Climate

(John Finney Photography/Moment/Getty Images) An abnormally bad season of weather may have had a significant impact on the death toll from both World War I and the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, according to new research, with many more lives being lost due to torrential rain and plummeting temperatures. Through a detailed analysis of an ice…

Share on PinterestNew research looks at global warming’s potential impact on the transmission of mosquito-borne viruses.West Nile virus, which mosquitoes — as principal vectors — transmit to humans, first arrived in North America in 1999. Since then, it has become the most common mosquito-borne infection in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.Scientific models at Stanford University,…

By Adam Vaughan Climate change could mean the end of many polar bear populationsAll Canada Photos / Alamy Unchecked climate change will doom all but one of the world’s populations of polar bears before the end of the century, as vanishing sea ice increases their annual fasts beyond their limits. The bears’ reliance on sea…

By Donna Lu Ochlerotatus detritus, one of the mosquitoes capable of spreading Zika virus that is already common in temperate regionsLesley Wood Photography Rising temperatures due to climate change may lead to the spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus to currently cooler regions. Under the most drastic model of global warming, by 2080 the risk…

Standard Bank has come under fire for continuing to fund new fossil fuel projects.It has promised to do due diligence to limit harm.CEO Sim Tshabalala says the AGM has become a forum for policy advocacy and debate - which is not in the interests of the company. Standard Bank, which has come under fire for continuing…