Israel is exploiting the vacuum left by southern Syria’s sectarian clashes and a weak state: Several days of bitter sectarian fighting in the south of Syria has brought the fledgling government in Damascus dangerously close to direct conflict with Israel, after Israeli warplanes launched strikes against government buildings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on July …
‘Completely unexpected’: Antarctic sea ice may be in terminal decline due to rising Southern Ocean salinity: Adélie penguins rely on Antarctic sea ice for habitat. Nick Dale Photo/Shutterstock The ocean around Antarctica is rapidly getting saltier at the same time as sea ice is retreating at a record pace. Since 2015, the frozen continent has …
Southern Africa’s rangelands do many jobs, from feeding cattle to storing carbon: a review of 60 years of research: South Africa’s rangelands have always had great value for the country. These areas offer more than just grazing for livestock. They provide services like purifying water, storing carbon and conserving biodiversity. The grassland biome (28%), along …
Giant freshwater aquifer in southern Africa is under threat from mining: A huge underground water resource the size of Austria, the Stampriet Transboundary Aquifer System, stretches for 87,000km² across Namibia, South Africa and Botswana. It supplies 50,000 people in several towns with water pure enough to drink, and is their only source of water. But …
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 …
Mosquito season in southern Africa: tonic water and vitamins won’t protect you but knowing where the hotspots are will: While the emergence of colourful butterflies is a welcome sign of summer, the constant buzzing of mosquitoes is an annoying part of the season. Mosquitoes are more than just pests. They are the world’s most dangerous …
Sweet sorghum is a hardy, nutritious, biofuel crop that offers solutions in drought-hit southern Africa: Sweet sorghum ripening in Rwanda. Ari Beser/Getty Images The southern African region is battling with drought at present. This is the result of El Niño, a natural climate cycle characterised by changes in Pacific Ocean temperatures. It has effects on …
Southern African troops versus M23 rebels in the DRC: 4 risks this poses: The security situation in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to deteriorate. The region comprises North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces. It’s about seven times the size of neighbouring Rwanda. The violence in North Kivu has …
El Niño may be drying out the southern hemisphere – here’s how that affects the whole planet: FoxPictures / shutterstock It is a well-known fact that water is the key to life on Earth. But it is less well known that only about 1% of all water on the planet is fresh water available to …
Shepherd Ndudzo’s celebrated sculptures tell an untold history of southern African art: The work of award-winning Zimbabwe-born sculptor Shepherd Ndudzo is instantly recognisable. Fluid, elongated black bodies and body parts flow from white rock in a typical work. The bodies are dancing or praying, holding hands or reaching out. These figurative sculptures, carved out of …
Ancient pots hold clues about how diverse diets helped herders thrive in southern Africa: The introduction of herding – a way of life which centres on keeping herds of mobile domesticated animals – significantly changed Africa’s genetic, economic, social and cultural landscapes during the last 10,000 years. Unlike other parts of the world, mobile herding …
Unicorns in southern Africa: the fascinating story behind one-horned creatures in rock art: One-horned rain-animal from a site near Indwe in the Eastern Cape province. Image courtesy David M. Witelson One-horned creatures are found in myths around the world. Although unicorns in different cultures have little to do with one another, they have multiple associations …
Slowing deep Southern Ocean current may be linked to natural climate cycle – but that’s no reason to stop worrying about melting Antarctic ice: The Weddell Sea helps power the great ocean conveyor, which moves heat, carbon dioxide and nutrients around Earth's ocean basins. Janelle Lugge/Shutterstock Our new research in the Antarctic suggests that the …
Archaeology shows how hunter-gatherers fitted into southern Africa’s first city, 800 years ago: Archaeologists excavate inside and outside Little Muck Shelter, in the Mapungubwe National Park, South Africa. Photo: Tim Forssman Where the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers meet, forming the modern border between Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, lies a hill that hardly stands out …
The northern lights appeared in southern England twice in one week – here’s why this could happen again soon: The northern lights seen in the south of the UK weren't quite as vivid as the kind of displays seen closer to the polar regions basiczto/Shutterstock People across the UK, from the Shetland Islands to Somerset …
Cyclones in southern Africa: five essential reads: The fishing village of Mahebourg, Mauritius, is among the places in the path of cyclone Freddy. Laura Morosoli/AFP via Getty Images Tropical cyclone Freddy was, on 21 February 2023, bearing down on Mauritius and Madagascar. Mauritius grounded flights and, news agency Reuters reported, emergency teams in four regions …
Henry Kissinger at 100: history will judge the former US secretary of state’s southern African interventions to be a failure: Former American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in 2019. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Henry Kissinger, who sexed up the art of diplomacy in the eight years between 1969 and 1977, will turn 100 in …
Heat stress is rising in southern Africa – climate experts show where and when it’s worst: Being too hot isn't just uncomfortable: it can be dangerous. Angel DiBilio/Shutterstock Most of us have felt either too hot or too cold at some point in our lives. Depending on where we live, we may feel too cold …