "danger" of climate change, former defense officials said in an open letter. "Australia has failed when it comes to climate threats," the letter read. Climate change represents the "greatest threat to the future and ...

The world is "sleepwalking to climate catastrophe," the head of the UN has warned as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change examines ways to keep greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. UN chief Antonio Guterres criticized major economies on Monday for allowing carbon poll...

A new UN report has warned that climate change repercussions for India will be irreversible if New Delhi doesn't take drastic measures by 2030. Are Indian authorities up for the challenge? The latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report has painted a bleak p...

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report details a widespread climate catastrophe, along with ways to address and fund adaptation and resilience in vulnerable regions. A stark picture of an unfolding climate crisis that is especially impacting vulnerable comm...

Whether it's heat or heavy rain, the consequences of climate change are putting our energy security at risk. Oil, gas and nuclear energy are particularly vulnerable. So what does that mean for our future? At the end of January, torrential rains poured over parts of the South Amer...

"Uprising of the Last Generation" is protesting Germany's high level of food waste, among other issues. The group said they have taken to more drastic measures after years of marching the streets and signing petitions. A group of young activists blocked a busy road in Hamburg on ...

Amidst frightening data and frustratingly slow political action, DW asked people working in climate activism, research and science what gives them grounds for optimism. "Firstly, I notice that everywhere, compared to three years ago, the climate issue has finally arrived both in...

Temperature records this northern winter will increase ecological grief and anxiety for people living in once snowy regions. But could these feelings spur climate action? This year's festive season in the Northern Hemisphere felt like spring in many places, with New Year's Day th...

The pandemic has torn a deep hole into Germany's budget, which is being plugged with more and more new loans. The new government's mountain of debt has grown to over 1.4 trillion. More money will be needed in 2022. One of the first official acts by new German Finance Minister Chr...

The 10 most expensive weather disasters of 2021 caused more than $170 billion (150 billion) in damages, UK charity Christian Aid has reported. That's up $20 billion on last year's figure. A tally provided by humanitarian organization Christian Aid put the cost of the 10 most expe...

Poverty and climate change weigh heavily on the lives of many people in El Salvador. Droughts, floods and storms frequently destroy livelihoods. The organization CESTA works to ensure a more sustainable future. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading t...

Supporters of nuclear energy say it can help us wean our economies off polluting fossil fuels. No surprise, it's a heated issue. But what about the facts? Can nuclear power really help save the climate? The latest figures on global carbon dioxide emissions call into question the ...

Forests, soils and oceans are the unsung heroes of our climate, storing the greenhouse gases that cause global heating. But they could perform even better with a little help. Smoking industrial chimneys, exhaust fumes, fires in the Amazon yearly carbon emissions recently swelled...

The UN climate summit has been slammed as a failure after India and China weakened language on phasing out fossil fuels and historical polluters refused to accept liability for damage caused by extreme weather. At first, negotiators at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow wanted a ...

Floods, heat and disease: The health impacts of climate change are already being felt. Making the connection between the planet's health and our own could drive climate action, say experts. Countries are slowly acknowledging the link between climate change and human health , but ...

Climate protection in some countries is improving. But the world's 61 biggest emitters are failing to take action needed to stick to 1.5 degrees Celsius warming, according to the latest Climate Change Performance Index. Developments in renewable energy expansion , climate policy ...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reflected on climate change, refugee policy and the coronavirus pandemic in an exclusive DW interview. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A clearly relaxed, smiling Angela ...

The countries hit hardest by climate change are struggling to attend a UN climate summit that has been hailed as the "best last chance" to stop global warming. What are the implications? A catalog of mistakes means that representatives from the Global South have found it difficul...

With COP26 underway, the climate crisis is in the spotlight. Here are the most important facts relating to how our planet has been changing. World leaders are meeting for the 26th time to address the causes and effects of climate change. These five questions and answers show how ...

The most senior cleric in the Church of England apologized for having compared the impact of climate change to the Holocaust. Justin Welby had said politicians' inaction over climate change was akin to genocide. The Archbishop of Canterbury on Monday said he was "unequivocally" s...

World leaders have failed to set a firm date for achieving carbon neutrality or for phasing out coal. Activists had hoped for a stronger signal from the G-20 ahead of the UN's climate change conference, COP26. After the weekend's summit of heads of state from the world's 20 large...

Heads of state gathering for the climate conference in Glasgow will argue over plans to burn fewer fossil fuels, the only way to honor their pledges to protect the planet. Before a two-week United Nations climate conference started on Sunday, leaders from around the world had fai...

Leaders of G20 nations endorsed a landmark deal to establish a global minimum tax rate. They were, however, at odds on issues like coronavirus vaccines and fighting climate change. Heads of the world's leading economies began the G20 summit in Rome on Saturday and endorsed a cruc...

Despite several steps in a positive direction, India's efforts are widely seen as a long way from the drastic measures needed to respond to the climate emergency. When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the UN Climate Change Conference, or COP26, in Glasgow next week, he...

The UN's latest Emissions Gap Report shows that the world is on track for a temperature rise of 2.7 degrees Celsius this century. Ahead of next week's COP26 climate summit, it said nations must act urgently. "The heat is on" is the title of the new Emissions Gap Report published ...

Amid dire warnings that time is quickly running out, delegates in Glasgow are set to make further binding pledges to radically reduce emissions. But without the funds to help countries adapt, they won't be much use. Climate experts have stressed that the upcoming UN climate confe...

The US government has predicted that climate change will exacerbate geopolitical tensions around the world in a series of new reports. The assessments also highlight how global warming will drive mass migration. US President Joe Biden's administration sounded the alarm about the ...

With the UN climate conference poised to start in Glasgow next week, DW looks at what has and has not been achieved over the past quarter century of such global gatherings. It's nearly time that the Conference of the Parties (COP), the supreme decision-making body of the United...

Africa accounts for less than 4% of greenhouse gas emissions, but is projected to be severely affected by climate change. A UN report said the continent's glaciers could all melt by the 2040s. A new report from the United Nations on Tuesday highlighted Africa's "disproportionate ...

Nearly 50 countries are dealing with serious hunger levels as 320 million people lost access to adequate food last year, a newly released index shows. World hunger was set to end by 2030 that was a goal set by United Nations in 2015. After years of progress reducing numbers of u...

The Turkish parliament has ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change more than five years after Ankara first signed the deal. The move comes in time for next month's UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. Turkey's parliamentarians on Wednesday unanimously approved the 2015...

UN head Antonio Guterres has said the world needs to change its food priorities. Meanwhile, island nations talked of rising sea levels and the US and the EU voiced frustration with Iran over nuclear talks. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world needs to change how i...

The fight against climate change is one of the German voters' main topics of concern. With a few days until the election, DW takes a look at what the main German political parties plan to do about it. In a year of devastating floods, record heat waves, and the Constitutional Cour...

Ocean temperatures and water levels are continuing to rise as a result of human intervention. This is having a widespread impact on sealife and weather patterns. The state of the world's oceans is worsening, according to an environmental report released on Wednesday by a European...

Climate change denial has been rampant in conservative America, but something is shifting. A growing movement is advocating for climate action in its own fossil fuel-friendly way. In February, 25 Republican lawmakers got together in Utah, to meet youth party members and environm...

The results of the United in Science 2021 report are an "alarming appraisal of just how far off course we are," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said. The UN released a report on Thursday warning that the COVID-19 pandemic has not slowed the pace of climate change. Virus...

This summer's devastating floods in western Germany hit some of the country's most-popular holiday spots. Experts say the sector must change quickly or pay the price. Before devastating floods swept across western Germany in mid-July, killing 184 people, Germanys Ahr valley was a...

This summer flash floods and landslides in India left people bereaved and displaced. Activists say poor urban planning, driven by tourism and urban growth, is exacerbating the impact of the climate crisis. At first, no one noticed the water lapping angrily at the riverbank. Reena...

China and the US have expressed willingness to cooperate and strengthen dialogue when it comes to tackling climate change. US climate envoy John Kerry is on a visit to China for talks on how to deal with global warming. The US and China appear to be seeking common ground when it ...

The past 30 years have brought flood, drought and hunger to Afghanistan. With the Taliban sweeping to power, many within and outside of the country wonder how to deal with looming climate disaster. Forty years of conflict have left many Afghans on the edge of survival and highly...

Burning fossil fuels made the extreme summer rain in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands more probable and powerful, a rapid attribution study has found. Scientists have shown that the deadly floods that devastated northern Europe in July would have been less likely in a world w...

Children from India, Philippines and several African countries were "extremely high-risk," the new UNICEF report found. Climate activist Greta Thunberg said world leaders must act instead of just talking. Close to one billion children were classified as "extremely high-risk" with...

India will likely face irreversible impacts of climate change, with increasing heat waves, droughts and erratic rainfall events in the coming years if no mitigation measures are put in place, experts warn. India will suffer more frequent and intense heat waves, extreme rainfall e...

German politicians reacted to the newly released IPCC report by urging drastic emissions reductions at home and more engagement on climate action abroad. Germany's Development Minister Gerd Mueller said a major global effort was required to combat climate change, urging poorer co...

World leaders will fail to honor their climate pledges unless they make "immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions" to greenhouse gas emissions, a long-awaited assessment finds. Carbon pollution has risen to such extremes that a key threshold in the fight to stop climate change...

World leaders and climate activists are in agreement that something has to change to avoid a climate crisis. It remains to be seen if they will follow through. Activists, world leaders and civil society responded on Monday to the new ominous report from the Intergovernmental Pane...

From Germany to Canada to China to Spain, dramatic pictures of the severe impacts of extreme weather have been dominating the news in recent weeks. Extreme weather events such as floods, heatwaves and droughts will increase across the world due to the effects of global warming....

Around 13,000 researchers have called for urgent action to slow down the climate emergency as extreme weather patterns shock the world. They listed three core measures. Thousands of scientists reiterated calls for immediate action over the climate crisis in an article published W...

Nations need to wake up to the reality that climate change will affect everyone and not in some far-off fictional future, says the New York-based Indian author. For Amitav Ghosh , nature is an intricate part of storytelling. The Indian author with Bangladeshi heritage who has ma...

Merkel is leaving office after 16 years. One of three candidates could succeed her. DW analyzed: What do they talk about in parliament? How do they vote? And what does that mean for their potential chancellorship? In September 2021, Germany will elect a new federal parliament, an...

Wildfires in Australia, blizzards in Texas, now flash floods in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands: The growing likelihood of extreme weather has insurers and homeowners alike wondering how to best manage risk. Many people in Germany were blindsided by the heavy rains and deadl...

Global warming, a weakening jet stream and the moon will combine to cause more devastating heat waves and floods in the coming decades. Over 100 people are dead and many more are reported missing after deadly floods swept large parts of western Germany this week. The shock is hug...

The death toll following the devastating flooding in western Germany has risen above 150. Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany will "stand up to this force of nature." This article was last updated at 22:22 UTC Hannah Cloke, hydrology expert and professor at Reading Universi...

Most people should have realized by now that we're facing a climate crisis. Curbing greenhouse gas emissions is just one side of the problem. Adopting safety precautions is the other, says David Ehl. The extent of destruction and death wrought by Germany's recent floods is slowly...

Massive flooding has caused devastation across parts of central Europe, claiming dozens of lives. Scientists say that climate change had a role in it. At least 103 people were reported dead and dozens missing Friday in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands after heavy...

Climate scientists have used models to confirm that burning fossil fuels made the extreme heat wave in parts of the US and Canada hotter and more likely. When a heat wave began to scorch Canada and the US in late June killing elderly people alone in their homes and fueling wildf...

China's Xi Jinping, Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Emmanuel Macron were talking ahead of the COP26 in Glasgow and the G20 in Rome. Air links between the countries could soon be restored. Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke of improving relations with Europe in a video call w...

China currently releases more carbon emissions than any other country leading many to believe it bears the greatest responsibility for climate change. However, the situation is more complex than it seems. The accusations keep cropping up when it comes to the debate around climat...

Scientists have been exploring the cause of the planet's rising temperature since the 20th century. Climate change skeptics say that human-caused CO2 emissions don't have an effect. DW takes a look at the facts. It's true that within its 4.5-billion-year history, planet Earth has...

On the final day of the summit in Cornwall, England, G7 leaders made pledges on tackling the coronavirus pandemic, addressing climate change, human rights issues and endorsing a global minimum tax. These live updates are now closed. To read more on how the three-day event unfolde...

A Dutch court has ordered Shell to bring its emissions in line with the Paris climate targets. Claimants had argued that Shell had violated human rights by fueling the climate crisis. A landmark judgment in The Hague has ruled that the oil giant Shell and its suppliers must cut e...

EU leaders have hailed the introduction of a bloc-wide COVID pass to allow tourist travel over summer. Member states also pledged to donate at least 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries in 2021. EU leaders turned their attention to the ongoing coronavirus pandem...

Humans have long been driven by a desire to explore the planet and visit faraway places. But with tourism's toll on the environment now calling our globetrotting habits into question, some say it's time for change. Tourism accounts for roughly 8% of global greenhouse gas emission...

More than 40 million people were driven from their homes by continued conflict and worsening weather in 2020 as the climate grew increasingly chaotic. Storms, floods, wildfires and droughts drove more than 30 million people from their homes last year, as rising temperatures wroug...

The International Energy Agency says in a new report that ending investment in new coal, oil and gas development is crucial to reaching ambitious climate targets by 2050. All future fossil fuel projects must be scrapped in order to meet the global target of net zero carbon emissi...

The price of Bitcoin took a tumble after Elon Musk said Tesla would no longer be accepting the cryptocurrency as a payment method. Musk raised concerns about the climate impact of Bitcoin mining. The US electric car manufacturer Tesla suspended its plans to accept Bitcoin as a pa...

From Sims Eco Lifestyle to Minecraft Climate City, environmental issues are becoming a popular theme in video games. But can the industry deliver on its own green message? Dressed in a futuristic wetsuit that enables her to stay submerged for hours, diver and scientist Mirai is t...

Germany will have to improve its emissions targets from 2031 following a complaint by a coalition of climate activists, including Fridays for Future. Germany's Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that the country's 2019 climate protection act is in part unconstitutional. "The reg...

No scientific study has found that climate change is likely to wipe out civilization, but for many even the possibility is terrifying enough to upend their lives. When Typhoon Vamco battered the Philippines in November last year, unleashing a month's worth of rain on the capital ...

Many of the technologies needed to stop climate change are still in early stages of development, a study of green tech patents has revealed. Greater action is required to bring them to market in time. Global climate targets can only be reached with a major acceleration in clean-e...

The United States and several other nations have pledged to cut carbon emissions faster, putting pressure on other big polluters to clean up their acts. US President Joe Biden promised to halve his country's greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 from 2005 levels at a global climate su...

The research group SIPRI has identified a link between climate change and extremism in the West African country. As the region reels from the sudden death of Western-backed strongman Idriss Deby, instability is rife. A new report from the Stockholm International Peace Research In...

The joint statement follows a trip to Shanghai by US climate envoy John Kerry the first official from the Biden administration to visit China. The US and China, the world's biggest carbon polluters, said on Saturday that they would work together urgently to fight climate change....

Chancellor Angela Merkel has spoken to the presidents of China and France, agreeing to greater cooperation on climate change. Meanwhile, US climate envoy John Kerry met his counterpart in China. Chancellor Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Chinese President Xi ...

From atmospheric physicists to urban climatologists, DW spoke to researchers who study the many and varied aspects of climate change about what concerns them most as our planet heats up. What really makes this reporter's stomach churn thinking about climate change? Thawing permaf...

The EU has earmarked millions of euros for supporting climate friendly development in Southeast Asia. But the EU's climate diplomacy in the region is up against economic growth fueled by dirty energy. After the European Union became a "strategic partner" of the Association of Sou...

After reportedly testy meetings in Alaska, the official Xinhua news agency said China and the US will cooperate on tackling climate change. China leads the world in wind energy. Despite media reports that little progress was made during the two-days of dialogue in the Alaskan cit...

French lawmakers in the lower house of parliament have approved a measure that could lead to climate change protections being added to the constitution. The bill is supported by French President Emmanuel Macron. French members of parliament on Tuesday threw their support behind l...

Researchers agree that climate change alone cannot be blamed for the outbreak of war in Syria in 2011. However, neither can it be ignored as a reason the once blossoming country has become a parched, war-torn place. "Syria serves as prime example for the impact of climate change ...

Climate deniers are using a spell of unusually cold weather in Europe to incorrectly argue that CO2 emissions are not warming the planet. As Germans shiver through double-digit negative temperatures and more than 80 centimeters (30 inches) of snow in parts of the country, climate...

Judges hold the French state responsible for policy failures. The NGOs who brought the case have hailed decision as "a historic victory for the climate" and "for truth." A Parisian administrative court ruled Wednesday that the French government must do more to combat climate chan...

The president said climate change posed an "existential threat" to humanity. Biden added the US will host a summit on April 22, where it is likely to strengthen its carbon reduction commitments under the Paris agreement. US President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a series of orde...

The picturesque tropical islands are surrounded by water, yet shortages are a daily reality for many. Rising temperatures and low rainfall could make matters worse. Noreen Nunez lives in a middle-class neighborhood that rises up a hillside in Trinidad's Tunapuna-Piarco region. Ac...

Heavy rain and storms exacerbated by climate change particularly affected East Africa, Asia and South America in 2019, according to the latest Climate Risk Index. Violent storms caused more damage than any other type of extreme weather in 2019, with poorest nations bearing the br...

A new environmental web special explains the effects of climate change on peoples health. The interactive website is available in English, Spanish and German. The web special is optimized for mobile devices. "The connection between the climate crisis and human health is becoming ...

Economic and social fallout from COVID-19 are among the most imminent threats to the world, a new report shows. The pandemic will leave deep scars on young people, already reeling from financial and environmental crises. The scars of the COVID-19 pandemic will be visible for year...

Despite stronger storms and hotter heat waves, world leaders have not spent enough money adapting to the 'new climate reality'. World leaders and businesses are not putting enough money into adapting to dangerous changes in the climate and must "urgently step up action," accordin...

After four bad years for US green policies, Joe Biden has made the most ambitious promises on climate protection of any American president to date. But can they be achieved? The past years have been a troubled time for the United States in matters of climate protection policy. Pr...

Equity investors, known for their myopic views, have been eternal procrastinators when it comes to climate risks. Tesla's meteoric rise shows that they may be finally smelling the coffee, says DW's Ashutosh Pandey. Tesla's market value has risen over 750% in the past year , valui...

A warm winter and autumn have made the previous year the hottest ever recorded, the EU's climate change service has found. The Arctic continues to warm more quickly than the planet as a whole. Last year was the hottest year on record , tying with 2016, the European Union's Copern...

No country has yet achieved the goals of the Paris Agreement, according to the Climate Change Performance Index from NGOs Germanwatch and the NewClimate Institute. In a repeat of 2019, the three top spots on this year's Climate Change Performance Index have been left conspicuousl...

The past month was on average the hottest November on record for the world, the EU's Copernicus satellite monitoring service says. The data should be "alarm bells" for policymakers, its director warns. The world experienced the hottest November on record in 2020, while Europe has...

The government led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said New Zealand's public sector will need to be carbon neutral in five years in a "commitment to leadership on climate change." The government of New Zealand declared a climate emergency on Wednesday, a symbolic step recogn...

Activists are increasingly using litigation as a tool to influence climate action worldwide. Here's a look at some of the main tactics they're wielding to force change on fossil fuel firms and weak government policies. More than 700 climate lawsuits have been filed around the wor...

At least 7,348 disasters had occurred between 2000 and 2019, affecting 4.2 billion people. Extreme weather, especially extreme heat, has led to worsening wildfires, droughts and heat waves in the past two decades. Climate change has spurred close to a doubling of natural disaster...

Growth may be central to mainstream economics but nature has paid the price through pollution, waste and climate change. Some economists say it's time for a completely different approach. It was only in the mid-20th century, in the wake of the shattering impact of World Wars and ...

Stopping mass species extinction is possible if the world pulls together, says leading ecologist Gerardo Ceballos in an interview with DW. Almost 40% of plants are at risk of extinction, scientists have warned. A global report published on Wednesday by Britain's Royal Botanic Gar...

If we want to stop the Earth from warming, it's clear that coal, oil and gas must remain in the ground. But experts also say CO2 needs to be removed from the atmosphere. What are the options and how do they work? The world is, on average, 1.1 degrees Celsius warmer today than it ...

Environmental campaigners are angry at the government's continued extraction and use of fossil fuels. The activists targeted a power plant, and plan to protest at villages threatened by the Garzweiler mine expansion. Around 150 climate activists entered the Garzweiler II brown co...

In the first global strike of this pandemic year, citizens the world over will be shouting in unison for bold climate action. It's time for leaders to get real, says DW's Tamsin Walker. Passing by a shop window recently, a giant photo of a young woman wearing an uncertain half-sm...

School students around the world have returned to the streets for a global day of climate action. It's the first Fridays for Future strike since the coronavirus pandemic forced activists to move their protests online. Read more : Climate strikers are back on the streets All time...

China has joined the EU in presenting new plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions. But are they doing enough? And how about other countries? A clock that activists in New York recently turned into a countdown for catastrophic climate change serves as a ticking reminder of how long ...

Expanding fast, reliable internet access across Africa will bring advantages for society, business and the climate. But with operators mainly focused on profit, environmental solutions often take a back seat to cost. From money transfers and instant weather updates for farmers to...

In a year of record-breaking fires in the US, Australia and beyond, calls are growing to refer to 'climate fires' instead of wildfires. In the face of climate denial, the link to global heating must be unambiguous. "These are not just wildfires, they are climate fires," Jay Insle...

Basic food crops for millions of people worldwide are endangered because of surging ground-level ozone concentration. Indian farms are among those most at risk. Scientists are now racing to make plants more resistant. The alarming discovery of an increasing hole in the planet's o...

Political leaders from 64 countries and the European Union have committed to stronger environmental protections after a UN report found the world has failed to meet any of its biodiversity targets. Leaders from across the world have promised to turn environmental degradation arou...

On September 15, judges announced the six books shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize for Fiction. The annual award is given to the best in English literature. This year's shortlisted nominations for the Booker Prize are unafraid to take on today's real-world challenges, from cli...

If the true environmental costs were part of the price tag, food in Germany would have to be much more expensive. Researchers have now calculated just how much more. One supermarket in Berlin is testing the waters. Roughly 3 ($3.50) for half a kilo of meat, 2 for 10 eggs and less...

Environmentalists say Pakistan is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and government efforts addressing forests and greenhouse gas emissions do not go far enough. Torrential rainfall in Pakistan claimed more than 100 lives last week, while causing widespread...

Global utility companies have been slow to go green, undermining efforts to tackle climate change, according to a new report. But that may be changing. Only 10% of global energy utility companies are expanding their renewable energy capacity at a faster rate than their gas or coa...

As the US faces wildfires and storms, climate change remains one of the most divisive topics among voters. Yet despite the high stakes, so far, it has played a minor role in the upcoming election. US President Donald Trump has undone many major pieces of climate policy during his...

Judges in Strasbourg have green-lit a landmark climate case that could hold governments accountable for moving too slowly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The European Court of Human Rights has told the governments of 33 industrialized countries to promptly respond to a climat...

As a prominent Fridays for Future activist, Vanessa Nakate tells DW how climate activism looks different in her native Uganda and why she's recently been tweeting in German. From Uganda and in her early 20s, Vanessa Nakate started protesting against climate inaction outside the U...

Overconsumption, not overpopulation, drives climate change. A projected decline in fertility could see the world's population peak in just four decades, with Japan and Spain halving in size. Shortly before he shot dead 22 mostly Hispanic people in El Paso , Texas, a little over a...

German cities and towns are struggling with water shortages. Climate change is making it more difficult for municipalities to reach the groundwater they rely on. Despite the lush, verdant nature that surrounds the German town of Ulrichstein, residents here and in the region suf...

The activists have been at the forefront of the youth-led global Fridays for Future climate movement. After meeting Chancellor Angela Merkel, they said they asked her to step up to tackle climate issues. German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted Fridays for Future youth climate acti...

How is the climate crisis affecting Siberia's last great reindeer herds and the people who live and move alongside them? Researchers are working to find out. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Biologist ...

The scorching heat in Siberia this summer was a result of burning fuel, wildfires, thawing permafrost and other man-made conditions, a new study says. Scientists warn it is evidence of increasing extreme temperatures. The heat wave in Siberia this summer has caused temperatures s...

Oil spills, intense heat waves, smoldering wildfires and thawing permafrost: Siberia is experiencing the destructive effects of climate change. And scientists say if action isn't taken soon, it's only going to get worse. In late May, a massive fuel spill flooded waterways and a f...

When faced with a crisis, coming together is the one vehicle of change humans have when it comes to fighting for their future, says social psychologist Stephen Reicher. Human beings all over the world agreed to strict limitations to their rights when governments made the decision...

German farmers are facing the third consecutive year of crop loss due to insufficient rainfall. How can the agriculture industry across Europe adapt to our changing climate? With hotter summers, severe storms and prolonged dry spells in the forecast, the outlook for Europe's farm...

As part of its climate change reforms, the German government is set to alter road tax to increase costs for more pollutant cars. But environmental groups and Greens said the financial penalty was not high enough. Germany's motor vehicle tax for new high-emissions vehicles is set ...

Cities around the world have been at a standstill, trying to stop the spread of COVID-19. But with lockdown measures gradually lifting, places like Brussels are trying a new climate-friendly approach to mobility. After weeks of strict coronavirus lockdown measures, businesses and...

Coronavirus lockdowns have been touted on social media as helping to fight climate change. But in the Arctic Circle the virus is disrupting climate science. It could leave important gaps in our understanding. Every year 150 climate scientists fly far into the wilderness and bore ...

The coronavirus pandemic has put the brakes on COP26, billed the most important climate conference since the Paris Accord in 2015. The delay casts further uncertainty on shaky climate pledges. The UN's highly anticipated climate change conference, COP26, was officially postponed ...

The COVID-19 outbreak has sent countries scrambling to avert economic disaster. Yet in a time of climate change, none appear to be prioritizing clean energy plans. DW spoke with experts to find out why. 2020 is meant to be a pivotal year in global efforts to turn the tide on clim...

EU carbon pricing policies and the decommissioning of coal-powered plants are helping reduce emissions in Germany, a new government report says. But the trend did not apply to heating in homes and car use. Germany's greenhouse gas emissions continued to decline last year, accordi...

Climate law rollbacks in the US and Australia have origins in libertarian think tanks that trade in climate denial. Investigative journalists have exposed how one is now trying to strip climate protections in Germany. "The Trump administration frequently asked us for advice," Jam...

Coronavirus has cut emissions faster than years of climate negotiations. Does the outbreak reveal what life might be like if we were to act seriously on climate change? Or what it might be like if we don't? China, the world's biggest greenhouse gas polluter, has no plans to cut i...

Scientists say feeding cows good quality grass would boost their productivity which is better overall for the climate. Experts explain to DW how that helps tackle global warming and why it's a challenge in Africa. DW: How does feeding cattle Napier grass help tackle climate cha...

Rape, domestic violence, forced marriages: A new study shows the effects of climate change are leading to an increase in violence against girls and women in many corners of the world. Ntoya Sande was 13 years old when she got married against her will. "I was sent to be married b...

No country is doing enough to protect children from the impact of climate change, a joint report by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and <i>The Lancet</i> has found. The future of every child is at risk as nations across the world fail to curb the effects of climate change a...

While the Bezos Earth Fund initiative was applauded by many, critics have questioned Amazon's support for oil and gas businesses. He is following a similar path to fellow moguls like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Monday committed $10 billion of his fortu...

The Kyoto Protocol, which created the first binding targets to limit greenhouse gas emissions, went into effect in February 2005. Some experts say it was a "game changer," but others question its long-term effectiveness. "It was tingling all the way to the end," said climate scie...

A range of technologies loosely defined as 'geoengineering' are being explored as responses to climate change. Yet their effectiveness, and whether they should be implemented at all, is debated among scientists. Australia's bushfires have brought the devastating consequences of...

The announcement follows a ruling against a Kiribati man seeking asylum in New Zealand. It will have no immediate legal impact but could be claimed in future cases. The UN Human Rights Committee has ruled for the first time that people fleeing the effects of climate change may be...

It's the first time the two are attending the same event since the teenager famously stared down Trump at the UN last year. The annual jamboree is taking place against the backdrop of Australia's worst ever bushfires. Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg returns to the Swiss s...

A new report by the World Economic Forum says global risk perceptions are shifting. While in previous years economic problems were deemed the biggest threats to mankind, fears of a climate breakdown are now dominating. In its 15th Global Risks Report published on Wednesday, the W...

The growing debate over how to combat climate change has increased pressure on Bundesliga clubs to reduce CO2 emissions. The clubs have become quite active in this regard, but there's still no league-wide strategy. "Climate change and sustainability were not easy topics back then...

Ocean waters hit their highest temperature ever last year, and the rate at which they are warming is speeding up, a new study has revealed. Researchers called the new data "further proof of global warming." The world's oceans are warmer than ever and they are getting warmer fast...

Climate change has made the biggest jump towards the top of a monthly survey of German sentiment. Despite a 16 percentage point drop, asylum policy remained the chief concern for most Germans, according to the poll. Asylum policy and climate change are the top concerns for German...

Huge bushfires have been burning in Australia for months. But the risk of severe wildfires is increasing everywhere. A look at the link between climate change and this devastating trend. After months of extreme heat and drought in Australia, the fires finally came . Australia exp...

Russia has published an action plan to mitigate risks associated with present and future climate change in the country. The report also outlines "positive" effects of changes in the climate. The Russian government has unveiled a plan to adapt the country's economy and population ...

Never before has a year seen such intense discussion about climate change. Unfortunately, most of the time people were talking past one another rather than with and that has to change, says Henrik Bohme. The whole situation is intractable. Adversaries have locked horns and it is...

Burning fossil fuels to meet rising energy demand has pushed carbon dioxide emissions to a record high. Can innovation save us from global warming? It's a question that preys on our readers' minds: Can we invent our way out of climate breakdown? For many, dismayed by the pace of ...

Wildfires across the world, Arctic ice rapidly melting, seas rising, habitat loss 2019 bore bad news for the climate. But it was also the year millions of people were galvanized into action. Year on year, the climate news only seems to get worse. Temperature records are broken, ...

Climate change and environmental issues are complicated. And if you have young children, it can be difficult to explain exactly what's going on. DW tries to answer some of the big questions. A lot of people are talking about climate change, and a lot of people are very worried ab...

Even the world's largest CO2 emitters are suffering the effects of climate change. So what's stopping countries like Germany, India, Saudi Arabia, the US and China from changing tack and going green? A drastic reduction in emissions is needed to avert catastrophic global warming....

Climate change is a race against time. The Climate Change Performance Index published today shows which industrial countries are in the lead, and which are the biggest losers. A ranking of the world's most emission-intensive economies indicates who is working hardest to protect t...

As the planet heats up, so does the debate about climate change. Sensible debate is becoming increasingly difficult in these fearful times, and Zoran Arbutina says people with rational arguments are at a disadvantage. "I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every...

As part of efforts to combat climate change, a majority of Germans say they're in favor of scaling down or completely abandoning their Christmas lights this year, according to a new survey. A majority of Germans say they would consider scaling down their Christmas lights to prote...

Belgian citizens have been raising awareness for a greener planet at a "United for Climate" demonstration. Demonstrators encircled both the federal parliament and the Royal Palace. Some 2,400 people in Brussels held hands on Sunday to form a human chain as part of demands for tou...

The "deoxygenation" of oceans is having disastrous consequences for sea life. It will "affect hundreds of millions of people," environmental experts warn. The oceans are losing oxygen due to climate change, with dire consequences for marine life and vulnerable communities and fis...

Thousands of people marched in Madrid to demand immediate action to protect the planet. World leaders are meeting nearby, but experts called their plans insufficient to fend off climate change's catastrophic effects. "Time for Action" is the motto of the United Nation's COP25 cli...

Germany's environment agency has called for the government to bring in a raft of measures to limit carbon emissions from road traffic. Among the proposals are speed restrictions on Germany's autobahns. Germany's Federal Environment Agency has urged the government to introduce spe...

As the Earth warms, climate change-related disasters are on the rise. More people are being killed as a result of heatwaves, droughts and storms. In 2018, Japan, the Philippines and Germany were hit particularly hard. To what extent have extreme weather events inflicted casualtie...

Climate-related catastrophes like floods and forest fires are driving millions of people from their homes every year, said anti-poverty NGO Oxfam. While no one is immune, people in poor countries are most at risk. Over the past decade, climate-fuelled disasters drove over 20 mill...

Antonio Guterres has taken the world's major economies to task for not "pulling their weight" to reduce emissions. Ahead of the COP25 climate summit, the UN head said we were rapidly approaching the "point of no return." "We are confronted with a global climate crisis and the poi...

As part of a fresh round of global climate protests, demonstrations are taking place in over 500 German cities from Aachen to Zwickau. In Berlin alone, over 50,000 protesters are converging on the government district. Three days before the start of the UN climate conference in M...

The climate impact of economic growth is putting the ability to live at risk. But growth is also necessary to improve living standards, especially in poorer nations. Experts say there is a way out of the downward spiral. In his 2012 science fiction novel, "News From Gardenia," au...

Anxiety and despair over the climate crisis is driving more and more people to psychotherapy. But if the planet is facing disaster, what's the point of talking about your feelings? "What is dying in you?" The question would be difficult enough coming from a best friend over a fif...

Unless global greenhouse gas emissions fall by 7.6 per cent each year, the world will fail to meet the 1.5C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, a report from the UN Environment Programme warns. Signing up to the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, world leaders agreed to limit ...

A new report has revealed the extent to which Germany has already been affected by climate change. Temperatures have risen markedly in the past five years, and it is expected to get worse. The average temperature in Germany rose 1.5 degrees Celsius between the years 1881 and 2018...

Environmental changes like global warming are menacing the entire ecosystem. DW's Eco Islam conference emphasized the need for using eco-friendly religious messages to make an impact. Shamil Shams reports from Karachi. The climate-change discourse is generally considered a Wester...

Climate change poses a major threat to the health of the world's children and may shape the future of a whole generation if global temperatures are not kept well below 2C, new research shows. Pediatricians in New Delhi, India, say children's lungs are no longer pink, but black. O...

One of the world's biggest public lenders has said it will stop financing fossil fuel projects from the end of 2021 as part of an effort to combat climate change. Germany was one of the countries which had resisted. The European Investment Bank (EIB) said on Thursday that its new...

Ocean pollution, sustainable living and green mathematics aren't typical school subjects. But Italy's education minister has big plans to make a radically green syllabus. All children in Italy will have to study climate change at school starting from next year, becoming the first...

New Zealand has passed a law that aims to make the country almost carbon neutral by 2050. Farmers, who bring in a large portion of foreign income, will be given some flexibility. New Zealand lawmakers on Thursday passed a "Zero Carbon" bill that it hopes will reduce its greenhous...

The new novel by award-winning Indian author Amitav Ghosh, Gun Island, uses climate change as a backdrop. He tells DW about the different perceptions of the climate crisis in the East and West. When he was a boy, Amitav Ghosh always knew where pineapples came from. "They came fro...

A new report says that roughly 75% of the 184 national pledges to cut emissions under the Paris Agreement are insufficient to avoid dire global warming. But local and private sector initiatives could offer hope. Scientists are warning that climate change could soon reach a point ...

A court in Germany has dismissed a lawsuit filed by three farming families who along with Greenpeace argued that Angela Merkel's government has not done enough to tackle climate change. Berlin city-state's administrative court on Thursday dismissed a claim by farmers backed by t...

For the first time, the German government is being taken to court for failing to protect the climate. Ahead of the hearing, DW spoke to one of the plaintiffs in the case, organic farmer Silke Backsen. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web br...

Climate change exacerbates inequalities, not only in poor, developing countries, but also in industrialized, wealthy ones. The poor should be given special importance when planning, experts say. As drought, flooding and fires lay claim to headlines and landscapes across the world...

Indigenous groups in the US state of Alaska, also referred to as Alaska Natives, have already seen climate change disrupt their subsistence way of life. But they are trying to adapt. Teresa Hunter lives in Chuathbaluk, a Yup'ik village in the southwest of Alaska. The name means "...

140 countries, 140 diets, 140 different ways each of them contributes to climate change. A new US-study looked at what dietary changes need to happen across the globe to mitigate the effects of climate change. October 16 marks World Food Day this year, a day celebrated every year...

Illegal refrigerant imports are flooding the European market, contributing emissions equivalent to four coal-fired power plants in 2018. These hydrofluorocarbons, also known as HFCs, primarily come from China. Illegal importers in the European Union are raking in the money, says ...

Scientists with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are meeting to finalize the third part of its first major climate assessment in seven years. But what exactly is the IPCC? Its findings influence governments, business leaders and even young protesters on one of the bi...

Sea levels are now expected to rise even higher beyond the end of the century, putting coastal regions at extreme risk. Hans-Otto Portner says the time for drawn-out discussions has passed we need to act now. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has prepared a sp...

The world needs to drastically cut its carbon emissions by 2050 to head off the worst effects of climate change. A new report highlights how cities could make a huge difference with local green initiatives. As cities pledge to plant more trees , ban diesel vehicles and make the s...

Speaking to the US Congress, the teenage climate activist has urged lawmakers to take action on the "existential crisis" of climate change. Thunberg criticized the US for being the "biggest carbon polluter" in history. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg testified before the ...

The German government is proposing a climate protection package that will cost billions of euros. The country is wealthy, but there are already concerns over how to fund the measures. German officials have acknowledged that the government will not meet its emissions goals for 202...

In her role as of the new head of the United Nations Environment Program, Danish economist Inger Andersen talks to DW about the need to think big when it comes to climate change and to learn from our mistakes. At the start of this year, Danish economist and environmentalist Inge...

Climate protection is high on the public agenda and EU finance ministers want to get in on the discussion. They have many ideas on carbon dioxide emissions pricing, but are yet to find an answer, reports Bernd Riegert. Finance ministers of the 28 European Union countries met in H...

Germany's finance minister said failure to secure a "convincing solution" may risk government stability. Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on the private sector to take up the "Herculean task" to combat climate change. Germany's governing coalition parties will meet Friday to d...

As we grapple with climate change, travel journalist Paul Sullivan considers the cognitive and moral dissonance involved in selling destinations at a time when the planet needs us to be traveling less. It was while recently soaring 10,000 miles above Iceland's famously pulchritud...

The world's largest coral reef system is now anticipated to be in "very poor" health in future, due to climate change. Despite large-scale bleaching of the coral, experts insist the problems are not insurmountable. The government agency that manages Australia's Great Barrier Reef...

Countries that are least responsible for causing climate change are the ones suffering most from its effects, especially regarding food insecurity and nutrient deficiencies, reports show. Scientists warn we must act now. For years now, environmentalists and scientists have been w...

With Germany set to miss its climate goals by a wide margin, a solution might be right next door. The Netherlands recently revealed a wide-ranging climate deal including a carbon tax that Dutch companies agreed to pay. Flanked by a team of ministers, German Chancellor Angela Mer...

Iceland has been commemorating the loss of Okjokull with the prime minister and guests from international universities and the United Nations. A ceremony at the site highlighted the urgency of climate protection. Iceland has been commemorating the country's first glacier lost to ...

If you want to save the world, go veggie seems to be the motto. But even though dietary decisions are proven to reduce CO2 emissions, young Germans are still eating a lot of meat. To recognize lifestyle trends, take a look at the stock market. After going public in May 2019, a co...

The UN's scientific body on climate change highlights in a new report the strong connection between land use and climate change. A radical change in the food system is key to people's livelihoods and health worldwide. The earth's population is growing and, with it, consumption. T...

While climate change is growing in the public consciousness, migration is still the major issue for more EU citizens, according to the results of the European Commission's biannual Eurobarometer public opinion survey. Migration remains the top concern across the European Union, a...

The quantity of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere keeps increasing. The Earth's temperature is rising. Now media are reporting that we only have 18 months to save the climate. Scaremongering, or a serious prognosis? This time, the warning came directly from Buckingham Palace in ...

A rapid study by European scientists has revealed the impact of man-made global warming on recent extreme weather. They calculated the odds of record temperatures occurring with and without rising CO2 emissions. Last month's record-shattering heat wave across much of Europe was l...

As climate change concerns grow, a new survey has found most Germans support raising flight prices and other measures to protect the planet. The Greens are currently polling on par with Angela Merkel's conservatives. A majority of people in Germany support taking drastic steps to...

Global warming is fast becoming a concern for the wine industry. But while traditional wine-growing regions might only yield raisins in 30 years' time, other areas around the world are starting to embrace viticulture. According to Roman legend, Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, tra...

The "Fridays for Future" protests have reinvigorated the debate on climate change around the world. An exhibition in Tel Aviv now shows how cities can use innovative technologies to limit the effects of global warming. Just a few days ago, the sizzling winds of the "sharav" deser...

Conflict, climate change and weak economic growth are leaving more people without enough to eat, a UN report warning of starvation and famine says. Most of the world's chronic hungry live in Asia and Africa. The United Nations' goal to eradicate hunger by 2030 is a long way off. ...

Driving an electric car, choosing train travel or using less plastic we know there are many things we can do to be less of a burden on the world's environment. But would you be willing to give up on streaming video? Sending dozens of emails a day, making a quick call on WhatsApp...

Vladimir Putin has talked about global warming's toll as Siberia's Irkutsk region struggles to recover from floods. But there's a simple reason why Russia won't get behind climate protection policies, says Andrey Gurkov. With the devastating flood that has ravished the Irkutsk re...

Planting a massive number of trees is the most effective way to combat global warming, scientists have said. Reforesting an area the size of the United States could capture two-thirds of manmade carbon emissions. A report from Swiss scientists published on Thursday said an effect...

Leaders have agreed on a climate deal similar to the one struck in Argentina in 2018. The US has again refused to commit to tackling climate change. World leaders attending the 2019 G20 summit in the Japanese city of Osaka on Saturday agreed to a climate change deal similar to th...

On a voyage from Antarctica to the German port of Bremerhaven, a team of scientists and students are hoping to gain a better understanding of rising temperatures in the depths of the open ocean. The sun burns down on the helicopter landing pad on board the Polarstern research ves...

Twenty of the wealthiest people in the US have urged the next president to impose taxes on the rich to combat climate change and increase access to health care. They said the US has an "economic responsibility" to do so. Several US billionaires have urged candidates running in th...

We can't reach the Paris Agreement climate goals without business on board. Some companies are taking action, but big polluters are lagging behind. It's a major topic at the climate talks in Bonn, Germany. Its that time of the year when climate negotiators have come together in a...

Climate change is hitting Spain harder than most other European nations. Drinking water is scarce and beaches are receding. There's a danger that tourism in the country will suffer a major setback in the decades to come. British economist Nicholas Stern said earlier this year the...

The past couple of years will likely go down in history as the ones when climate change really hit. They could also be remembered as the ones in which people worked to stop it. DW looks at some civil society victories. Alarming headlines regarding the climate crisis often oversha...

Europe's waters are expected to lose 30% of their already vulnerable ocean life to further warming, says a new study. Combined with overfishing, that loss can threaten livelihood and food security in coastal nations. The Earth's oceans will lose 5% of marine animals globally for ...

Floods, drought and mass migration: all factors why Germany has made the UN's response to climate change its priority at the Security Council. But political roadblocks at home and abroad could complicate action. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas led a mantra among delegations fr...

The EU is expected to commit to going carbon neutral. But what will net-zero emissions mean in practice? What are negative emissions, and why do we need them? DW unpicks the jargon. With the Paris Agreement in 2015, nearly 200 nations submitted plans to cut greenhouse gas emissio...

Despite the urgency of a "climate emergency" we're nowhere near fulfilling the Paris agreement. Why are we so reluctant to act? Climate psychologist Per Espen Stoknes says we need to move away from pointing blame. DW: Why are we so reluctant to act to halt global warming ? Per Es...

Basketball, ice climbing, swimming and surfing professional athletes are using their popularity to shed light on climate change and encourage others to do more to protect our environment. There's no doubting the fact that climate change and sport are intrinsically linked, with s...

Plastic, as we know, is everywhere. In waterways, in animals, even in our food. As if that isn't bad enough, a new report shows it's also accelerating global warming. Stopping climate change also means curbing plastic. People are more aware than ever that plastic one of the most...

Political efforts to cool climate change are "fading" as things get worse, Antonio Guterres warned. He's visiting New Zealand en route to South Pacific islands that are at risk of being inundated by rising sea levels. Arriving in Auckland Sunday, Guterres said the world was "not ...

A UN-backed report says a million species are at risk of extinction, and warns biodiversity loss and failure to conserve ecosystems has catastrophic effects on people as well as nature. They are the tireless stewards of the air, water and land from which we live. But the millions...

Lawmakers have approved a motion requiring the government to make proposals to "restore the UK's natural environment." The move comes after protesters demonstrated for days, causing road closures and transit chaos. After a week and a half of protests in London by climate change a...

A study found that the world lost an area of tropical forest roughly the size of England in 2018, equal to about 30 soccer fields every minute. The implications for efforts to fight global climate change are dire. Humanity destroyed some 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of ...

One-third of all food worldwide ends up in the garbage, with industrialized countries contributing the most. A new foodsharing platform wants to help tackle the impact this has on our climate. It's raining cats and dogs as Jonas Korn rescues baked goods from being thrown away. It...

As the planet heats up, homes are becoming uninhabitable and people are on the move. The countries most responsible for climate change are fortifying their borders to keep them out. Climate change is reshaping our world. Coastlines are creeping inland, deserts are growing, ranges...

There was a time when weather presenters were all about rain, sunshine and areas of high pressure. Now the climate is changing, so are their jobs. Many see it as their role to help raise awareness. Though it was a couple of years ago, weathercaster Anju Singh clearly recollects t...

The world has seen an "extraordinary increase" in energy demand last year, driving energy-related emissions to a new record. The International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that "urgent action is needed on all fronts." Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the production of ene...

Conservative Christians have long opposed climate science, saying human induced warming goes against Gods omnipotence. Opinions divide on whether that thinking might slowly be changing. When Reverend Mitchell Hescox organized an environmental stewardship conference for evangelica...

Senegalese coastal villages are affected by climate change and overfishing. While many men leave to seek employment abroad, women often stay behind and try to adapt to life between rising sea levels and desertification. Almata Diagne and four of her six children have taken cover ...

The EU's right-wing populists generally have little interest in climate protection, a new study shows. However, that hasn't stopped Germany's AfD and Britain's UKIP from voting against it in the European Parliament. Right-wing populists are projected to make significant gains in ...

Few delegates at the Munich Security Conference showed up to discuss climate change. But those that did were reminded that the current collapse of the Earth's ecosystems is already causing conflict and mass migration. School children might be taking to the streets to protest gove...

Bangladesh is on the front line of climate change, as its low-lying delta farmlands face surging floods. But floating gardens a traditional form of hydroponics is offering a lifeline to some farming families. In summer 1988, a surging flood hit Bangladesh . Then, it was the wor...

Are schools equipping kids with the skills to understand and deal with climate change? Some German students don't think so and are trying to get their curriculum changed. Victoria Bederov tilts her head to one side and considers the question for a moment. What does the 18-year-ol...

NASA scientist Peter Kalmus says small changes can make a big difference when it comes to protecting the environment. He's even written a book to inspire others. Peter Kalmus sits outside California's Pasadena City Hall in his electric car. His sons, aged 10 and 12, are on steps ...

The environment needs help. When politicians out themselves as climate change deniers, grassroots and civil society groups get louder. But how much can they achieve? As negative superlatives and doomsday predictions have become the uncomfortable norm of our daily environmental di...

Climate change has slowly damaged traditional crops. Now farmers on the Italian island of Sicily are looking for innovative alternatives to survive and even thrive. When Andrea Passanisi started cultivating mangoes and avocados in his family's vineyard on the slopes of Mount Etna...

After COP24, there are big questions remaining about the global response to climate change. DW spoke with Li Shuo, who coordinated Greenpeace's engagement on the UN climate negotiations, about China's important role. What is the leading narrative on China's climate action? The tr...

Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Extreme weather events there have already been wreaking havoc on the people there. They're also causing a shift in migration and poverty patterns. In August 2017, 6.8 million people in northwestern Bangladesh f...

From activists risking their liberty to block coal, to US businesses sticking with the Paris accord regardless of Trump, ordinary folk fed up waiting for change have outshone the big political players at COP24. Averting catastrophic climate change is a task for the world. And the...

Tackling climate change would reduce deaths from asthma, lung cancer, heart attack and other diseases. Doctors want to spur global climate action by highlighting the link between the planet's health and human health. A man clutches his chest, coughing violently. Beside him, a wom...

A decade ago, Germany was a pioneer in fighting climate change via the expansion of renewable energies. But now, like many G20 nations, its climate protection is stagnating as global emissions rise again. As greenhouse gas emissions increase, the Climate Change Performance Index ...

As nations gathered in Katowice, Poland for the COP24 climate conference, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the event with a warning that the world is losing direction when it comes to climate change. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres officially opened the COP24 su...

If climate change and global warning continue unabated, then Africas future does not look bright. Experts warn that participants at the COP24 conference in Poland have to deliver on previous pledges. "We are the most vulnerable, we are the least responsible but we will suffer the...

There's a lot at stake at the UN climate conference in Poland. Delegates will be scrambling to save the 2015 Paris climate agreement and prevent the worst effects of a warming world. It was just three years ago. But the euphoric celebrations in Paris now seem a distant memory. T...

Global temperatures are set to far overshoot an international target to limit the increase, UN scientists say. Another expert study warns of the health risk posed to vulnerable people by the growing number of heatwaves. Global temperatures could rise by 3-5 degrees Celsius (5.4-9...

Poland, host of the upcoming COP24 climate conference, has long had a love affair with coal. Can it say goodbye and commit to renewables? Poland's love affair with coal goes way back. For decades coal was the favorite for energy: mined locally, and cheap. In those days, the envir...

The warming effect of greenhouse gases has increased 41 percent since 1990, according to the UN's weather organization. It said the window of opportunity to act against climate change "is almost closed." The levels of greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere rose to a new recor...

As new pipelines expand the flow of dirty fossil fuels globally, environmental activists are joining with social justice and indigenous rights movements to cut off climate change-inducing oil and gas at the source. When climate activists took over the office of long-time United S...

Researchers are honing in on a little-studied but significant consequence of climate change: male infertility. Could this potential cause of extinction and biodiversity loss also threaten the human species? Men have long understood the dangers of exposing their reproductive gland...

Germany's Alps are already contending with climate change and locals are feeling the effects. Jennifer Collins reports from the country's highest peak on disappearing glaciers, less snowfall and increased landslides. It's unseasonably warm on Germany's highest mountain, the Zugsp...

Artificial intelligence is expected to transform our society in numerous ways. Some artists are also using it to better highlight the global impacts of climate change. The effects of climate change are all too real. The world is warming , sea levels are rising , species are on th...

The world may not be able to make necessary changes in time to limit rapid global temperature rise, the UN climate panel has warned. Existing emissions must also be captured and stored. Norway thinks it has the answer. For those of us who thought installing solar panels, planting...

Meat would actually cost about triple its current market price if we factored in its environmental impact. Could a "meat tax" cut consumption and help do what needs to be done to fight climate change? Despite the dire warnings about the meat industry's catastrophic impact on the ...

Increasing droughts around the world may reduce barley yields, resulting in shortages of beer, a fall in global consumption and a rise in prices for the beloved beverage around the world, a new study finds. Bad news, beer lovers: Climate change doesn't just cause rising sea level...

Major changes to diet and farming are needed to allow the Earth to keep feeding the global population. The study's lead author told DW there's "little chance of staying within environmental limits" if no action is taken. A plant-based diet, improved farming practices, and reduced...

A day after the UN warned the world was "running out time" on climate change, EU ministers have battled over the extent of emission cuts on carmakers. Germany is concerned more ambitious cuts would be bad for business. European Union countries have agreed to pursue a 35 percent c...

The UN has issued its starkest warning yet over climate change, but says it's not too late to avoid the worst impacts of global warming. Political will is required but there are also things you can do. We've already warmed the world about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit...

In the wake of the latest tsunami to hit the Indonesian coast, research shows how even slight sea-level rises linked to climate change could significantly increase the devastating effects of tidal waves. Following the extreme, earthquake-triggered tsunamis unleashed in the Indian...

Scientists fear potential Trump administration obstruction as top climate change body finalizes a major report of future global warming scenarios and ways to mitigate impacts. The 48th meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) began on Monday to consider its...

Much of Germany's North Sea coast is low enough to put it at risk from the waters at its door. Not least in an era of warming temperatures and predicted sea level rise. The wind whips threatening clouds across a dark blue sky above the North Frisian island of Pellworm. Petra Feld...

Climate change and a growing population are prompting Germany's capital, Berlin, to rethink how it supplies water. An exceptionally hot and dry 2018 has made the matter even more urgent. Jens Feddern picks up a long-stemmed glass of sparkling liquid, looks at it and tastes. The w...

Over two dozen of the world's largest cities have seen emissions decrease over a five-year period, they have revealed. But a closer look at the list shows why it may be too early to celebrate. Twenty-seven major cities, including Berlin, London, Los Angeles, New York and Paris, h...

German farmers are no strangers to the elements, but this summer has brought home the realities of climate change, and the need to start adapting. How can farmers adapt to the changing conditions? Carved into a block of wood and given pride of place in the parlor of an old farmho...

Climate advocacy group "350" has organized international protests to coincide with UN talks in Bangkok. American delegates have reportedly been stonewalling climate talks despite withdrawing from the landmark Paris deal. Hundreds of people took to the streets in Thailand and the ...

Negotiators are meeting in Bangkok to carry forward implementation of the global climate accord. This weekend, thousands worldwide will take to the streets to put pressure on governments. Time for real climate action? It's pouring in Thailand's capital, Bangkok. Streets are flood...

We often think about the impact of climate change in physical terms extreme weather, species extinction, and the destruction of habitat. But what about the emotional toll it takes on us? Psychologist Susie Burke tells the story of a woman who came to her for counselling after ha...

As World Water Week draws to a close, water and climate expert Jens Berggren explains why climate change is already affecting our precious H2O. DW: Can you explain the correlation between climate change and water? Jens Berggren: That is actually a really big question, and it's ha...

In 2017, parts of Europe, Canada and the US were ravaged by wildfires on an unprecedented scale. In 2018, new records are being set around the world as hot, dry temperatures and fires become the new normal. Almost 20 fires have ravaged California over the past two months. Some ar...

Even if the Paris agreement is successfully implemented, the planet could still heat up by 5 degrees Celsius, scientists warn. This "hothouse" climate would make parts of the world uninhabitable. A joint study by international climate scientists from Germany, Sweden, Denmark and ...

In many parts of the world, droughts are getting longer, more intense and more frequent. Alex Jones, climate and environment director at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, tells DW about the risk to food security. DW: So we're facing this global heat wave and it's impactin...

Climate change has made the extremely high temperatures in Europe more than twice as likely to occur, a new analysis has revealed. How do scientists calculate the link between extreme weather events and climate change? Record-breaking temperatures of up to 39 degrees Celcius (102...

The science of climate change is complex, and in the era of "fake news," that complexity can be used to mislead and manipulate the public and decision-makers. How do we know who to trust? The rapid deterioration of the very conditions that support life on Earth is something we sh...

In Germany, some like it hot this summer's unusually hot, sunny weather, that is. For many farmers, the prolonged heat means smaller harvests and diminished food reserves for their livestock. Will food prices soar? "What we are experiencing this summer is climate change in actio...

Environmental changes are posing a serious threat to production and nutritional value of our crops. Not taking action could have major global implications for food security and public health, a new study outlines. A new study has further revealed how climate change is reducing yi...

A group of families have filed a lawsuit against the European Union for failing to protect citizens against the impacts of climate change. It's the first climate lawsuit at EU level. A total of ten families from five EU countries, Kenya and Fiji, as well as a Swedish youth organi...

In the battle to save threatened species from extinction, a new study has found that keeping climate change under 1.5 degrees Celsius could be key. Global warming will hit hardest those animals we depend upon most. The Red List of threatened species is getting longer every year. ...

Adapting to the impacts of climate change is expensive. How can poorer regions manage? Mayors of Mozambique's coastal cities show how they are preparing for severe storms and rising sea levels with limited resources. Although industrial countries produce the lion's share of green...

In rural Bolivia, making a sustainable living is becoming difficult for smallholders. But the country's women, who are traditionally responsible of farming, are demonstrating resilience to the effects of climate change. Nestled in Bolivia's Cochabamba valley is the village of Tir...

Pinning down blame for complex weather events isn't straightforward. But cutting-edge science is rapidly shrinking the space to argue that the crazy weather we're experiencing isn't due to greenhouse gas emissions. Around the world, ever more of us seem to be experiencing freak s...

New German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze from the Social Democrats is still largely unknown. In her first major speech in parliament, she has promised to at least aim to meet climate change targets by 2030. Svenja who? That's the question on many people's lips when she was ...

A new study by WWF predicts drastic consequences for animal species around the world if temperatures keep rising even if pledged limits to global warming are met. Global warming will threaten up to 50 percent of the world's animal species, according to a study recently published...

Water power is the largest renewable energy source in the world, but some plants are running out of water due to severe droughts. Is climate change jeopardizing the future of hydropower plants? Civilizations have used water as a source of energy for millennia, and it has been use...

Soils are a double-edged climate sword. They are huge reservoirs of organic carbon and can act as a carbon sink. But they can also release CO2 into the atmosphere when used unsustainably. Forests are often called the lungs of the planet because of the way they "breathe" in carbon...

Did you know it's possible to take legal action to fight global warming? Ever more citizens are doing just that. Here are four landmark climate change lawsuits with significant decisions pending in 2018. Citizens around the world are taking climate action to the courtroom by suin...

The devastating effects of climate change are becoming apparent and the world has begun taking action. But the frequency of extreme weather events has shown we are starting to run out of time. "Crazy" weather has been a hot topic for elevator conversations this year and yes, ex...

Most of us do things every day that contribute to climate change, and changing our behavior is vital. But we won't get anywhere acting alone. And that's where you come in. "Your individual actions are key to protecting our planet," could almost be a slogan for our century. That's...

Last year's record temperatures would not have been possible without climate change, a study has found. Scientists say it's the first time they've been able to attribute specific weather events to human activities. The research, published Wednesday in the Bulletin of the American...

Across western Africa, people in rural communities are taking the future into their own hands with local initiatives to fight climate change and pollution, and improve public health and education. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browse...

A recent report shows rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere are about to make the world's oceans uninhabitable for many sea creatures, threatening entire ocean ecosystems. What can be done? Life on Earth began at sea. Over the billions of years since, the oceans have sustained a my...

How can you beat climate change with only half the world's population? Gender was among the main side-topics at the UN climate summit in Bonn. DW spoke to women who intend to be part of the solution to climate change. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgr...

From rising sea levels to megastorms and drought, how five cities around the world will face their own struggles to adapt to a warming planet. Shortly before climate change talks kicked off in Bonn, the United Nations warned that the latest global warming projections point to a 3...

Many countries like to portray themselves as greener than they actually are. Others turn out to be unexpected climate champions. The Climate Change Performance Index reveals the truth about emissions and energy policies. Many countries are presenting their successes on combating ...

What if tackling climate change and promoting sustainable economic development could be combined? In this guest article, the Climate-KIC initiative explains how young people are doing just that. These 10 young innovators are tackling climate change in novel ways. Dominic Muller (...

The Germanwatch think tank says in its latest climate risk report that Pakistan is the world's seventh most vulnerable country to climate change. In a DW interview, expert Tariq Banuri explains the reasons behind this. DW: Experts link Pakistan's water shortage to mismanagement, ...

Fiji was once synonymous with a tropical paradise. But global warming and severe storms are now threatening the very existence of the islands. Fiji-born photographer Aaron March captures the fragile nature of his home. "Like most Fiji Islanders, growing up I did not have many opp...

Climate change is having a huge impact on Afghanistan's agriculture-based society. Despite changing environment patterns, Afghan farmers have a limited understanding of how climate change is affecting their livelihood. For generations, Salman Mohammadi's family has worked on a fa...

India is at the top of the list of nations expected to be worst hit by the adverse effects of climate change. It is striving to overcome the problem by advancing strategies like investing massively in renewable energy. Human-induced climate change is now considered one of the mos...

African ranchers are forced to seek new pastures after traditional grazing lands have dried up, putting them on a collision course with local farmers. In some areas, lands previously herded are being used for farming. In mid-October, people in the central Nigerian village of Nkyi...

Thousands of people have protested in Bonn, where the UN Climate Conference is taking place, demanding Germany immediately phase out its use of coal. Carrying colorful banners with slogans that read "Revolution, not pollution," "Climate or coal chancellor?" and "Frack off our lan...

Global warming isn't just an environmental problem it will affect every aspect of human life. Our response has to be just a wide-reaching and experts say people power can still save the planet. The world is getting hotter. That's clear to farmers whose crop yields were hit by h...

The river Ganges holds deep religious and ritualistic significance for India's million of Hindus. But climate change is endangering the holy river, reports Jasvinder Sehgal. The sun is setting in Rishikesh, an Indian city in the Himalayan foothills. Hundreds of people have conver...

"Cli-fi" movies are turning global warming into apocalyptic drama, but the genre's latest release Geostorm has been slammed as insensitive to climate-change victims. Can a good story motivate people to take action? Disaster movie "Geostorm" opens in cinemas this week, starring ...

A flood of climate refugees could be imminent unless the richer nations do more to help poorer ones combat global warming, argues an IMF report. The international community must do more to help low-income countries cope with the climate change, says the IMF in its "World Economic...

A group of mountain researchers hiked the length of the Alps this summer, retracing a similar trek 25 years ago. Much has changed since then, especially when it comes to the environment. Scientists hiking the length of the Alps this summer say the region has been marked by signif...

Global warming scientists have warned that heat levels in South Asia, home to some 1.5 billion people, could reach uninhabitable levels by 2100. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh would be the worst affected regions. If climate change continues at its current pace, deadly heatwaves c...

Climate change is likely to have contributed to a 7 percent spike in the suicide rate in India over the last 30 years, a new scientific study says. India is experiencing a suicide epidemic, in particular in rural areas. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy...

Progressive global warming will have an outsized effect on countries in Asia and Oceania. In a DW interview, Kira Vinke from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research explains what makes the region more vulnerable. A recent report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Po...

The best personal choices to reduce our individual contribution to climate change are living car free - and having fewer children, a recent study shows. But is it a realistic solution to have no children at all? If you were proud of yourself conscientiously recycling on your driv...

Killer heat due to global warming means much of the planet faces rising fatalities, a study shows. By 2100, almost half of people on the planet will be at risk of heat-related illness or death - even if emissions fall. As large swathes of the southwestern United States currently ...

Have wildfires increased globally over recent years? And if so, is global warming to blame? Research has illuminated this, along with what wildfires do to us and our environment, and which areas are most vulnerable. Are wildfires increasing around the world? Unusually large wildf...

A recent report says the Arctic may be ice-free by 2040. The Antarctic is also melting, albeit far slower, and in a less regular pattern. Why do the two poles react so differently in the face of climate change? First, the bad news: The Arctic is melting much faster than expected,...

Plastic pollution and overfishing may currently be in the headlines. But rising CO2 emissions are also a key threat to the ocean that covers 71 percent of the planet, and a major challenge for future life on Earth. Frank Bainimarama knows all about the need to protect the ocean. ...

Climate change will bring some surprising effects: Bumpy plane rides, greater mood swings and more volcanic eruptions are just a few of the things we can expect over the decades to come. And yes, even more lightning. We're already familiar with some of the more evident effects of...

Some people are skeptical that human activity is driving global warming. We take a look at the most common arguments used by climate deniers, and set the record straight. Despite a 97 percent scientific consenus on the issue, some still dispute the idea that human activity is cau...

Across the Alps, glaciers have lost half their volume since 1900. And there is no letting up: Melting has accelerated since 1980. Most Alpine glaciers will be gone by the end of this century, scientists say. "It's almost time to say farewell to our glaciers," Austrian mountain fa...

On World Meteorological Day, DW provides an overview of how global warming is changing our lived experience of the climate. News of the hottest year, the wettest winter and suffocating summers are no longer a surprise. We're getting used to extreme weather - and that's worrying. ...

Peru is being hit by devastating flooding. Is it a natural weather cycle or an impact of climate change? DW: What is causing the extremely heavy rainfall in Peru? Mojib Latif: Extremely warm water off Peru. It could be regarded as a kind of coastal el Nino event. El Ninos are eve...

Sydney's sweltering recent record high of 47 degrees Celsius has brought the reality of climate change into sharp focus for many Australians. Skepticism in the country is waning - quickly enough? Thousands of bats fell dead out of the trees as Sydney's parched suburbs reached the...

As the climate changes, so do the risks to our health. Not only are diseases such as malaria more likely to spread, but there are more extreme weather events that hurt or kill people. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that suppor...

Did you know it's possible to take legal action to fight global warming? European citizens have been doing just that. And now, youths in the US won the right to sue their government over failed climate action as well. Last week, a group of American youths officially won the right...

Baba Brinkman is a Canadian rapper who sings about climate change. His songs are fact-checked by experts. In an interview, he explains why he thinks rap is the perfect medium to create awareness about global warming. To play this audio please enable JavaScript, and consider upgra...

These five megatrends present major global threats for planet Earth problems that must be solved if the world is to remain a supportive habitat for humans and other species. DW looks at causes and possible solutions. 1. Air pollution and climate change. Problem: Overloading of t...