Madagascar’s huge ocean algae bloom was caused by dust from drought-stricken southern Africa: Scientists have found new evidence that desertification, potentially linked to global warming, leads to large amounts of nutrient-rich dust landing in the sea, causing ocean algae to grow rapidly. Biological oceanographer John A. Gittings and an international group of researchers have found …
African countries shouldn’t have to borrow money to fix climate damage they never caused – economist: As we approach the global annual climate change conference, COP29, the need for increased public finance from the global north to address climate adaptation in Africa has become more urgent than ever. However, framing the finance debate solely around …
Ghana’s economic crisis was caused by government borrowing – the central bank did the best it could: economist: Ghana is going through its worst economic crisis in a generation. The past two years have seen record high inflation in the country. Ghana’s central bank (the Bank of Ghana) has been criticised in some quarters for …
Some believe the 1889 Russian flu pandemic was actually caused by a coronavirus – here’s why that’s unlikely: COVID-19 was the first coronavirus pandemic. The original Sars virus from 2003 and the Mers virus that created a health emergency in South Korea in 2015 were both coronaviruses, but fortunately failed to turn into pandemics in …
The climate change we caused is here for at least 50,000 years – and probably far longer: In February 2000, Paul Crutzen rose to speak at the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme in Mexico. And when he spoke, people took notice. He was then one of the world’s most cited scientists, a Nobel laureate working on huge-scale …
Storm Babet caused dangerous floods as the ‘dry side’ of Scotland isn’t used to such torrential rain: Storm Babet has caused havoc across the UK, with strong winds and rough seas along the east coast, record breaking rainfall and river levels in Scotland, overtopped flood defences, closed roads and railways and sadly at least two …
How HS2 caused the UK to lose focus on ‘levelling up’ during years of high-speed rail delays: Pressure on the UK government to confirm its plans for the controversial HS2 high-speed rail project is growing as the Conservative party prepares for its annual conference. Much of the country is keen to hear about the fate …
What caused Morocco’s earthquake? A geologist studying the Atlas mountains explains: The epicentre of Morocco’s devastating earthquake on 8 September was in the High Atlas Mountains, about 71km south-west of Marrakesh. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Jesús Galindo-Zaldivar, who has been carrying out research on the formation of the Atlas mountains and the …
What caused the coup in Niger? An expert outlines three driving factors: Niger's Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani declares himself head of state on 28 July 2023. ORTN-Télé Sahel/AFP via Getty Images At an emergency meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on 30 July, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) demanded the “immediate release and reinstatement” of …
Why profits, not pay, have caused the cost of living crisis: Budgeting for a rising cost of living. Inside Creative House/Shutterstock The Bank of England accompanied its most recent UK interest rate hike – the 12th in a row – with a warning that UK price inflation is likely to be higher for longer than …
Ghana’s regions: why creating new territories has caused problems: Dividing land borders in Ghana is a contentious issue Wikimedia Commons Ghana split four administrative regions between June 2017 and February 2019 to create six new ones. The process proceeded calmly in some regions, but was so contentious in others that the government had to deploy …
Landslides are a global injustice – they’re rarely caused by the people worst affected: Joshimath is slowly sliding. Amol_M / shutterstock In northern India, a tragedy is playing out in slow-motion. Located at about 2,000 metres elevation in Chamoli District in the Himalayas, Joshimath is an ancient, sacred town of about 17,000 people. Popular with …
AlphaTV offers top UPS to protect devices from damage caused by load-shedding: Cape Town, November, 15, 2022: After seeing recurring issues with electronic devices, AlphaTV, an electronics expert in Cape Town recently added uninterrupted power supply devices (UPS) to its offering, highlighting its device protective benefits. Despite the common belief that switching on or off …
Albania’s ghost towns: the crisis that caused the exodus: Some Albanians towns have lost a lot of their younger population. Andrew Mayovskyy/Shutterstock Albania has a population of 2.8 million people, according to data published at the start of 2021. Since the fall of communism in 1991 nearly 40% of Albania’s population has left the country. …
Climate change: why tech companies must address emissions caused by streaming and scrolling: Technology companies need to tackle data-related emissions, not just electronic waste. tete_escape / Shutterstock Technology companies have been having a difficult year. The increased cost of living is turning people away from streaming, cryptocurrencies are faltering, Amazon has raised its prime membership …
Mystery crater potentially caused by relative of dinosaur-killing asteroid: Kevin Gill/Flickr, CC BY-SA The ocean floor is famously less explored than the surface of Mars. And when our team of scientists recently mapped the seabed, and ancient sediments beneath, we discovered what looks like an asteroid impact crater. Intriguingly, the crater, named “Nadir” after the …
Depression is probably not caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain – new study: TanyaJoy/Shutterstock For three decades, people have been deluged with information suggesting that depression is caused by a “chemical imbalance” in the brain – namely an imbalance of a brain chemical called serotonin. However, our latest research review shows that the …
Are the northern lights caused by ‘particles from the Sun’? Not exactly: PhotoVisions/Shutterstock What a spectacle a big aurora is, its shimmering curtains and colourful rays of light illuminating a dark sky. Many people refer to aurora as the northern lights (the aurora borealis), but there are southern lights too (the aurora australis). Either way, …