22Jul2026

S20 in 2025 is hosted by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)
#S20SouthAfrica   #ASSAf_Official

22Jul2026

S20 in 2025 is hosted by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)
#S20SouthAfrica   #ASSAf_Official

S20 South Africa

Female farmer
CLIMATE CHANGE
10 February 2025

Does climate change increase violence towards women?

Source: https://www.context.news/climate-justice/does-climate-change-increase-violence-towards-women

LONDON – Women farmers, land defenders and critical mineral miners are disproportionately exposed to effects of a warming world, but a growing body of evidence has also linked climate change to an increase in gender-based violence at work and at home.

This new threat comes on top of women’s greater exposure to displacement, water scarcity and ill health, all as a result of climate change.

 

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refugees
CLIMATE CHANGE
10 February 2025

Climate impacts are forcing people from their homes. When, how and why do they have valid refugee claims?

Source: https://theconversation.com/climate-impacts-are-forcing-people-from-their-homes-when-how-and-why-do-they-have-valid-refugee-claims-248865

For a long time, it seemed refugee law had little relevance to people fleeing the impacts of climate change and disasters.

Nearly 30 years ago, the High Court of Australia, for instance, remarked that people fleeing a “natural disaster” or “natural catastrophes” could not be refugees.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Canada had said “victims of natural disasters” couldn’t be refugees “even when the home state is unable to provide assistance”.

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Cattle operation
CLIMATE CHANGE
10 February 2025

Scientists debate best farming methods to reduce effects of climate change

Source: https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2025-02-10/climate-change/scientists-debate-best-farming-methods-to-reduce-effects-of-climate-change/a95165-1

In an unexpected but no-less-depressing development, NASA has announced that 2024 was the hottest year on record. This wasn’t an anomaly, as every one of the past 10 years has been one of the 10 hottest years in the planet’s history. Climate change is a serious problem in need of a serious solution — but what counts as a viable climate solution, and what doesn’t?

It’s not an easy question to answer. In fact, you might even say it doesn’t have an answer, at least not a single one. While there is certainly widespread agreement about the need to decarbonize, there is also an ongoing debate among climate scientists about which solutions to prioritize and when. That debate is important, as there’s no single “silver bullet” for bringing down global temperatures, so we have to have these difficult conversations.

 

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poverty
CLIMATE CHANGE
10 February 2025

Interconnected crises: climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty

Source: https://www.ifaw.org/international/journal/interconnected-crises-climate-change-biodiversity-loss-poverty

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and poverty are closely intertwined. Tackle one crisis, and we stand to improve all three. But unfortunately, the opposite is also true. 

As one crisis grows in severity, the others grow with it. These crises amplify one another, creating a vicious cycle of habitat destruction, mass extinction, rising global temperatures, and the loss of homes and livelihoods. 

 

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Malaria
CLIMATE CHANGE
9 February 2025

How Climate Change Affects Disease Spread Solutions for Preventing Malaria and Zika

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/how-climate-change-affects-disease-spread-solutions-for-preventing-malaria-and-zika/ss-AA1yGI8g

Climate change, a phenomenon characterized by global temperature increases, altered weather patterns, and rising sea levels, poses a significant threat to ecological systems across the globe. Beyond its environmental impacts, climate change has profound effects on human health, particularly through the spread of infectious diseases such as malaria and Zika virus. As climates become warmer and precipitation patterns shift, habitats for disease vectors like mosquitoes expand, facilitating the spread of these diseases to new regions. Understanding these dynamics is crucial to developing effective prevention strategies.

 

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Mountains
CLIMATE CHANGE
9 February 2025

Climate Change In African Mountains Has Much More Impact Than We Thought

Source: https://www.eurasiareview.com/09022025-climate-change-in-african-mountains-has-much-more-impact-than-we-thought/

Farmers living in Africa’s mountain regions report alarming changes in local weather patterns such as increased temperatures, reduced fog, changes in rainfall, and an increase in extreme climate events such as droughts and floods.

The increasingly unpredictable weather patterns have led to significant changes in planting and harvesting schedules, as well as increased pests and disease in crops, livestock and humans. This has resulted in reduced crop yields – and less food. The changes have a profound effect on food security and human health, with repercussions extending beyond mountain communities to the thousands of people who depend on the resources downstream.

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Climate change or global warming
CLIMATE CHANGE
9 February 2025

Climate Change: 3.6 billion people live in highly susceptible areas

Source: https://newsvibesofindia.com/climate-change-3-6-billion-people-live-in-highly-susceptible-areas/

New Delhi, Feb 9 (NVI) As many as 3.6 billion people are living in areas highly susceptible to climate change and between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional deaths per year, from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress alone, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

According to the WHO, climate change is directly contributing to humanitarian emergencies from heatwaves, wildfires, floods, tropical storms and hurricanes and they are increasing in scale, frequency and intensity.

 

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Air pollution
CLIMATE CHANGE
8 February 2025

Air pollution kills 70 lakh people globally per year, Govts need to act boldly and urgently: WHO

Source: https://newsvibesofindia.com/air-pollution-kills-70-lakh-people-globally-per-year-govts-need-to-act-boldly-and-urgently-who/

New Delhi, Feb 8 (NVI) Air pollution is responsible for at least 7 million deaths each year across the world, with a vast majority of casualties caused by noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular issues, respiratory diseases and lung cancer.

This aspect has been highlighted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as it prepares to hold the Second Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health in March 2025.

 

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Arctic Sea
CLIMATE CHANGE
8 February 2025

January 2025 breaks heat record as climate change ‘overwhelms’ La Niña’s cooling

Source: https://www.reccessary.com/en/news/world-environment/january-2025-breaks-heat-record

January 2025 was the warmest January on record, surpassing the previous record set by January 2024, according to satellite data from the EU’s Copernicus program. The findings were unexpected as ongoing La Niña conditions in the Pacific typically cool down global temperatures.

The global average surface air temperature for the month reached 1.75° Celsius (3.15° F) above pre-industrial levels. The most dramatic variation, up to 6°C (10.8°F), was concentrated in northern Canada, Russia and the Scandinavian countries.

 

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Alzheimer’s
CLIMATE CHANGE
7 February 2025

Extreme heat may raise risk of hospitalization for adults with Alzheimer’s

Source: https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/extreme-heat-may-raise-risk-of-hospitalization-for-adults-with-alzheimers/

Extreme heat may lead to more hospitalizations among those living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), according to a new study from researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The study was published Feb. 3 in JAMA Internal Medicine. Scott Delaney, research scientist in the Department of Environmental Health, was corresponding author.

The researchers used more than 3.3 million Medicare claims and daily temperature data between 2000 and 2018 to examine the relationship between extreme heat and hospitalization among adults living with ADRD. Their findings suggested that one day of extreme heat exposure raised ADRD hospitalization risk not just on the day of exposure but for three additional days—even if the heat subsides—and calculated that each day of extreme heat could contribute to at least 5,360 additional hospitalizations among adults with ADRD across the U.S.

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