This round-up contains some of the key nature and climate news from the past week.
Top stories: Extreme heatwave in Europe; Boost for UN climate budget; European nations warned not to halt green transition.
세계경제포럼, 2025년 7월 1일 게시, 2025년 7월 5일 업데이트
David Elliott
Senior Writer, Forum Stories
1. Extreme heatwave hits Europe
Many places across Europe are currently facing extreme temperatures – more than 40C in some places.
The UK’s national meteorological service issued warnings for popular holiday destinations including Paris and Rome and said southern and western Europe was experiencing a heatwave that was also extending into southeastern parts of the continent.
Temperatures could be up to 10C above average across much of Europe, with some locations reaching 40C or higher, it said.
Countries including Turkey and France have been hit by wildfires amid soaring temperatures.
In Germany, the heatwave has lowered water levels on the Rhine River, which has affected shipping with vessels only being able to sail at around 50% full, raising freight costs for cargo owners.
It comes as scientists have said ‘heat domes’ behind extreme weather in both Europe and the US have almost tripled in strength and duration since the 1950s. A heat dome is an atmospheric phenomenon that occurs when a high-pressure system traps heat.
High temperatures have been attributed to ‘heat domes’.Image: Royal Meteorological Society
2. Countries boost UN climate budget
Nearly 200 countries have agreed to increase the United Nations (UN) climate body’s budget by 10% for the next two years.
The deal, agreed at UN climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany, increased the core budget for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to €81.5 million ($95.5m).
The increase is “a clear signal that governments continue to see UN-convened climate cooperation as essential, even in difficult times,” said UN climate chief Simon Stiell.
There has been a budget shortfall in recent years, with major donors not paying on time, says Reuters. With the Trump administration having halted international climate funding, the US’s contribution is this year being covered by a philanthropic organization.
3. News in brief: Other top nature and climate stories this week
European nations should not halt the continent’s green transition due to short-term challenges, Denmark’s climate minister has said. The European Commission is planning to propose a new 2040 climate target next week.
Researchers have created a rocket-like drone that could help firefighters find and monitor wildfires. The cylindrical drone – made of light but rigid material to quickly ascend through trees – rises to just above the canopy before performing a panoramic scan.
Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva has said this year’s UN Climate Conference (COP30), hosted in the country, will be “different from the preceding ones”, with a focus on implementing pledges, Sky News reports.
More people in the UK are buying electric cars and installing heat pumps than ever before, the BBC reports. Government climate advisors highlighted that those numbers needed to increase even further to help reach climate targets.
More than a third of people in the small Pacific nation of Tuvalu have applied for a climate visa to migrate to Australia, figures show. Tuvalu is at great risk from rising sea levels, scientists say.
In the US, there has been an “explosive increase” of lone star ticks, which can cause a meat allergy in people they bite, the Guardian reports. Numbers of the ticks are growing as the world warms, according to experts.
4. More on the nature and climate crisis from Forum Stories
As climate threats escalate, ‘grey’ infrastructure’ such as sea walls and drainage tunnels is increasingly being pushed beyond its limits. Cities must look beyond this to ‘green’ and ‘blue’ infrastructure, such as urban parks and wetlands to mitigate physical risks and foster the social cohesion critical to surviving and recovering from crises.
Methane – the second-largest contributor to anthropogenic climate change after carbon dioxide – is hard to detect, but accurate and verifiable data is vital to effective mitigation strategies. Satellite-based Earth observation, combined with AI-driven analytics, offers a scalable solution.
